Integrated pest management, or IPM, is a way of thinking rather than a product. The University of California describes it as long-term prevention through a combination of methods, with pesticides used only when needed.
Picture it as a ladder you climb one rung at a time. At the bottom is prevention: healthy plants, the right conditions and quarantine for new arrivals. Next comes monitoring and identification, your weekly look-over and naming what you find. Then decide whether the problem is big enough to act on; a few aphids may be fine.
If action is needed, start gently. Change the conditions, such as watering less for fungus gnats. Remove pests by hand: wipe off scale, dab mealybugs, rinse aphids and mites off with a strong spray of water. Yellow sticky cards catch flying adults such as fungus gnats and whiteflies, though they will not clear the young stages on the plant.
Only then consider products, starting with contact options such as insecticidal soap or horticultural oil. Always follow the product label.
Whatever you choose, move the affected plant away from the others first, and repeat: eggs and young often survive one round, and soaps and oils have no lasting effect. Check again within a week and note the result.
Key points
- Prevent, monitor and identify before you treat.
- Start with cultural and mechanical controls.
- Use products last, and always follow the label.
Try this
Think of one pest you have had. Write down which rung of the ladder you started on, and what you might try first next time.
Check yourself
Read more in the reference
Sources
Marking a lesson done is kept on this device only.