Plant Health Care, often referred to as Integrated Pest Management, can be used to reduce the amount of chemical pesticides being introduced to the environment. A big factor of IPM is taking preventive measures such as monitoring plants, assessing pest damage, and choosing the appropriate response. Many different tactics can be employed with IPM such as cultural practices, biological agents, chemical pesticides, pest-resistant plant varieties, and installing physical barriers. At Donegan’s it is very important to us that we focus on natural alternative insect control as our first approach.

Why consider IPM when chemical pesticides can successfully control pests? Here are some reasons to go for a more balanced approach then just chemical treatment:

• Balanced Ecosystem
  The ecosystem, which is made up of living things and their environment, has a natural balance. In order to maintain that balance, the actions of a creature within the ecosystem impacts the other organisms in that system. When you introduce chemicals into the ecosystem that makes a huge impact on the balance, which can destroying certain species — often those we need like bees — while allowing other species — including the pests themselves sometimes — to dominate the system. If you go for a straight for a chemical treatment, it can destroy insects like the ladybird beetle or the lacewing larvae (which consume pests naturally), leaving few natural mechanisms in place to assist with pest control.

• Pesticides Don’t Always Work
  Chemical pesticides aren’t a guarantee. Pest can become resistant to pesticides and there are many documented cases of common lamb's-quarter, house flies, the Colorado potato beetle, the Indian meal moth, Norway rats, and the greenhouse whitefly building up a resistance to chemicals trying to destroy them. Pests can also be living in an area that a chemical treatment does not reach, gets washed away quickly, is applied at an infrequently or improperly, or is used at the wrong stage of the pest’s life.

• IPM Is Not Complicated
  While the terms and ideas might be new, implementing IPM is not hard. If you figure out the pest you are dealing with, the extent of the famage and what actions need to be taken you are already on the way to creating an IPM plan.

• Save Money
  Everyone wants to save money! And using an IPM can save help you avoid unnecessary expenses when it comes to pesticide use because you don’t need to pay for applications just because.