Structural Integrated Pest Management (SPM)

A building/occupant-centric, inspection-driven method for preventing annoyance, damage, disease risk, and compliance issues — using sanitation, repairs, perimeter adjustments, customer coaching, and targeted pesticides only when needed.

What SPM Is: In, On, and Around Buildings

Structural Integrated Pest Management (SPM) is practiced specifically in, on, and around buildings. It begins with inspection to determine if, where, what, and when intervention is needed — not by defaulting to scheduled applications or assuming “monitoring” is always required.

Core objective: keep pest numbers low enough to prevent annoyance, structural/property damage, disease transmission, or regulatory violations.
Core tactics: sanitation (“clean/remove”), building repair & sealing (“fix/seal”), perimeter/landscape interface modifications, customer education/coaching, and targeted pesticide application.

Why Inspection Drives Every Decision

Inspection is the engine that starts SPM. Without it, services risk reverting to perfunctory applications. A good inspection defines the problem so the solution becomes nearly self-evident. See the full inspection guide.

The 12 Objectives of an SPM Inspection

Identify the pest (species & life stages).
Map distribution & note density (target treatments, estimate placements).
Estimate age of the infestation (recent vs. longstanding).
Determine origin (on-site source vs. introduced via deliveries/occupants).
Determine entry mode (self-entry vs. transported).
Log conditions conducive (moisture, harborages, storage, maintenance) — more in Conditions Conducive.
Note sustaining practices (behaviors that support pests) — see Customer Coaching.
Diagram/map activity and contributing conditions — see Mapping & Documentation.
Flag critical control points (highest-risk sites needing focused effort).
Pre-decide pesticide selection criteria (site sensitivity, surfaces, moisture/grease, odors) — see Pesticide-Use Policy.
Document findings (notes/photos) to communicate and baseline progress — see Documentation.
Create a written SPM plan (objectives, distributions, methods, timing, customer duties) — see SPM Plan.

The Five SPM Tactics (Applied from Inspection Findings)

1) Sanitation: Clean & Remove

Remove debris/harborages that block inspection or reduce treatment effectiveness, and eliminate practical food/water sources that attract or sustain pests. Learn more in Conditions Conducive.

2) Fix/Seal: Practical Building Repairs

Seal interior/exterior cracks and crevices, replace broken/rotted components, and install screens and door sweeps. Small, targeted repairs often yield outsized results. See Fix & Seal.

3) Perimeter Interface Modifications

Adjust grade where needed, set back and trim vegetation, and use plants/mulch practices that discourage pest presence at the foundation–landscape interface. Reduce over-mulching and overgrowth adjacent to cladding. See Perimeter Modifications.

4) Customer Education & Coaching

Actively engage occupants/owners on the one or two highest-impact issues first (e.g., a moisture fix plus a storage change). Demonstrate where, how, and why; address lesser issues after the major ones are corrected. See Customer Coaching.

5) Targeted Pesticide Application (When Needed)

Use pesticides only where and when necessary, never as routine calendar “preventive” applications.
Comply with label directions; match formulations/techniques to site conditions and sensitivity. See Targeted Pesticide Use.
A key professional skill is knowing when not to apply — avoiding “failure of imagination.”

Monitoring vs. Inspection: What Works, When

Formal, trap-based monitoring with intensive records is generally impractical for typical homes/businesses and is most applicable where required or compensated (e.g., audited facilities). Strategic uses exist (e.g., certain light traps for indoor flies, stored-product pest traps, termite stations), while sticky traps have moderate value for some indoor cockroach populations and are relatively ineffective for ants and bed bugs. Learn more in Monitoring vs. Inspection and SPM for Regulated Facilities.

Building Ecology: Why Moisture & Construction Matter

Modern structures are environmental separators, yet from the day they’re completed they begin to deteriorate. Bulk water and moisture drive component failures and create conditions that support fungi, bacteria, and insect pests. Pipe chases, voids, cracks, false ceilings, hidden ducts, over-mulched beds, overgrown vegetation, and cluttered storage (attics/garages/outside) all contribute to infestations. See Moisture & Building Performance, Perimeter Modifications, and Fix & Seal.

SPM recognizes most infestations are symptoms of construction, maintenance, operation, and sanitation deficiencies — not a lack of pesticide.

The Role of the Service Professional

Pest management occurs only at the customer’s property. Technicians are trained to be problem preventers and problem solvers, applying a flexible, site-specific program based on inspection, conditions, and customer coordination — not fixed-price habits or automatic spray cycles. See Technician Training for SPM.

Our SPM Process

Inspect & identify (species, life stages, distribution, density, age, origin, entry).
Map conditions & critical control points; document with notes/photos.
Engage customer on the top 1–2 high-impact actions first.
Apply non-chemical tactics (clean/remove; fix/seal; adjust perimeter).
Apply targeted pesticides only if/where needed, matched to site conditions.
Deliver a written SPM plan; track patterns and iterate.

Frequently Asked Questions

Many structural environments — especially regulated ones — demand very low or zero tolerance. SPM aims to keep pests low enough to prevent annoyance, damage, disease risk, or violations, aligning with site expectations. See SPM for Regulated Facilities.

No. SPM avoids routine, scheduled “preventive” applications. Pesticides are used only when needed, targeted to the problem and site conditions, and always per label. See Our Pesticide-Use Policy.

Where formally required or compensated (e.g., audited facilities), or for specific targets (such as certain indoor flies, stored-product pests, termite stations). Otherwise, inspection guides decisions at service. See Monitoring vs. Inspection.

Bulk water and moisture cause building component failures and create conditions that support pests. Controlling intrusion and retention reduces suitability for infestation. See Moisture & Building Performance.

We focus you on the top one or two actions that unlock the biggest improvement (for example, a moisture fix plus a storage/harborage change). Smaller items follow after major issues are corrected. See Customer Coaching.