By Amanda Rose Newton

Integrated pest management is by no means a new tactic, as it has been integral in agriculture and urban pest control for decades, and it is certainly something all gardeners can benefit from. This form of pest management works by utilizing many different types of controls, from simply removing pests and weeds by hand to adopting traditional practices such as crop rotation. This allows chemical controls to be used as a last resort, ensuring the productivity and diversity of your landscape that also happens to be inhospitable to pests.

IPM In Six Easy Steps

When you think about it, a pest is merely an organism you do not want. For the most part, this means plant-feeding bugs, weeds and disease-causing fungi and bacteria. All of us have different tolerances when it comes to pests, and a few bugs on a shrub might not cause alarm in a home gardener — but could be intolerable to a small farmer relying on crops for income. 

IPM allows you to design your own control program based on your unique needs in 6 easy steps.

1. Know Your Enemy — Proper ID is key! Knowing who or what you are dealing with allows you to select the right controls and tactics to help manage the problem. Different controls work best for different species, the landscape they are in and varying long term effects. 

2. Monitoring — This can be as easy as taking a stroll through your garden each evening. A simple walk around consistently allows you to get to know your space, and means you’ll be more likely to notice when things are not right. Engaging in this simple IPM practice before there is an issue and continuing after any issues are resolved is recommended for best results. I highly recommend writing numbers of pests seen and on what plants to determine trends season to season. Armed with this knowledge, you will be able to make confident pest control selections.

3. Establish Thresholds — How much damage is too much? When the survival of the plant is severely jeopardized by the presence of a pest, it is time to act. Different plants have different thresholds and knowing your plants and pests aids in making the best judgement.

4. Preventing Problems — Simple acts like practicing good sanitation (clean up those dropped starfruit and toss those old plumeria leaves), using resistant cultivars and creating habitat for natural enemies (that eat pests) all go a long way in creating a landscape that is not desirable to pests and pathogens. Always sterilize your tools between plants, make sure your compost/soil are free of weed seeds and purchase plants from a trusted source as a regular part of your IPM strategy. 

5. Control — If you find yourself at the point of needing to act, you are not limited to purchasing an expensive chemical insecticide, herbicide or fungicide. If you are concerned about maintaining the biodiversity, environmental integrity and health of your green space, the following options offer a sustainable alternative.

Predators in the garden: Believe it or not, your yard likely already has predators of many of the undesirable insects in your garden. Ladybugs, green lacewings, hoverflies and assassin bugs all feed voraciously on many soft-bodied pests such as mealybugs, whiteflies, scale and thrips. Learning what bugs are “good”  will also help ensure you do not accidentally take out your own personal aphid-eating machines.

Parasitoids: Wasps (and a few flies and beetles) have made a comfortable niche out of laying their eggs directly into a ready food source, caterpillars being the most common choice. Differing from parasites in that they kill their host eventually, proof they have been at work can be seen in mummified aphids or caterpillars with pupae on their backs.

Pathogens: Often referred to as biorational pesticides, these are generally beneficial pathogens or fungi that specifically target certain pests. Bacillus thurigiensis is a bacterium commonly used against the larval stage of insects such as caterpillars, grubs or mosquito larva. It only harms that developmental stage and is relatively safe for pets, people and the environment. It is commonly sold under the trade name “Bt” or “Thuricide.”

Chemical Controls: If you do find you must employ chemicals as a last resort, IPM programs suggest choosing the most specific, least toxic ones possible. Botanically-based options rely on plant extracts that happen to work as natural pesticides, including familiar products like neem oil (from neem seeds) and pyrethrin (from chrysanthemums). Keep in mind these are not specific, and will harm a broad range of pests, including predators and parasitoids!

Preventatives: You are probably noticing that IPM programs are designed to stop problems before they start. There are several fungicides, such as copper, that can be applied to certain plants at the beginning of the growing season. Often, this slows down the ability for fungi to make their move. Prevention is a critical factor in integrated pest control.  

6. Evaluate — This understated last step is the single most important. Integrated pest management does not stop when your problems are eliminated — it becomes an integral part of how you view your garden and influences the actions you take. Create a garden journal (digital or hand-written!) and record what you see season to season and year to year. You will be amazed at how useful a tool this is in determining what you plant, where you plant and what steps to take to best solve all your garden problems. Seeing what did or didn’t work last year will help shape your ever-evolving management plan to support your growing efforts and lead to the development of your own custom IPM strategies for continued success in the long haul.

Amanda Rose Newton holds degrees in Horticulture, Biochemistry, Entomology, and is currently finishing her PhD in STEM Education. Currently, she is a professor of Horticulture at Eastern Florida State College, Education Specialist at Rockledge Gardens, and all around insect enthusiast. When not working, she spends several weeks a year volunteering for USAIDs Farmer to Farmer program, promoting positive change in food security worldwide.