Currently, there is no comprehensive educational resource to help Oregonians diagnose pest problems and determine effective, low-risk management strategies for homes, buildings, landscapes, natural areas, and other non-agricultural locations. 

Solve Pest Problems is a collaborative vision to address these pressing issues while engaging diverse stakeholders in the development of content and technology as well as marketing, outreach, and evaluation. Diversity, equity, and inclusion are central to this effort. 

The OSU Extension Service, along with an unprecedented range of agencies, organizations and businesses, have helped to develop and support Solve Pest Problems. Twelve of these stakeholder groups, including the Oregon Commission on Hispanic Affairs have sent letters of support to OSU administrators. 

Though unfunded, the Oregon Legislature proposed a bill in 2019 that would have provided $3 Million for Solve Pest Problems (Senate Bill 844). In 2019, we developed evaluation and marketing plans as well as example content. In 2020, we are testing the example content and validating our approach with intended users. Starting next year, we will begin development for 100+ pages of content focused on priority pests for Oregon. 

The goal is to launch a critical mass of content for the public in 2022. Marketing and evaluation efforts will also be launched at that time.

(2020)