ASHS 2024 Conference

The US landscape industry comprises 632,000 businesses with >1 million employees in 2022. The most common service landscape service providers (LSPs) perform is pest management. Over the past 25 years, consumers have increasingly requested that LSPs use more holistic approaches to pest management, including nonchemical and less toxic chemical control methods. Integrated pest management (IPM), specifically scouting, may be useful for LSPs to manage pests more sustainably and market new services, such as biological control releases. Little published literature details LSP scouting practices or consumer acceptance of scouting services. The goal of this study was to determine if IPM-aware consumers were more likely to purchase a scouting program offered by a LSP. A third-party panel service distributed an online survey across the United States. The final sample included 928 usable responses. Data were analyzed using a binary logistic regression model. Fifty-seven percent of respondents reported having some knowledge or that they were very knowledgeable of IPM. Increased consumer knowledge of IPM increased purchase likelihood. Respondents who self-reported “some knowledge” (5.6%) and “very knowledgeable” (8.6%) of IPM were more likely to buy scouting services. Respondents 65 years of age and older were 13.1% less likely to purchase a scouting service, regardless of IPM knowledge level. Consumers open to purchasing a scouting program, may also be more willing to allow a LSP to use a combination of chemical and nonchemical methods to manage pests. Further research is needed to determine consumer willingness to pay for scouting programs as well as non-chemical treatment options offered by LSP.