...is IPM only for farmers...?

IPM. Those three little letters are the cornerstone of many large agricultural operations. Why? Because they help to ensure the health and security of agricultural crops.

So... what is IPM? IPM stands for "Integrated Pest Management" - a buzz phrase intended to convey instant understanding of the concept. It sounds grandiose, doesn't it? But YOU too, can undertake IPM, whether it's a large agricultural operation or your backyard garden. The principles essentially remain the same, even though it takes a great deal of co-ordinating when you have over 50,000 plants per acre. However, IPM is esier to implement across the plants in your back/front yard!

The key is the word "integrated" in IPM. Integration involves combining several strategies or methods into a whole. Think of it this way: rather than having an initial plan, then a fail-safe, and a sub-fail-safe plan, you are actually implementing several initial plans so you do not have to rely on fail-safe plans. IPM really should be called SPM - that is, "Synergistic Pest Management" - because each strategy you incorporate should be complimentary (synergistic) to each other.

The ultimate benefit of IPM (here, SPM) is that you have the opportunity to reduce your pesticide use. Properly implemented, your SPM plan may even help prevent disease and insect pests from darkening your yard again. If you have questions on how you could implement such a strategy for your yard/garden, let me know by posting your question to this post.