IPM is a strategy to control pests using methods that are effective, economical and the least harmful to the environment. One of the department's successes was cooperating with the U.S. Department of Agriculture in eradicating the screwworm fly in the United States. Another success came when entomologists began importing and releasing a small parasitic wasp called Costesia flavipes in 1977 to combat the sugarcane borer in the Rio Grande Valley. The borer is no longer an economic threat to sugarcane, Frisbie said. Graduates are almost always guaranteed a career.
Many graduates go to work for the federal government as researchers or customs inspectors.
Many work in private industry, either in agriculture or pest control. Some become private crop or urban pest control consultants. Another career some graduates might seek is that of forensic entomology, used to solve crimes relating to food and product contamination, theft, illegal importation of drugs, child neglect and even murders. Frisbie expects entomologists to continue to be in high demand. Future trends include biotechnology to improve crop plants so that they have multiple forms of resistance to insects and herbicides.