Integrated Pest Management (IPM)

Integrated Pest Management (IPM)

UC advocates using a process called Integrated Pest Management (IPM) for dealing with all kinds of garden pests. The process provides a balanced approach between managing pests and caring for the environment. It starts with identifying which pests are present, how many there are, and what damage they’ve caused. Once that’s known, a decision can be made as to whether to take any action and, if so, what to do.  

A central tenet of IPM is that when action is taken, one should choose the least toxic path that will be effective. This does not mean pesticides will not be used, but only that they will be the last choice in progressing from least to most toxic solutions.

A complete description of the process is available from UC: What Is Integrated Pest Management?

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