University of Alaska Anchorage
OP-9: Integrated Pest Management

The UAA main campus consists of 384 acres. Of that, only 149 acres have been developed. The remaining acres consist of forest and wetlands that contain trails, most are not paved. These lands are otherwise undeveloped. No pest management is conducted on undeveloped land - it is left "wild".

The UAA landscaping team’s operating philosophy is that healthy plants don’t need pesticides. Turf areas are fertilized three times a year. First application is in late May or early June and last application is done in late fall with an application of pelletized lime because of the acid soils in Alaska. This allows for early green-up and strong growing grasses, helping to choke out unwanted weeds. Turf is kept cut to a two inch minimum to choke out weeds.

The average temperatures in Anchorage do not reach above 70 degrees so we rarely have any need to apply fungicides or mold killer. Depending on the rainfall amounts in the early spring, there may be a need for a light application of a low VOC #4 herbicide to keep the dandelions from spreading unchecked. This is done an as needed basis.

Hardscape, parking lots areas are power-washed every spring to wash out sand that builds up in surface cracks to keep weeds from getting hold, but a Round Up type herbicide is used to eliminate what does get started. This is also done on an as needed basis.

The University campus has about 35% of its turf areas with underground irrigation systems. Of that, 60% are timed systems. They are set to water at times that water use is at a minimun - morning or night and set to progressive timing patterns to maximize water absorption.

While trees and shrubs receive enough water enabling them to fight pests themselves, they may need an application of pesticide to eradicate pests. One example - the Siberian Larch had been hit with a sawfly for a number of years and had to be sprayed. We have now eradicated the pest and have not had to spray for the last two years.

The team also implements water savings practices. Site appropriate plants are chosen, mulch is used to retain water, and watering is done in the morning or at night. To avoid unwanted pests and plants, while protecting local water, Landscaping uses the following best practices:
Interior plants use a mixture of fertilizers both timed release and liquid, plant appropriate. Exterior plants use steer manure, 8-32-16 timed release as soil preparation and 10-20-10 liquid as fertilizer once a month. Vegetation is removed from the annual flowerbeds in the fall to avoid the over-wintering of pests and the dead flowers are composted.

To insure a pest-free crop of annual flowers the team grows all plants from seeds, not starts. This ensures at least a clean start to the growing season. When new interior plants are purchased or donated they are quarantined, and checked for pests before they are put into the general common areas.

Every August plants are removed and the greenhouse “bakes” by shutting down ventilation, effectively killing any “pests.” When pesticides are warranted the team uses volk oil, pyrethrum, alcohol and Safer Insecticidal Soaps. The greenhouse is kept clean and only a few hanging baskets are over-wintered.

In the Spring we use a Tempco 600 Regenerative Air Sweeper to sweep the parking lots and roads and a Nilfisk Extera vacuum sweeper on sidewalks. This equipment reduces particulate matter in the atmosphere.

On parking lots we use latex instead of oil-based paint so solvents are not needed for clean up.