The DL on IPM

By: Allison Grant, Content Creation Intern

https://www.planetnatural.com/integrated-pest-management/If you have ever tried to grow something in your garden, chances are you have dealt with pesky critters taking bites out of your harvest. The fastest solution is to turn to chemicals, but sometimes these harmful concoctions have you biting off more than you can chew. 
The overwhelming and never ending choices of pesticides on top of the risks associated with them can make way for future problems. The good news is that there is a more sustainable solution called Integrated Pest Management (IPM). This solution focuses on management rather than eradication. 

Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is all about monitoring, planning, prevention, and control. Not every animal or plant found within the vicinity of your garden is causing an issue. The pest must be identified before taking conscious steps to manage its population. IPM does not completely rule out the usage of chemicals. Instead, IPM encourages the combination of several lower-risk methods before turning to higher-risk chemical applications. The goal of IPM is to manage pest populations with traps, barriers, or natural methods to prevent pests from causing any problems. If the pest population is still out of control after taking these lower-risk initiatives, then chemical methods may be used.  Taking advantage of IPM strategies should allow for a healthy harvest, while simultaneously causing little damage to yourself and the environment. 

So how can you implement IPM in your garden? Here is a short list of the steps that you can take: 

1. Use mulch to prevent weeds from growing
2. Place traps throughout your garden
3. Construct netting and barriers around your garden beds to block out larger pests
4. Introduce natural predators 
5. Plant pest-resistant crops
6. Chemical pesticides in moderation and in conjunction with other strategies 

Integrated pest management requires trial and error. Not all of these suggestions will work for all gardens. Combining several of these strategies should yield the greatest results. Remember that these strategies are focused on the prevention and management of the pest population, not eradication.

Find out more about IPM at the following sources:
https://www.epa.gov/safepestcontrol/integrated-pest-management-ipm-principles
npic.orst.edu/pest/gardenipm.html
www.nifa.usda.gov/grants/programs/integrated-pest-management-program-ipm
​https://www.planetnatural.com/integrated-pest-management/