Integrated
Pest Management:
A sensible, knowledgeable approach to managing landscape pests
CLEMSON --
As you venture out
into your landscape this Spring and Summer, you probably realized that
you're not alone. Yes, it's a jungle out there. Like the
characters of Wizard of Oz trudging into the dark forest, you may be
chanting "Aphids and borers, and mites, oh my!" Sure, we share
our shrubs and trees with a wide assortment of insects, diseases,
viruses, and bacteria. Some of these pests are as fond of your
newly planted crapemyrtle as you are. Fortunately, some pests are
fodder for helpful, beneficial critters that feast on them, thereby
protecting our shrubs and trees.
When you
encounter pests in your
landscape, deal with them sensibly. Avoid the typical knee-jerk
response to apply a pesticide to vanquish the pest. After all, you may
end up killing beneficial insects and as the saying goes, "kill a
beneficial insect and you inherit its job." To manage pests this year,
follow a game plan that involves knowledge and common sense. It's
called Integrated Pest Management, or IPM for short. It's a
decision-making process that involves the following 4 components:
- Monitor your landscape for the presence of
harmful and beneficial
organisms. Inspect your shrubs and trees on a regular basis.
Examine them for signs and symptoms of pests. Generally, most
plants have few problems if they are planted in the right location and
receive proper care.
While
examining your plants for
problems, check them for beneficial insects--the arch enemies of insect
pests. Beneficial organisms consist of predators, parasites, and
diseases. Predators kill and eat their prey. Parasites live in or
on their prey, feeding on its tissues and eventually killing it.
Beneficial pathogens consist of a variety of viruses, fungi and
bacteria that naturally infect and kill harmful pests.
By
monitoring the garden and landscape,
you have more options for controlling pest problems when you detect
them early.
- Identify harmful and beneficial organisms. Determine
if the
pest has the potential to cause cosmetic or health damage. To
help you i.d. beneficial insects in your landscape, visit the Clemson
Entomology web site (http://entweb.clemson.edu/cuentres/eiis/index.htm)
and click on "Beneficials, Butterflies & More.
- Evaluate the extent of the pest problem and decide if pest
managementtactics are warranted. While it's difficult at times to
accept any kind of plant damage, some is just cosmetic and poses no
real harm to the plant.For example, fall webworms and gall-forming
insects are common pests that produce unsightly webs and galls, but do
not necessarily threaten the health of the plant.
Southern
pine beetles, on the other
hand, demand immediate action when a tree exhibits signs of an
infestation. Southern pine beetle-infested trees need to be
felled and removed quickly to suppress outbreaks that will afflict
nearby pines.
- Choose appropriate control measures. Try
cultural and
mechanical controls first. A cultural approach could be proper
watering and fertilizing to help shrubs and trees cope with or outgrow
the injury. Mechanical controls involve handpicking insects and
discarding them in a jar of soapy water, dislodging them from tree
branches with a strong spray of water from the hose, or pruning out
heavily infested or infected shoots.
Consider a
pesticide only as a last
resort: when pest levels have reached damaging levels and your
other tactics have not been successful. Use pesticides sparingly to
control the targeted pest. Before purchasing and using any
pesticide, read the label and follow all directions and precautions.
Keep in
mind that healthy landscapes
have a wide variety of beneficial creatures as well as a tolerable
levels of damaging critters. With IPM you work with Mother Nature
to maintain this balance while keeping harmful pests at bay.
Funds for
this project were provided by
the urban and Community Forestry grant assistance program administered
through the SC Forestry commission and funded by the USDA Forest
Service and the SC Nursery & Landscape Association.