By Twinflower Wilkie, WSU Ferry County Extension Master Gardener
Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is the process of integrating pest management into the way you garden as a whole. This includes all your garden practices, from what you plant where, how and when you water, how you manage your soil, to when you plant and harvest. By integrating best practices into your vegetable garden, you will keep pests to a minimum without harming the environment. Pesticides, whether homemade, organic, or synthetic compounds, should only be used as a last resort and always in compliance with the instructions on the label.
Right Plant, Right Place, Right Time
A plant with the proper growing conditions will fight off pests more easily. Research what type of soils, water needs and climate various plants like. If you can’t provide the right conditions, plant something else. You might find that you can grow peas, for instance, as a spring crop but not as a fall crop in our region.
Fertilizer and Watering
Don’t over fertilize or overwater. Excess growth will be lanky and more susceptible to pests. However, a good strong spray of water on the undersides of leaves will dislodge aphids. Repeat as needed.
Screening
Floating row covers are easily used and removed.
Hand Removal
Potato bugs, slugs, and cabbage worms are at least reduced by hand picking. You might have to pick slugs by flashlight to be effective.
Barriers and Trapping
Place a board in the garden, then turn it over in the early morning and pick slugs and other pests from it. Put collars around susceptible plants to deter cutworms.
Sanitation
Clean, weed and mulch your garden to keep a better eye on the pests and give them less cover. Mow your lawn and keep it watered as a swath of grasshopper unfriendly conditions surrounding your garden.
Trap Crops
Dill can attract aphids before they move onto your kale. Squash borers will feast on larger squash plants and leave your cucumbers alone if you plant the squash first and give it a head start. Radishes can save your carrots from maggots. Remove the trap crop promptly when you see that the pests have moved to it, and before the pests eat up the trap crop and move back to the crop you are trying to save. Don’t throw the trap crop into the compost; bag it up in black plastic, tie it tightly and let it bake in the sun till the pests die. I don’t know any trap crop that will catch potato bugs- they like potatoes too well to go to anything else. Likewise, no trap crop will work for grasshoppers- they will eat everything.
Invite the Birds
Plant sunflowers, put up suet bars and birdhouses. Trees and shrubs are homes for birds, too. Birds can be pests, but they eat so many insects, especially grasshoppers, they are worth it.
Beneficial Insects
Identify bugs before eliminating; many are beneficial. Learn to tolerate a few pest bugs to lure beneficial insects to your garden. Store or catalog-bought beneficial insects may fly away. Attract local beneficials by planting pollen and nectar producing plants. Small flowered herbs like dill, bronze fennel and cilantro are especially attractive to beneficial wasps. Be sure to let some go to flower. Replant throughout the summer.
Before Using Any Commercial Pesticide
whether labeled organic or synthetic, read the label thoroughly and follow to the letter! Be especially careful to research any homemade remedies using products such as baking soda, dish detergent, or vinegar, found around your home. Many can cause harm when applied wrongly. Remember your pollinators and pest eating beneficials are susceptible to the same pesticides as the harmful insects.
For more information on Integrated Pest Management, visit WSU Extension’s Integrated Pest Management site.