Key takeaways
- Conventional pest control is reactive; IPM is proactive. That mindset shift is the core of every other change you’ll make.
- The Four P’s frame the journey: Planning, Prevention, Patience, Perseverance.
- Biocontrol mixes predators (curative, eat the pests) and parasitoids (preventive, lay eggs in the pests).
- Lots of small releases beat one big release. Long-term establishment is rare — biocontrols are tools, not magic.
- The full IPM toolkit: biocontrols, soft pesticides, physical controls, plant health, trap-/banker-crops, education, and scouting.
The years pass and the perspective on biocontrol and integrated pest management matures. New ideas form. New tricks of the trade emerge — mostly from you, the user. This page is the updated view, the latest thoughts from years on the ground, with some juicy tidbits.
Mindset: Proactive vs Reactive
Many of the beliefs, protocols and cognizant thoughts that guide conventional growers in their operations must be thrown out the window when one wants to embrace biocontrol and IPM (or collectively, the Green Methods). The basic difference is simple:
- The conventional grower uses a reactive mindset — sees some bugs and gets some spray to kill them.
- The unconventional grower (us) uses a proactive mindset — takes action before the bugs are seen.
Biocontrol is not something that can work quickly and satisfy our basic need for instant gratification. Instant gratification has no place here.
The Four P’s
If a single framework carries you through the transition and beyond, it’s the Four P’s: Planning, Prevention, Patience, Perseverance. They’re also covered in depth on the Transition Part 3 page; here’s the refresh.
Planning
Brush up and prepare yourself. This is harder to do if it’s your first attempt at the Green Methods — there’s a lot to familiarize yourself with — but it does need to be done. Get those ducks all lined up straight.
Prevention
If this is your first year as a grower, accurate prevention will be difficult. You’ll have no records to rely on to determine what pests you’ll have and when you’ll have them. To properly prevent pests this early, talk to:
- Your cooperative extension people.
- Area growers (join a growers’ association so you can meet them).
- Your suppliers — seed, bug, plant.
Between these sources, you shouldn’t be blind-sided.
Patience
Give it time. You won’t become an expert overnight. Expect some tough times, setbacks and rough spots on the road to mastery. You’ll begin as an apprentice, progress to journeyman, and then become a master — but it won’t happen in one year, or even two.
Perseverance
Hand-in-hand with Patience. Get your butt kicked once, twice, three times — get up and keep fighting. Don’t give up. Others before you, people less brilliant than yourself, have made it work. You can too. It is possible — for the smallest grower in the world, and for the largest.
Available Tools
The Green Methods is not a one-pot wonder meal. It’s made up of several portions. Each portion or element, in its own right, is incomplete — but when served in concert, the Green Methods become whole and very satisfying.
The IPM Toolkit
- Biocontrols — predators & parasitoids, the largest element.
- Pesticides — biorational, soft, targeted, spot-treated.
- Physical controls — pinch, vacuum, wipe webs, screens, barriers.
- Plant health — the number-one secret of organic growers.
- Trap- & banker-crops — lure pests away or breed beneficials in the crop.
- Education — read, ask, brush up.
- Scouting — the cornerstone that ties it all together.
Biocontrols — Predators & Parasitoids
One of the largest elements is biocontrol: the utilization of natural enemies of pests. The commercially available natural enemies employed by growers are produced in insectaries. Nothing says you can’t use indigenous, wild natural enemies, but you have to invite them in and make a home for them. It’s easier to use insectary-produced good bugs — adequate numbers, on site, in a timely manner, before huge infestations take hold.
In this text, biocontrol is a collective term for two general types of insects or mites: predators and parasitoids.
Predators — Curative
Predators eat their prey (your pests) for a living. They typically respond to established pest populations. If you use predators outside of trying to establish a few in an outdoor area, you probably won’t be able to retain them in numbers suitable for control.
Examples: beetles, mites, certain true bugs, some flies and some midges. Predators won’t lick their plates clean — they don’t need the pests the way parasitoids do. They raise their young; they’re not on a mission to consume everything in the house.
Parasitoids — Preventive (and Sacrificial)
This is where parasitoids come in. Parasitoids are used preventively, before pests become established. Their use is, in a sense, sacrificial — but that’s okay. If we put parasitoids in an area, they’ll search high and low for signs of pests to save themselves and raise their young. They’ll move out beyond the structure (if outside conditions are favorable) and widen their circle of protection.
Examples: tiny, non-stinging mini-wasps and some flies. Nematodes (the good ones) are also parasitoids — they enter their hosts and destroy them — but nematodes aren’t usually used preventively because their travel ability is limited. Introduce them when pests are available in the suitable form.
Most parasitoids need the pests for reproduction — which is why they search so thoroughly. They’ll host-feed to sample the flavor of intended hosts, but they primarily eat pollen, nectar or honeydew (the latter being the sweet, sticky excrement of certain soft-bodied pests).
Strategy: Many Small Releases
During an active infestation, predator releases should be supplemented by parasitoid releases to tie up the loose ends. A typical employment strategy is to make lots of little releases over time — typically a lot more effective than single, inundative releases.
We’re not trying to restore balance and save the world. We’re just trying to get through the season without destroying the earth or killing anyone except the pests.
