Integrated Pest Management, that sounds fancy and confusing. So what is it? It is a way of dealing with pests within an area that involves more that just using pesticides (herbicides, fungicides, insecticides, etc.) Integrated Pest Management involves many different methods of controlling pests.
When we think about controlling a pest within a landscape, many times it is thought to just treat the problem with chemicals. Chemicals are an option, however, there are times that other options are available to control the problem. Treating the lawn with things like aeration, changing the time the lawn is watered, the amount of water, the mowing height, etc. are all things that can be done to help fight off a pest without using chemicals.
Now you may be thinking that Integrated Pest Management is anti-chemical, it is not. However, it does stress creating a healthy plant, and then using all of the tools available, including chemicals if absolutely needed, to treat any problems that arise.
Integrated Pest Management is something that we use here at Harkes Landscape Management, LLC. We work on integrating multiple ways to manage the pests. We are always striving to create a healthy lawn and landscape for our customers.