"Pest Prevention by Design - Landscapes: Authoritative guidelines for designing out pests" is the product of a two-year project led by the San Francisco Department of the Environment. The project's goal is to assemble design features and planning considerations that can prevent pest infestations - including weeds - in managed landscapes, and ultimately reduce both labor inputs and pesticide use. Follow these recommendations at the design or retrofit stage of landscape renovations to reduce weeds, rodents, plant diseases, and other pests in a variety of landscape types.
Topics covered: Design elements related to maintenance planning, soils and water, physical barriers, planting design, and sanitation.
Primary authors: Chris A. Geiger, Ph.D, San Francisco Department of the Environment; Michael Baefsky, Trees, Bugs, Dirt LLC
The resource is available in two forms:
- Online tool: The online version allows access to all of the details, including downloadable attachments, references, and links to various product examples. Use this version to get the most complete and up-to-date information. Try clicking the "Filter" to refine your search of tactics [Latest update: 2/6/2020]
- Downloadable manual (PDF, 93 pages): We also created a more readable PDF version that can be downloaded and printed. [Latest update: 2/14/2020]
"Pest Prevention by Design: Authoritative guidelines for designing pests out of structures" (PDF, 88 pages) was produced by a two-year, national, cross-sector project funded by the US Centers for Disease Control. The project's goal was to create a trusted reference for architects, engineers, builders and the green building community on ways to design pests out of buildings.
Follow these recommendations at the design or retrofit stage of construction to improve indoor air quality and save money for the life of the building.
Topics covered: General Principles, Foundations and Slabs, Building Exterior: Siding, Building Exterior: Lighting, Building Exterior: Miscellaneous, Roofs, Landscape, Interior Walls, Floors: General, Floors: Institutional, Doors, Windows, Bedrooms
Primary authors: Chris A. Geiger, Ph.D, San Francisco Department of the Environment; Caroline Cox, MS, Center for Environmental Health, 11/28/2012.