UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- If you attend a county fair or other event, and a vintage Volkswagen Beetle speaks to you as you walk by, don't be startled. This isn't "Herbie the Love Bug" with a fancy paint job -- it's the Pennsylvania Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Program's "Bugmobile!"

The Bugmobile! is a roving educational unit -- painted to resemble a lady bug and equipped with speakers that allow it to "talk" -- that travels to schools, fairs and other public events to promote IPM and teach basic biological concepts about insects and other potential pests.

The Bugmobile! made its debut recently at the 2000 Pennsylvania Farm Show, delighting both adults and children. It exposed as many as 200,000 people to IPM concepts.

"The public needs a better understanding of pests, best approaches to pest management and, if necessary, proper pesticide choices and use," says Lyn Garling, IPM education coordinator in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences. "Reaching the public effectively requires more than handing out written fact sheets or listing Web sites. Research has shown that a combination of touching, seeing, doing and hearing is important for retention and behavior change."

Garling says the Bugmobile! will help to raise awareness of facts such as these:

• On a pound-per-acre basis, homeowners use more pesticides than farmers do. This causes undue exposure to the user and increased pollution.

• Farmers and commercial pesticide applicators are required to attend educational workshops on the proper use of pesticides, while homeowners have no such training and often do not follow label instructions. Yet many of the materials they use contain the same ingredients.

• People often spray unnecessarily and excessively because they simply are afraid of "bugs." "Some surveys have shown that peoples' top three fears are public speaking, bugs and death," Garling says. "Increased understanding of insects and their behavior can reduce fear and unnecessary pesticide use."

Although the Bugmobile! is now on the road, the car's renovation still is in progress, and related educational materials still are being developed. "Currently we are operating with seed money from the EPA," says Garling. "Sponsors are needed to make the Bugmobile! live up to its full potential."

If you would like to host the Bugmobile! at your school or event, or would be interested in becoming a sponsor, contact Ed Rajotte, Penn State IPM coordinator, or Lyn Garling at 814-865-1895.

Integrated pest management (IPM) aims to control pests -- such as insects, diseases, weeds and animals -- by combining physical, biological and chemical tactics that are safe, profitable and environmentally compatible. The Pennsylvania IPM program is a collaboration between the Pennsylvania State University and the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture designed to promote integrated pest management in both agricultural and nonagricultural situations. For more information, call 814-865-2839 or visit the program's Web site at http://paipm.cas.psu.edu.

###

EDITORS: For more information, contact Lyn Garling at 814-865-2839.

Contacts: Chuck Gill cdg5@psu.edu 814-863-2713 814-865-1068 fax

Kristie Auman-Bauer kma147@psu.edu 814-865-2839