Nature and the interaction of people and the earth is essential to life balance. Get too far from nature and you will find that you are unsettled and cranky. We need to stop now and then and go out into nature to reconnect and find our inner calm.

Those of us who are lucky enough to have some space for a garden can bring nature home. We can build our own little natural environment to enjoy whenever we want.

Whether you have a tree and flower garden or a vegetable garden, pests can be a problem and a hindrance to your full enjoyment of your outdoor space. You put a lot of time and money into your garden, and you don’t want to let the pests eat your investment in nature. But you are also concerned about the environment, as all of us should be.

There are so many little creatures in nature. They all have a place here and a job to do. Mass destruction is not really necessary in nearly every case. There will always be some pests in your landscape. Having bugs in our landscape is unavoidable and is even desirable as they all serve some function in nature. Is the pest causing some economic or lifestyle issues?  Then let’s try an integrated pest management approach.

What is integrated pest management, (also called IPM)?  The basic definition of IPM  according to University of California at Davis is: ₁“Integrated pest management (IPM) is an ecosystem-based strategy that focuses on long-term prevention of pests or their damage through a combination of techniques such as biological control, habitat manipulation, modification of cultural practices, and use of resistant varieties. Pesticides are used only after monitoring indicates they are needed according to established guidelines, and treatments are made with the goal of removing only the target organism. Pest control materials are selected and applied in a manner that minimizes risks to human health, beneficial and nontarget organisms, and the environment.” Or put more simply, using the least toxic control method that will get the job done and reduce the pest population to the lowest threshold that will produce the least amount of damage.

The use of resistant varieties is my first choice for reducing pest issues. Of course, this assumes that you are in on the planning of your natural space before it is installed. Planning is the first step in creating your outdoor environment that can thrive with little care in the space you have.  Do you have a sunny or shady spot? Is it windy? Exposed? What is the climate? How much space or light will the plants you have in mind require? All too often, people pick the plants they desire, not the plants that will do well in the space they have. It’s like saying I love that little fish! I’m gonna put him here right on my pillow where I can be near him all the time. Nope. Won’t work.

There are resistant varieties of plants that do not attract certain insects, or diseases in the conditions you have. Pick those varieties and plants that will work well there and avoid certain pest issues altogether.

You can’t really plan out all pests. So you have your natural space already AND you have pest issues. What do you do now? Well identification of your pest and understanding it’s biology and habitat is critical to control. What is it’s life cycle? Which parts of its cycle is damaging to your plants? What conditions does it thrive in? Know this and you are half way there to controlling the issue with the minimum of fuss.

Look at your cultural practices. Is the plant receiving the proper care? Does it need pruning? Are you watering enough or at the proper frequency? Is there enough sun? Perhaps the surrounding vegetation has become overgrown allowing too much shade or stagnant air patterns. Is the soil in good condition, not compacted or too wet or dry. Is the ph proper for optimum plant conditions? These are all things we can adjust to modify the conditions to improve the plant health. A healthy plant will naturally repel insects and disease.

Gophers and squirrels are notorious for liking just about every kind of plant. What do you do when they invade? Exclusion is often the answer for that. Pests like certain birds, rats and even some insects can be excluded from your garden by building walls, fences or  screens and structures.  There are so many possibilities depending on your situation. Traps work as well to trap and kill the intruders without chemical controls.

Then there is hand control. Got caterpillars? You can hand-pick them off. Not for the squeamish, obviously. And then there are traps and things like Tanglefoot which is a sticky substance that pests get stuck in.

Then you try biological controls, natural enemies and predators.  Determine the type of pest that you have. Pretty much every pest in nature has a natural enemy or the planet would be overrun with that pest.  Conditions in nature bring in the natural controls. In our artificial outdoor space, the natural controls are often out of whack. We need to supplement the environment with the natural controls. This might be anything from importing lady bugs to control aphids (aww..) to bringing in natural controls for snails and slugs  like toads and snakes. ( I didn’t say it would be pretty) or birds, beneficial wasps and even bacterial pathogens like Bacillus thuringiensis,  to control caterpillars .  There are so many kinds of natural predators to choose from.

The next step might be to apply a chemical control to bring the pest threshold down to manageable levels. My first step in any bug issue is to wash off the plant. Pure and simple a blast of water can do wonders! It washes the majority of pests off the plant where many will not make it back to the plant. Washing off the plant often reduces the conditions that attracted the pest in the first place. Take aphids. They attract ants. Both are undesirable. Washing the aphids off the plant will not only reduce the aphid population drastically, but will also wash off the honeydew the aphids produce. The honeydew is what attracts the ants. Two for one with plain water!

The very last step in integrated best management is chemical control. As a licensed pest control applicator, I do not often resort to chemical controls. When a chemical control is warranted due to severe plant damage, with potential loss of the plant or a high value plant in danger then I consider chemical controls. When chemical controls are used, always use the least toxic product that will get the job done. It’s the responsible way to protect our earth.

₁ http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/GENERAL/ipmdefinition.html