If you are just getting started with your pest problem, think about these questions and do some research about the pest.

• What type of pest are you dealing with?
• How are they getting in? How can I keep them out?
• Do they live in the house all of the time, or do they come and go?
• What are they eating and drinking?
• How can I make my home less friendly to pests?
• How can I keep track of their activity to see if my strategy is working?

To prevent future problems, consider taking steps to pest-proof your home.

• Inspect your home inside and out looking for pests, food, water and entry points.
• Fix any leaky hoses, faucets or pipes; pests need water.
• Fix any holes in your window screens, and consider installing door-sweeps.
• Plug entry points, even the tiny ones, with caulk, wire mesh, etc.
• Learn about relative humidity, and keep it below 60% indoors, if possible, to prevent mold and help control other pests.

When you have a home garden, you're growing a food supply for pests and people alike. Watch out for pests that can damage your garden including bugs, diseases, animals and weeds.

Using IPM techniques can reduce the need for pesticides in the long term. To prevent future pest problems, consider taking some proactive steps to pest-proof your garden:

• Select the right plants for the location; consider their needs for water and sun.
• Select disease-resistant varieties when certain diseases keep coming back.
• Water plants at ground level; wet leaves are more susceptible to disease.
• Remove dead plant material before spring; it can harbor diseases.
• Consider testing the soil for nutrients and minerals to plan fertilizer needs.
• Proper care and watering will produce healthier plants, which are better at resisting diseases and tolerating insects.
• Inspect your plants regularly in order to detect problems early.
• Consider asking a master gardener for help identifying and managing pests.

Families and pets enjoy lawns in parks, schools, businesses and homes. Integrated pest management can help you keep both lawn pests and pesticides to a minimum.

To prevent future problems, consider taking some proactive steps to pest-proof your lawn.

• Choose a type of grass that thrives in your region and climate.
• Develop and maintain healthy soil.
• Mow often with sharp blades and mow high; generally 2.5-3.5 inches high.
• If dead grass, or thatch, gets thicker than a half-inch, remove it with a rake.
• Water deep and rarely, rather than short periods that occur more often.
• Determine how many weeds you can tolerate, and how many you can pull.

Using the integrated pest management approach at schools and childcare facilities has many benefits. Research has demonstrated:

• IPM can be more effective than routine pesticide treatments,
• IPM can cost less over the long term, and
• IPM can reduce children's exposure to pesticides. That's important because children may be more sensitive to their toxic effects.