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Michigan
Praxis
Samuel De Fazio, Patrick McKown, Jean McKown
2723 116th Avenue
Allegan MI 49010-9023
616-673-2793
[email protected]
http://www.praxis-ibc.com
Services/Products/IPM Description
Range of Products and Services
Ten years ago, Allegan Public Schools, in Allegan Michigan became the first school district in the nation to eliminate pesticide use due to insecticide resistance in favor of a new broader more effective environmental management strategy based on biology rather than chemistry, called Integrated Biological Cybernetics (IBC) our award winning proprietary innovation. Praxis's site specific approach is based on sound scientific principals such as sanitation, mechanical barriers, micro-habitat modification, the predator-prey relationship, parasitoids, entomopathogenic diseases, accurate identification of the pest index, knowledge of their lifecycles and constant and diligent monitoring. All environmental management challenges on a wide variety of issues and pests including, cockroaches, termites, filth and biting flies, ants, wasps, moth & drain flies, gypsy moth, mosquitoes, moldy carpets, etc. have been successfully met. Reducing the risk of vectoring diseases, allergic responses, and envenomation. It is important to recognize IBC is a process, not an event. Pesticide use reduction is 100%. Praxis is of the opinion, based on our observations and experience, that the use of pesticides pose an insurmountable barrier to long term, cost effective, environmentally sound pest management. Praxis uses no genetically modified organisms (GMO'S) as part of any Biotool Kit.
Praxis works locally, regionally, nationally, and internationally.
Services/Products Categories
- Golf course
- Structural
- Landscape
- Commercial
- School
- Residential
Definition of Integrated Pest Management (IPM)
IPM is a pest management strategy that focuses on long term prevention or suppression of pest problems with a minimum impact on human health, the environment, and non-target organisms and is based on biological control. Pest management techniques included in this IPM planning include: 1.) Encouraging excellence in sanitation and waste management techniques; 2.) Exclusion and habitat modification so that harborage of pests is severely limited or eliminated, including the modification of air movement and humidity in micro-environments; 3.) Precise and diligent trapping; 4.) Augmentative biological controls, with inoculative and inundative releases to support naturally occurring biological control agent populations; and, 5.) Selection of pest and disease resistant varieties for grounds management using good horticultural practices. This IPM plan includes use of biological control agents such as parasitic wasps and entemogenous nematodes, as well as EPA registered microbial (primarily fungal) agents, including those which cause mechanical damage to the exoskeleton of pest, microbial componentswhich cause diseases among pests, and insect growth regulators (IGR's) which prevent the development and sexual maturity of pests. District policies, local, state and federal laws or regulations. The supervising Contractor (Praxis), the supplier of biological controls and other control agents, is an independent contractor which will supervise the implementation of this IPM plan per agreement with, as that term is used in applicable state statutes and regulations.
How Pest Problems Are Identified
Identification is done through trapping and identification of pest to genus. Pheromone and blunder traps are used.
Tools, Practices, and Materials Used/Sold
Practices Used to Prevent or Control Pests
Primarily through biological control.
Biological Controls Used?
Praxis has over 1000 beneficial insects, mites, nematodes, protozoan, bacteria and virus biotools in our site specific biotool kits. We have the largest selection in the United States.
Borates Used?
Yes, in mopping and void spaces.
Synthetic Chemicals Used?
None
Top Ten Pesticides Used/Sold/Recommended
None
How Much Pesticide Used Per Year, and How Applied?
None
Uses Physical or Mechanical Controls?
We use insect barrier cloth, bird & bat exclusion and rodent barrier.
Lawn Care
Type of Fertilizers Used/Sold/Recommended
None. We use a biological consortium that fixes nitrogen from the air and compost from on site leaffall and clippings.
Evaluation
How Effectiveness of Pest Management Systems is Evaluated
We evaluate our effectiveness through the fact that we have had no complaints and no pest sitings. The Health Department inspections of our sites were given 100% and the Department of Agriculture inspections of our sites were given 100%.
References
Allegan Public Schools, Allegan, MI; Cass Technical High School, Detroit, MI.