What is Integrated Pest Management?

Integrated Pest Management, or IPM, is represented by a pest (insect, weed, disease, vertebrate, etc.) management system that employs one or more non-chemical or least toxic control methods to lower a pest population to a tolerable level. IPM is designed to provide long-term management of pests, not the short-term elimination of them. Examples of some control strategies one might employ in an IPM plan include

• Mechanical Control - Use of traps, screens, nets, tar-paper discs, and sticky paper to serve as physical barriers to pest entry/attack.

• Cultural Control - Crop rotation, cultivation, proper site selection, use of native plant species, and early/late harvesting represent methods of cultural control.

• Sanitation - Clean up and removal of pest food sources and harborages and removal of the pests themselves represent the use of sanitation methods to subdue pest populations.

• Chemical Control - The use of pesticides to control pests. Whenever possible, the least toxic chemical is used. Examples of least toxic chemicals include insecticidal soap, horticultural oil, Bacillus thuringiensis (Dipel), neem oil, and pyrethrins.

• Biological Control - Use of natural enemies to manage pest populations. Natural enemies can be
  • Predators, such as lady beetles, green lacewing larvae, spiders, fly larvae, damsel bugs, and predatory mites
  • Parasites, such as parasitic wasps and flies
  • Pathogens, such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, nematodes, and protozoa
  • Weed feeders, such as weevils, leaf beetles, caterpillars

  Employing biological control can involve the purchase and release of natural enemies into an area as well as the conservation and support of natural enemies already present.

How does IPM help minimize non-point source pollution?

Since IPM stresses less emphasis on traditional pesticide (insecticide, herbicide, fungicide, etc) use, one of the primary benefits of IPM to homeowners is the reduction in risk to humans in handling, storing, disposal, and application of pesticides. Less pesticide use and disposal by homeowners also means less pesticide to make its way into streets, storm drains, streams and eventually, into watersheds. In heavily populated urban and suburban areas even a small reduction in the use of pesticides by individual homeowners can have a significant impact on the reduction of pollutants that make their way into our waterways.

Integrated management approaches to insect, weed, and disease problems.

Following are links to sites that provide non-chemical, chemical, and least toxic approaches to managing insect, weed, and disease pest problems.

  Insect Pests

• Common Insect and Mite Pests of Vegetables; includes host-pest list and images (mostly black and white but some color photographs). Insect Identification Laboratory of Virginia Tech. Virginia Tech

• Structural insect pests; includes biting and stinging insects, and insect pests of food and fabric. Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville

• Landscape insect pests, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville

• Lawn insect pests, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville

• "Hortsense"; includes management options for insect pests of ornamentals, fruits, turf, and vegetables. Washington State University

  Weed Pests

• Weed identification sheets; includes color photographs and provides information on weed biology and control, Penn State University

• "Hortsense"; includes management options for weeds of ornamentals, fruits, turf, and vegetables. Washington State University

  Disease Pests

• Plant Pathology Fact Sheets; fact sheets for weeds of field crops, greenhouse plants, vegetables, ornamentals, fruits, turf, and small grains. University of Kentucky

• "Hortsense"; includes management options for disease pests of ornamentals, fruits, turf, and vegetables. Washington State University