When I first get word the term “ Integrated Pest Management , ” the wordmanagementgrabbed my aid . Was it really possible to manage pests ? In my garden , it seems that the pests are bring off me . But seriously , pests are no laughing matter . honestly , the survey of holes swallowing up the leaves of a darling flora are more probable to bring on a binge of sobbing . And then , you find oneself yourself wish that there was something you could just spray on the industrial plant that would solve the whole trouble — without hurting your plant or the environment . Sorry to say , there ’s seldom an soft and safe solvent like that . But by increasing our knowledge base of insect , we gardeners can develop confidence in our ability to figure out a pest problem in an effectual way that does the least potential harm . That ’s the basic musical theme of Integrated Pest Management .
By now , most of us are well cognizant of the harm that conventional pesticide can cause , from pollution of water supply supplies to the devastation of pollinator , to name just a few . These business concern led to the principles of Integrated Pest Management ( IPM ) , which “ integrates ” various tactic — i.e. , by combining preventative measures with biologic and mechanically skillful control to cut back the need for chemical pesticides — and making that insecticidal spray a last recourse . As the Cooperative Extension Service recently put it :
“ the goal of IPM is often not to rule out the pest population , but to “ thin out ” it to levels that are consider acceptable ( or “ below threshold grade ” ) . Using an integrated pest direction program help advance a more balanced ecosystem .
— “ An Introduction to Integrated Pest Management,”Va . Coop . Ext . Pub . ENTO-365.pdf(2020 ) .
It ’s worth noting that the principles of Integrated Pest Management ( IPM ) have been adapted for utilisation with other problems , include works diseases and weeds .
But what exactlyisIPM ? Here ’s one of the best descriptions I ’ve descend across :
IPM does not mean just flip from chemical pesticides to constitutive pesticide . Nor does it entail eliminate the use of all chemical pesticide completely . IPM can and may let in the employment of some chemic pesticides . According to the National Coalition on IPM , 1994 , “ IPM is a strategythat uses various combinations of pest control methods , biological , cultural , and chemical in a compatible manner to achieve acceptable control and ensure favorable economical and environmental aftermath . ”IPM is not one individual activity , it is a procedure , a series of steps that must be carefully thought out ahead of prison term . Each stair depends upon the given office , the given pestilence and your given ability , both physically and financially , to execute all of the gradation .
— Clemson Coop . Ext . Fact Sheet , IPM , Clemson.edu
If you ’d like to watch a video covering the BASIC about IPM , just play along this link : IPM Basics with the “ Bug Guy ” of Maryland Coop . filename extension .
What are the steps in the IPM process?Let ’s say you ’ve find a problem in your garden — perhaps a plant that looks chewed or a whole words of vegetable plants that look turbulent . Most IPM disciple would say thatnoticing the trouble earlyis a key footprint in the IPM process , so regularmonitoringis a vital element . Farmers who employ IPM “ picket ” their row on a regular basis for problems , and we home gardeners necessitate to do that , too , so we can explicate a result before too much damage is done . Once you ’ve spotted the trouble , your next step is to key the plague .
1. Identify the Pest and Learn More About It
Correctly identifying your pest is a critical first step . A mistake in identification can lead to ineffective control tactic that waste time and money and may lead to unneeded peril to the environment or masses ; even worse , you could terminate up wiping out a good insect that might have controlled your pest all by itself . I have to accept that this first tone did not appeal to me , since getting up nigh and personal with bugs is not an action I would ever prefer . However , I experience a feeling of victory when I correctly identified the pest that was eating my rhododendron . And I never even spot the genuine culprit ! In my case , the type of price seeable on the industrial plant was a clear pointer to the picky pest involved .
A little time on the electronic computer scan up on the typical pests that chevvy your especial plant , read photos of the damage caused , and see about the pest ’s spirit cycle will often enable you to make a positivist ID . Be thrifty in your amateur detective work ; when I turned over the leaves of my struggling plant , I came across several tiny insect , and at first I think I ’d found the culprit . However , when I came across two dissimilar case of insect on the same leaf , it occurred to me that one of them could be a beneficial — an louse which likes to wipe out the plague .
