School districts are being required to use IPM to control pests in and around schools. A sizeable portion of the public views IPM as a replacement for pesticides used to control pests. An IPM approach to control pests, such as rodents in school buildings, cockroaches in restaurants or bee mites infesting a bee colony, is a process that ideally should seek initially to pinpoint pest location and abundance via scouting or monitoring. The IPM approach should utilize an arsenal of weapons to reduce the pest population in limited locations. IPM as a concept was first implemented in the agricultural sector.
Crop plants can tolerate some level of pest attack and still produce economically acceptable yields.
So, too, processed foods are permitted a certain level of insect pests without being recalled from the market. IPM decisions are based on an economic injury level - the level at which the damage the pests cause results in economic loss. There are, however some pest control decisions that are made on an aesthetic injury level. For some pests, any level, even a low level, might not be tolerated. Thus IPM mite control for beekeepers should be an economic threshold decision.