What is Integrated Pest Management or IPM?
What is Integrated Pest Management or IPM?
Integrated Pest Management or IPM is a decision-making process that uses all necessary techniques to suppress pests effectively, economically and in an environmentally sound manner in order to sustain healthy landscapes.
The elements of IPM include:
- Identifying potential pest organisms (such as mosquitos)
- Monitoring pest and beneficial organism populations, pest damage, and environmental conditions
- Managing ecosystems to prevent organisms from becoming pests
- Managing pest populations using strategies that combine biological, cultural, mechanical, behavioural, and when necessary, chemical control.
IPM Practitioners Always:
- Focus their business on the promotion and implementation of cultural practices such as using optimum soil depth and quality, suitable turf varieties, over-seeding, proper mowing heights, watering, fertilizing, aeration, and de-thatching as components for maintaining healthy lawns and preventing pest problems
- Educate, encourage, and solicit the assistance of the property owner in ensuring that optimum cultural practices are followed
- Prepare all sites for proper application to ensure safety
- Document any pesticides used and inform customers
- Not apply any pesticides unnecessarily
- Apply properly timed treatments to maximize effectiveness. Monitor and document pest populations to anticipate when a treatment will be needed
- Not sell programs that are based on numerous pesticide applications
- Utilize spot treatment methods for the control of weeds and insects. Blanket applications are only used if warranted
- Support mandatory IPM certification for all employees
- Maintain a log of observations on customer’s lawns in support of a provincial pest monitoring database
- Offer a pesticide-free alternative to customers who choose not to use pesticides
- Apply pesticides only to target areas to deal with pests such as ticks, mosquitos, or gypsy moths.
- Implement buffer zones when necessary when treating adjacent to sensitive sites.
