Solve Pest Problems

The challenge was to organize and build a website that would present information about how to tackle potentially every kind of "pest" in the natural world.  From wasps to rats, and from dandelions to invasive blackberries.  It needed to cover insects, rodents, mammals, weeds, bushes, vines, trees, pesky neighbors (not really)... but basically everything. 

But this site is not simply about pest control, but rather, it presents quality information that is science-based about how to handle and make decisions about various pests, while limiting the impact to the environment. The site was a challenge of information architecture and design. Some pests are pretty basic, but others have a wide variety of subspecies and look-alikes.  Is that a yellow-jacket or one of the thousands of bee varieties?  How to organize and present such a vast array of information, in a visually interesting way, was a significant challenge. 

Solve Pest Problems is a collaborative effort between Oregon State University and funders and community partners. The vision for this information service is based on a shared project purpose. Community partners provide guidance through an advisory group.