PRINCIPLES of PEST CONTROL

What is a PEST?

• Anything that competes, injures, spreads disease, or just annoys us

• Most organisms are not pests

Pest Categories

Continuous pest• Nearly always present

– Requires regular control

Pest Categories

Sporadic, migratory, or cyclical pest– Require control

occasionally

Pest Categories

Potential pest– Don’t require control under

normal circumstances

Pest Control Goals

Prevention• When the pest’s presence and

damage can be predicted

Pest Control Goals

Suppression• Reducing pest population to

an acceptable level

Pest Control Goals

Eradication• Not common in outdoor

conditions• Indoor is possible

Threshold

• Level of pest population that action should be taken to prevent harm

Threshold

Action threshold is based on visual damage or health

Threshold

Economic threshold is the level at which cost of harm (yield) exceeds cost of control

Pest Monitoring

Insects: trapping and scouting

Pest Monitoring

Weed: visual inspection• Timing emergence

Pest Monitoring

Disease: scouting symptoms and conditions

Integrated Pest Management (IPM)

Combining appropriate pest control tactics into a single plan

Integrated Pest Management (IPM)

Host resistance• Some species, and some

varieties of species, resist pests

Integrated Pest Management (IPM)

Host resistance• Repel pest:

chemicals produced naturally by plant

Integrated Pest Management (IPM)

Host resistance• Tolerance: grows vigorous

enough to overcome damage

Integrated Pest Management (IPM)

Host resistance

Physical: some characteristic makes it difficult for pest

• Pubescent leaf

Biological• Support predator populations

– Diverse planting– Native plants

Integrated Pest Management (IPM)

Biological• Release predators

Integrated Pest Management (IPM)

Biological• Pheromone traps

Integrated Pest Management (IPM)

Cultural : alter environment, host, or conditions

• Crop rotation

Integrated Pest Management (IPM)

Cultural : alter environment, host, or conditions

• Fertilization

Integrated Pest Management (IPM)

Cultural : alter environment, host, or conditions

• Pruning

Integrated Pest Management (IPM)

Mechanical• Physical controls

– Handpick

Integrated Pest Management (IPM)

Mechanical• Screens and barriers

Integrated Pest Management (IPM)

Sanitation• Removal of debris that harbors

pests• Diseased foliage

Integrated Pest Management (IPM)

Sanitation• Overwintering pests

Integrated Pest Management (IPM)

Chemical• Destroys, controls, or prevents

pests

Integrated Pest Management (IPM)

Chemical failure

• Bad timing• Wrong chemical• Wrong dosage

Chemical failure

Resistance• Pest populations develop

resistance to chemical• Occurs when the same

chemical is used• Rotate chemicals