Aphid Attack: Making Integrated Pest Management Education Engaging and Effective
Horticulture & Turfgrass
Wayne Hobbs
Environmental Horticulture Agent I
UF/IFAS Extension
Green Cove Springs
Abstract
APHID ATTACK: MAKING INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT EDUCATION ENTERTAINING AND EFFECTIVE
Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is a key part of environmental horticulture programming, with a focus on increasing effectiveness of pest control methods while decreasing negative environmental impacts. However, the concepts related to this process may be difficult to understand by youth and adult audiences. To address these issues, the “Aphid Attack” game was developed. Objectives: Increase knowledge and implementation of IPM practices through an innovative, game-based curriculum. Methods: “Aphid Attack” is a dice-based board game where players work to control the number of pests on their plant game boards at a reasonable level using a variety of methods including broad-spectrum pesticides, selective pesticides, cultural controls, and predatory insects. Each turn, dice are rolled to show how many aphids will be added to the player’s plant and they have the choice of either using a control or waiting. Each player has to keep their number of aphids under a set threshold and selectively choose controls to protect predatory insects which eat aphids each turn and keep pest pressure low. Results: Since its development in 2021, this game has been utilized to teach both adult and youth participants. In total, the game has been used as part of three workshops, reaching 22 adults and 7 youth participants. From these implementations, 100% of participants showed knowledge gain related to IPM. Participants also shared that the game was more effective than lecture-based instruction in teaching IPM principles. Impacts: 100% of adults shared an intent to implement IPM principles in their home and 100% of youth participants shared they would talk to their parents about IPM practices and encourage them to use them at home.
Authors: Wayne Hobbs
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Wayne Hobbs Environmental Horticulture Agent I, UF/IFAS Extension Clay County, Florida, 32043