Integrated Pest Management

As troublesome as pests are, they are a big part of nature and play important roles in our ecosystem. Embracing this idea, Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is a strategy that aims to keep plant pests’ population low, rather than eradicating them completely. This is done through a combination of techniques that is environmentally friendly and affordable.

The Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Approach

1. Identify your pests
• Identifying pests correctly is the most important part of pest management. Different pests will need different management methods, so being specific is the most efficient way.
• Use our pest identifier tool and explore pest pages to learn about pests and their life cycles!
2. Monitor for pests
• Check your garden regularly for plant pests, ideally whenever you visit the garden.
• Plants that are overgrown, with distorted or holey leaves, discoloration, damaged stems, or slow growth might be harbouring pests! Look for them wherever something looks amiss.
3. Tolerance
• Strive for ecological balance rather than perfect aesthetics.
• It is generally not possible to have a garden completely free of pests without also affecting beneficial biodiversity, like pollinators.
4. Prevention
• The first line of pest control is to prevent the pest from becoming a threat.
• Keeping plants healthy, using hardscapes like netting, quarantining new plants, regular pest checks and general maintenance are good ways to prevent pests from taking over your garden.
5. Control
• There are various methods for controlling pests, including cultural, mechanical, biological and chemical.
• Chemical control should always be the last resort, as improper use of pesticides may cause damage to your health and the environment.
• Learn about different pest control methods, and how they should be used.