Practical ways to control pests
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Q. I keep reading about integrated pest management and am looking for a succinct definition of that term. I read about it in different contexts, and I am a little confused about it.
A. Integrated pest management is a method of pest control that uses a variety of techniques to keep pest populations at tolerable levels. IPM is not organic gardening, but using IPM principles reduces pesticide use because it gives you tools other than pesticides to manage pest problems. I like to think of IPM as commonsense pest control. A more technical definition is that it is a way to manage pests in an environmentally and economically sound manner.
Sometimes I think IPM is a little easier for farmers and commercial producers to understand than it is for home gardeners. If a farmer knows that a given pest will reduce the value of his crop by $500, and it will cost him $300 to spray to control the pest, then the farmer will likely choose to spray. It is trickier for home gardeners because they are rarely totally dependent on their vegetable garden or fruit plants.
When we are talking about ornamental plants -- trees, shrubs and flowers -- it gets even harder. Again, a nurseryman or greenhouse grower will spray applications when damage from pests will reduce the value of his crop. Once that tree, shrub or flower is growing in your yard, it is more a matter of how much aesthetic damage you are willing to tolerate before you choose to spray.
IPM includes these pest control tools:
• Cultural controls such as making sure ornamental plants are suited to the place in your yard where you intend to plant them. All plants have certain preferences for sun or shade, amount of soil moisture, soil pH and fertility levels, and tolerance for wind or deicing salts. Whenever those requirements are not met, plants can be stressed and become more susceptible to insect and disease problems. Once chosen, plants should be planted and maintained properly.
For vegetable gardeners, cultural controls include routine crop management practices such as tilling (to expose overwintering insects); crop rotation and thinning overcrowded seedlings (to allow good air circulation).
• Mechanical controls such as excluding pests with floating row covers (Garden Blanket, Reemay) or picking insects off plants by hand.
First Published February 11, 2012 12:00 am
