Article
Prevention of Landscape Problems
By Joey Reynolds
The best way to prevent landscape problems, is to stop them before they start. IPM - Integrated Pest Management - is a good practice for professional landscapers and homeowners alike. Understanding how to manage pests and disease, and choosing the best methods in situations is Integtrated Pest Management. IPM can be used for insects, mites, weeds, plant diseases and animals.
The first step in IPM is using the best gardening practices. Next is to decide if a pest or disease is causing enough damage to warrant control. If it is, then you need to decide what controls to use.
Using the best gardening practices are irrigation, crop rotation, garden sanitation, soil aeration, mulching, tilling, and purchasing disease and pest-resistant plants. You need to know the cultural and growing requirements for your plants.
Making a decision on how much damage is acceptable with your plants is called 'establishing a threshold'. The factors in establishing a threshold are the amount of damage that can be tolerated, the pest population size required to cause significant damage, the plants stage of development, the vigor (health) of the threatened plants, and the life cycle and habits of the pest.
The amount of damage that can be tolerated depends on the plant and the gardener. To establish your threshold, you need to observe your garden daily. You need to decide if the cure could be worse than the problem. You need to identify the cause of the problem, then decide what controls are best. You also need to do this at the right time. Catching problems before they happen or in their early stages is important. If too much damage has occurred, you might be too late to stop it. When applying chemical controls, such as pesticides, herbicides or fungicides; be sure and read the instructions thoroughly and apply as directed. There are other control options besides chemical controls.
There are cultural and mechanical controls, then there are biological controls. Keeping plants healthy is the first line of defense against pests and disease. Some cultural and mechanical controls are hand-removal, screens and barriers, trapping, and syringing. Pests like Japanese beetles can be removed by hand early in the morning, before they are active. Floating row covers and netting make good barriers against pests. Putting gravel around plants that are tempting to slugs and snails will help deter them. Using a hose on plants can wash-off aphids or spider mites. Biological controls would be using beneficial insects to control pests. Encouraging ladybugs or praying mantis to the garden is good, as they will eat the pests. To encourage them, grow plants that they like. Birds and bats can also help keep insects under control. Lastly, chemical controls, there are two types - organic and non-organic.