Thurston County believes that effective pest control should begin with a very good understanding of the pest (habitat, life cycle, diet, reproduction, etc.) and why it is a problem. We have researched many pests to better understand what types of environmental factors promote them and what combination of control methods will keep them at tolerable levels. We then develop prescriptions (fact sheets) that provide information about the pest and the procedures that will be used to monitor and control it. Each prescription contains a description of the pest or vegetation problem, its negative impacts, a monitoring process, non-chemical control strategies, chemical control strategy, and the timing for these events.

IPM PRESCRIPTIONS: The following links will take you to prescriptions that have been developed by County staff with information that has been researched and been shown to be effective. Many of these prescriptions follow the same methods that the County uses; some have been developed specifically for homeowners and land managers in Washington State. The information that is provided may be useful to people in other regions, but the chemicals that have been reviewed for use within these prescriptions are registered for use in the state of Washington and may not be available or be registered for use in other states.

PESTICIDE REVIEWS: Before a Thurston County Department uses a pesticide it must have the specific product reviewed for its potential to cause harm to human health or the environment (including non-target organisms). The review criteria and hazards that are considered unacceptable are stated in Section 9 of the County’s Integrated Pest and Vegetation Management Policy. A brief outline on how the review criteria relates to ranking of the pesticides can be found at the following link (Ranking system [PDF]).

The following tables are linked to reviews for the pesticide "active ingredient" and not to specific products. Product specific reviews can be found in the Internal County Programs section and they are nearly the same as the corresponding active ingredient reviews. Pesticides contain inert or other ingredients along with the active ingredient and these ingredients are not subject to disclosure by the manufacturer. These other ingredients can increase or decrease the product's hazard. When these ingredients can be found, they are included in the product specific reviews.

Since the County reviews products for use on County managed land, many of the products are specific to locations a homeowner would not need to manage (like roadside ditches). The County cannot recommend a product to be used in any area not listed on the product label, and cannot review all products. So, we have posted the active ingredient reviews and encourage homeowners and land managers to find out which active ingredient has a product that is appropriate for the site where the pest problem is.

Contact Patrick Soderberg at 360-867-2586 or by Email if you have any questions.