Insect and disease control are important considerations in our gardens and landscapes.  Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is a strategy of pest management that utilizes all available control methods in a coordinated and compatible manner to achieve an acceptable level of pest control.  IPM strives to minimize the environmental impact of pesticides while taking full advantage of natural plant resistance to pests, optimum cultural conditions and naturally occurring beneficial insects.  Pest control can be approached using several techniques including:

1. Biological

2. Cultural practices

3. Mechanical

4. Chemical

Deciding which pest control method should be used, for example whether to use a cultural practice to lessen the effects of a disease problem or whether to use a biological approach, is based on an evaluation of the severity of the  pest problem, the amount of time required for the treatment to be effective and the likelihood of success of the treatment.  For example, a chemical application to control cedar-apple rust after an apple tree is infected and the leaves are covered with large spots, would not be effective since the initial infection occurred when the tree was budding out in early spring.

There are basically three philosophies in regards to pest control:

1.  Prevent the problem.

2.  Suppress the problem.

3.  Eradicate the problem.

The IPM philosophy incorporates the idea that for most pests there is some population level that can be tolerated without significant damage to the plant.  Moderate pest levels help maintain natural predators but obviously high pest populations are detrimental to the long-term health of the plant.  There is a point when too much damage is occurring and control measures are warranted;  this is called the action threshold.  IPM decision making relies on the observation of pest problems by the homeowner before the problem gets out of hand.  Frequent 'scouting' of the garden or landscape for potential pest problems is necessary to catch problems in their earliest stages.  This ensures the widest possible array of choices for control options, giving the homeowner time to pursue a cultural or biological control method before severe damage is done to the affected plants.  The homeowner's knowledge of potential problems in their landscape is a very valuable resource in effective scouting.

An IPM approach to landscaping or vegetable gardening begins before the plants are even in the ground- it begins with site selection or evaluation, site preparation and plant selection.

IPM Tips for New Landscapes

IPM Tips for Existing Landscapes