Biocontrols are tools. Long-term establishment is unlikely in most cases — even though it seems many folks want you to believe it will happen. The numbers thin over time. Mother Nature wants to thin your plant numbers (unusual plants in rows, July tropics in a January freeze) by introducing pests. We respond by introducing biocontrol agents to tip the scales the other way. Mother Nature responds by trying to thin our good-bug numbers. We re-introduce. It’s a never-ending negotiation.
Part 2 of 2 · click to continueThe rest of the toolkit — pesticides, physical, plant health, traps, education & scouting
Pesticides in IPM
Speaking of killing — some pesticides are a valuable tool to those partaking in the Green Methods. A very different approach is required, though.
The Typical (Bad) Approach
Typical spray implementation: the grower notices pests; the appropriate spray comes out of the locker and is used in the general area where the pests were seen. A period of time must pass before workers are allowed back in, then the effects are gauged. The spray is reapplied until all the pests are dead. An atypical approach — even less environmentally sensitive — would be to spray everything once a week or so. That borders on irresponsible (being nice). Neither is conducive to using biocontrols.
The IPM Approach
When biocontrols are being used, you must first determine which sprays can be used — many or most are toxic to the good bugs as well as the bad. Then the appropriate sprays — selected for their biorationality or compatibility — are employed in a very focused fashion. The goal: limit the spray used to lessen negative effects.
You change what is applied, how it’s done, and the general thinking surrounding such an act. With the Green Methods, spraying plants or sections or bays or structures isn’t the way it’s done. Spray the pests and only the pests, and only when and where needed.
This means you’ll need to know a lot about the pests you’re battling. This is where scouting and education come into play.
Physical Controls — In a Pinch
Ever hear someone refer to something being used in a pinch? Physical controls could be deemed as such — in fact, the pinch could be the thing used.
Pests can become resistant to pesticides. They can run or fly away from biocontrols. But let’s see them weasel out of a quick death by thumb and forefinger. It’ll make you feel good, too. Pinching pests works in certain circumstances. So does vacuuming up clouds of whiteflies. So does wiping away spider mite webs.
It goes further. Insect repellents and barriers like screens may also be seen as physical controls — they keep pests separated from plants and their guardian parasitoids. Two major limiting factors: your time and your imagination. The time is usually worth it. Just let your imagination guide you. But as the name suggests, it is physical — be prepared to get down in the trenches.
Plant Health — The #1 Organic Secret
This topic can get very involved — it is the number-one secret of organic growers. You take care of the plants and they’ll take care of themselves. Or, in the case of the really savvy organic growers, take care of the soil and the rest will happen naturally.
Healthy plants are resistant to most pests and diseases. Provide everything the plants will need in the soil, maintain this, and everything else should fall into place with very little input or intervention on your part. The plants will blend into the landscape. The pests won’t see them as the sore thumbs they might otherwise be — even if they’re unusual plants in rows, or July tropics during a January freeze.
Be careful not to over-manipulate. Try to keep it natural and healthy.
Trap- & Banker-Crops
Bugs love plants — good bugs as well as bad. When we look through the eyes of bugs, we still fail to see as they do. They see plants. More specifically, they see the plants we’re trying to grow for a living. What we don’t see is what messes things up: diversity is missing from the greenhouse (this problem affects gardens less so). Pollen and nectar are a necessity. So is food and water and shelter.
Certain crops nearby will harbor all sorts of bugs. Let them — better there than in your cash crop.
Trap-Crops — Lure Them Away
Trap-crops are full of flowering diversity. They allow a peripheral “vacation spot” for all your bugs to enjoy — where they can be seen and monitored so they don’t cause mischief. Plant them near your crop area.
Banker-Crops — Beneficials Inside the Cash Crop
Banker-crops, on the other hand, are integral to the cash crop — planted amongst it. They tend to be a monoculture, geared more toward your good bugs. Almost like a mini-insectary: they harbor certain pests for the purpose of kicking the reproduction of your good bugs into high gear.
Education
Read everything all the time. Ask everyone about anything. Use your suppliers, your peers, even your competitors to get information. The more you know, the less you’ll be surprised.
Learn more about growing. Brush up on plant diseases. Educate yourself about critters. Know soils. Beef up your plant-health improvement skills. Most importantly, develop some living resources from which you can draw information. Learn who you can turn to — then don’t hesitate to do so. Start with us if you wish; we’ve dedicated ourselves to your quest.
Scouting — The Cornerstone
This has to be the single most important aspect of growing. And it has nothing to do with how you’ll go about mitigating your pests. It has to do with knowing what the heck is going on in your garden, greenhouse, nursery, field or interiorscape.
Granted, it’s even more critical when using the Green Methods — you’re supposed to act proactively, not reactively (plus there are ordering deadlines for these highly perishable products) — but this is an essential practice no matter what you do.
There once was a grower who had a pretty good first year using biocontrols. He commented on the huge labor savings from using good bugs instead of the chemicals he’d used for years. But he complained that the savings were taken up by the time spent on his weekly scouting regimen. To him, scouting was new. We told him he should have been scouting all along. That was about seven years ago. He now scouts — realizing his time saved from spraying is still a savings.
For over 30 years, Green Methods has been a leader in the production and application of beneficial organisms used in biological pest control and integrated pest management programs.