The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene is doing a lot to encourage the use of Integrated Pest Management (IPM). Below, Daniel Kass, Deputy Commissioner for Environmental Health, explains the different ways IPM is being used in New York City.

A: The Department of Health is doing a lot to raise awareness and use of IPM:

• It carried out pilot programs to test the usefulness of IPM in public housing in East Harlem and Brooklyn. During the pilot study, we trained, certified, and employed local residents on how to do IPM to increase its use in public housing.
• The Health Department works with pest control agencies and community partners to get rid of cockroaches and mice around New York City. We focus on IPM in low-income apartments because a large amount of people with asthma live in these apartments. It is important to reduce pests in homes of those with asthma because they can increase asthma attacks and breathing difficulty.
• We also promote public education about asthma, cockroaches, and IPM through our Asthma Initiative website, the 311 telephone service, and community outreach programs.
• In 2024, the DOH passed a new pesticide law. This law made many dangerous pesticides illegal to use in City-owned buildings. By doing this, New York City is setting an example we hope that property owners will follow.
• Finally, we try to put out good scientific data that shows the effectiveness of IPM. This way, more New Yorkers will be encouraged to use IPM as an alternative to traditional pest control measures.

Q: How else can the City expand its use of IPM?

A: There are many ways to encourage IPM: by teaching New Yorkers about its use, by residents asking their property managers to hire pest control companies that practice IPM, by making simple repairs in their apartments and following advice provided in Health Department guides, and by asking for these guide from 3-1-1.

Some non-profit organizations are starting IPM job training programs and promoting IPM for communities that have pest problems. Pest at Rest is a non-profit that trains and employs formerly homeless people to do IPM through the Doe Fund's Ready, Willing & Able program. With these programs and the DOH's efforts, the use of IPM is likely to increase in the future to combat pests that cause illness in humans.

Read more from Daniel Kass by clicking the links below:

• Integrated Pest Management (IPM) works better than pesticides
• Cockroaches are bad for your health

Harlem Word is a series of interviews with Harlem health experts, written by HHPC and reviewed by our Health Advisory Board.