Virginia Tech
OP-9: Integrated Pest Management

Virginia Tech’s building footprints cover 400 acres of the Blacksburg campus’ 2,500 total acres and are maintained with an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Program. Virginia Tech’s Housing & Dining Services contracts with Bug Muggers to implement their IPM Program. The IPM contract with Bug Muggers has been subsequently modified to include all academic and administrative buildings on campus and additional departments including Schiffert Health Center, Athletics, Recreational Sports, and Student Centers and Activities. The established IPM plan for Housing & Dining Services provides pest control service in 4,500 student rooms, all public areas such as kitchens, lounges, laundries, stairways, bathrooms, mechanical rooms, crawl spaces and offices. The IPM plan also includes outside ground areas directly adjacent to the dorm buildings. The total square footage covered is approximately 2.5 million. Individual student/occupant requests and any visible indications of infestation prompt immediate action. The IPM contract requires the technician to visit the department two times per month, at which time he or she inspects all assigned areas, attends to any requests by identifying pests and making recommendations for mechanical, structural, or sanitations needs that would prevent the presence of pests. If these recommended measures are not effective, low risk controls, such as bait stations and targeted chemicals to disrupt pest mating, are initiated. Only if these low risk control measures are not effective is the targeted spraying of pesticides employed. For the academic buildings (approximately 4,000,000 square feet) the pest contractor follows the same procedures as listed above. He services these spaces on an as needed basis once a week. Management of Lawns & Grounds: Virginia Tech’s lawns and grounds cover approximately 400 acres. Although lawns and grounds do not adhere to a prescribed IPM program, they are maintained with herbicides for broadleaf weeds and invasive plant material. Management of Crop Lands: Virginia Tech’s crop and farm lands cover approximately 1700 acres. Although Virginia Tech’s crop lands and farms do not adhere to a prescribed IPM program, they follow a variety of other conservation practices and nutrient management plans. The College Farm follows a DCR nutrient management plan for all manures and cropping, a VPA Permit for dairy and swine manure disposal (DEQ), a NRCS Best Practices Plan for soil conservation, and a CALS conservation plan (Executive Memorandum 4-93, Conservation Treatment of State-Owned Agricultural Lands). Virginia Tech’s cropping practices enhance various conservation strategies such as minimum tillage (very little plowing/soil disturbance, almost all no-till planting), split nitrogen application in corn to reduce leaching, overseeding pastures with clover to reduce commercial nitrogen use, seed cover crops immediately after fall harvest, livestock are fenced away from all streams and wetlands, and livestock are rotated through pastures. The Integrated Pest Management Collaborative Research Support Program (IPM CRSP): Virginia Tech has an established research partnership with the Integrated Pest Management Collaborative Research Support Program (IPM CRSP). The IPM CRSP at Virginia Tech is one of nine Collaborative Research Support Programs set up to leverage the expertise found at American land grant universities in developing countries around the world. Virginia Tech’s IPM CRSP is managed by the Office of International Research, Education, and Development. IPM is a systems approach to reducing damage caused by pests to an acceptable level without harming the environment. IPM includes the adoption of pest-resistant varieties of crops; biological and physical control methods; environmental modification; biopesticides; and when absolutely necessary, non-residual, environmentally-friendly and low mammalian-toxic chemical pesticides. Partner universities include Clemson University, Florida A&M, Fort Valley State University. Kansas State University, Michigan State University, North Carolina A&T, North Carolina State University, Ohio State University, Oregon State University, Pennsylvania State University, Purdue, Tennessee State University, Texas A&M, University of Arizona, University of California at Davis, University of California at Riverside, University of Florida, University of Georgia, University of Minnesota, University of Wisconsin, Virginia State University, and Washington State University. For more information about IPM CRSP please see: http://www.oired.vt.edu/ipmcrsp/?src=draft_home

Margie Lawrence is the Assistant Director for Housekeeping and Furnishings of Housing & Dining Services within Housing & Residence Life (HRL). She can be contacted at margie@vt.edu or (540) 231-4984 for more information about HRL’s IPM plan. J. Wyatt Sasser is the Housekeeping Director for Facilities Services. He can be contacted at jsasser@vt.edu or (540) 231-7426 for more information about the IPM plan for all academic and administrative buildings. Anthony Watson is the Associate Director of Building Services & Grounds. He can be contacted at anwatson@vt.edu or (540) 231-6852 for more information about grounds maintenance. Dwight Paulette Jr. is the College Farm Coordinator. He can be contacted at kentland@vt.edu or (540) 731-1289 for more information about the management practices of the campus crop lands and farm lands.