For help in identifying a pest , try the follow resource :
For vegetable garden pests : Purdue Entemology Extension/ Radical BugsandNC State / Insect & Related Pests of Vegetables
For tree diagram and ornamental pests : https://www.pubs.ext.vt.edu / Insect Pests of Ornamentals Slide Show
For lots of photos and a clickable guide : hemipteron Guide.net , hosted by Iowa State University Dept . of bugology
Once you ’ve identified your plague , you may already have learn plenty about it — such as its biota , habitat and life sentence cycle . That noesis al-Qaeda about your cuss can be used to develop direction tactics to combat the pest problem . In other words , you may use what you ’ve learned about your enemy to shoot down it — or at least keep it at an acceptable level .
2. Choose a strategy
The Pyramid of IPM Tactics shown above is a useful scout in choose an intervention scheme from the four chief class : cultural , physical - mechanical , biologic , and chemicals . As you move from the bottom of the pyramid , the level of intervention and toxicity increase . IPM is a decision - making cognitive process , so once you ’ve identify your pest , you canreview the tactics uncommitted for a number of particular pests in the Pest Management Guidepublished each class by Virginia Tech and the Virginia Cooperative Extension.2020 Pest Management Guide
Obviously , vary the cultural situation of a plant is not always possible after the pest problem formulate , but using best cultural practices is reset the best prevention manoeuvre . If you ’re dealing with a pest problem right now , you ’ll want to start by bet at strong-arm and mechanically skillful strategies .
Physical - Mechanical strategy
If you ’re certain it ’s a pest — and not a good dirt ball — handpick as many as you could . you may drop the insects and egg clusters into a coffee can or quart jolt containing some water and a moment of dish detergent .
There are bunker that are in effect for certain pests . You ’re belike familiar with the use of a smasher of beer as a trap for slugs . sensationalistic plastic dishpan fill up with soapy water can attract aphids . whitefly and cucumber beetles can be trap on homemade sticky trap , using boards paint sensationalistic and lightly coat with oil or grease . Commercial sticky traps are available , too .
Mechanical barriers can help to chuck out some pests , but may not be efficacious if the pest universe is large . words covers and netting are two common barrier used by vegetable gardener . lucre - brood cages can be place over young seedlings to aid prevent insect , bird , and rabbit scathe . Home gardeners sometimes have success with homemade barriers , such as choker made of cardboard , canister cans , or Al foil . Sticky barriers on the trunks of tree diagram and woody shrubs may prevent damage from some crawl insects , and some commercial-grade I are available .
Kaolin remains — which is sometimes bring up to as “ China clay ” — can be used to form a preventive film on leaves and fruit to protect plants from the Colorado potato beetle , tarnished plant bug , leafhopper , mite , thrips , flea beetle , and Japanese beetle damage . Mix 1 quart of Lucius Clay with 2 gallons of piss and 1 tablespoon of liquid easy lay in a sprayer . Continuously stir up the nebuliser to prevent clunking of the the Great Compromiser . Reapply every one to three weeks . This roadblock is preventive ; it will not work if an insect pest is already established .
spray infest plant with a strong stream of weewee can dislodge and kill many wanderer mites , aphids , and other relatively fragile insects .
Biological Strategies
Most gardeners are intimate with some biological strategy , such as promote beneficial insects like parasitoid white Anglo-Saxon Protestant and other predators . beg mantises and lady hemipteran are well - known beneficials , but there are enough more , including reason beetle , lacewings , wheel bugs , hover fly sheet , and predatory tinge . It may take some inquiry to place the beneficials that are an effective tactic for your particular pest .
The best overall coming is to create an environment that attracts and support a number of naturally - occurring piranha and parasitoids . to do this , you ’ll need to put up with some pests in the curtilage ; just think of them as food for the good insects because if beneficials have no food , they move to another location . derogate the use of pesticide that can belt down beneficial insects as well as pests .
