BOSTON, Mass. — GreenHow Pest Management recently earned Green Shield Certification for its entire pest management division, becoming the third company to offer 100% Green Shield Certified services and the 20th company to offer certified services nationwide.

The credential is offered by the independent, non-profit IPM Institute of North America, which verifies company performance using a rigorous, on-site evaluation that examines 63 separate aspects of the pest control service.

GreenHow is committed to the principles of Integrated Pest Management, or IPM. "Our IPM approach is Green Pest Control, utilizing exclusion, sanitation, corrective measures, followed by targeted low impact treatments that are usually sealed up or in inaccessible cracks crevices or voids," said Lauren Greenhow, general manager. Greenhow's "green" approach uses inspection, monitoring and proper identification to determine the root cause of pest problems and find a solution.

"Integrated Pest Management works best as a collaboration between the service provider and the client," according to Dr. Thomas Green, president of the non profit IPM Institute of North America. Dr. Green completed the required Green Shield Certified site evaluation. "Pest control providers are required to diagnose infestations rather than react to them with treatments. By determining why a problem is occurring and solving it, rather than relying on potentially dangerous chemical measures, is how problems are permanently resolved. GreenHow Pest Management follows protocols approved by our program that encourage the resolution of problems at their root."