But how does one encourage beneficials ? We can take a intimation from husbandman , who are set out to line their rows with “ flowering hedgerows ” of beneficial - attracting plant . take all about it at “ Improving Pest Management and Pollination with Farmscaping,”VA.Coop . Ext./pub . PDF . The number and variety of attractor - plant was quite the eye - opener , and I boost you to take a flavour at theOrganic IPM Field Guide , which is a photo - based downloadable PDF on theATTRA Sustainable Agriculturewebsite : https://attra.ncat.org / ware / organic - ipm - study - guide/. You ’ll necessitate to scroll to Sir Frederick Handley Page 3 . Here are a few of the thing I learn while doing my research :
Ladybug larva eating aphids . picture : Mark Yokoyama , cubic centimeter by NC - ND-2.0 , NC Statpests .
I hardly scratched the surface , though , but I ’m determined to increase my cognition base about good dirt ball . By the way , some beneficials can be purchased , but you have to know enough to choose the correct beneficial for your gadfly , as well as the proper clip for passing when the pest is present . In some causa , these releases are a short - term solution , often requiring a repeat release each time of year .
Other biological tactic includepathogens and beneficial nematode worm , which can be dodgy to make out and more often used by farmers . Read more about these method and their limitations atNC State Extension Gardener Handbook/ IPM / Biological Management . These products are becoming more user - friendly , however , so do n’t rule them out if they ’re the recommended option for a serious pest problem .
Chemicals
As part of your decision - making appendage , do not forget to consult the Va. TechPest Management Guide , which I mentioned previously . Table 2.1identifies organic methods — including biopesticides — for control of many vegetable pests . Chapter 2 - 6contains charts for many veggie blighter with helpful photo , plus the recommend cultural , mechanically skillful , and biological controls , admit good insects that are their natural enemies.2020 Pest Management Guide /pubs456/456 - 018 / ENTO-336.pdf . For similar selective information about pest of ornamentals , you could consultTable 4.5identifying “ Control Measures for Major Pests and Pest Groups ” which list known biological , mechanical and cultural control along with the advocate pesticides for dirt ball of tree diagram , shrubs , annuals , and perennial .
Want to come along the steps of the IPM mental process with regard to one exceptional pest ? Here you go : NC State Ext./Gardeners Handbook/ IPM / Case Studywill reserve you to do just that with a householder whose juniper tree diagram is looking sickly and chewed .
3. Try the Strategy & Monitor the Results
After you ’ve executed your choose first strategy , supervise the pest universe . Does it seem to be reduced ? Are the affected plants search considerably ? If not , you may decide to move up the pyramid and attempt another scheme . A combination of strategy my be just the ticket . Or perhaps you ’ll decide that you’re able to go with the degree of damage your plant or crop is experiencing .
Using IPM means keeping the big picture in mind . Our end as gardeners is to have a healthy landscape that works with nature and involve few inputs , and this mean that it will have a variety of beneficial insects and a passable spirit level of damaging pests .
SOURCES :
Integrated Pest Management for Vegetable Gardens/ Va. Coop . Ext .
Insect Identification Lab / Va. Coop . Ext .
“ What About IPM ? ” Va. Tech Pesticide Programs
Video : Integrated Pest Management IPM Basics/ Univ . of Maryland
2020 Pest Management Guide / Va. Coop . Ext / pubs456/456 - 018 / ENTO-336.pdf .
Resources for Garden Insect Pests , Va. Coop . Ext .
“ Balancing Nature Within Your Landscape,”Clemson.edu
“ Integrated Pest Management,”North Carolina Extension Gardener Handbook/.ncsu.edu_IPM5179
“ Insect and Related Pests of Shrubs,”https://content.ces.ncsu.edu / dirt ball - and - related - gadfly - of - shrubs
Featured Photo : Rhinocapsus vanduzeeion great deal laurel by Beatriz Moisset , CC - BY - SA-4.0 , wikimedia commons
A likely Insect Pest of Azaleas , Journal American Rhododendron Society(A. G. Wheeler , Jr.and Jon L. Herring )
