IPM in gardens and landscapes

1. Integrated Pest Management in
Gardens and Landscapes
Rick Gibson
University of Arizona Cooperative
Extension, Pinal County

2. IPM Defined
• Science-based method of managing pests
• Uses a variety of safe, sustainable, and effective
tactics
• Not just for insect pests
• Weeds
• Diseases
• Vertebrates
• All constraints to good plant health
• How do we get our heads around all of that?

3. The Many Faces of IPM

4. Elements of IPM
• Natural Control
• Host-Plant Resistance
• Cultural Control
• Biological Control
• Physical-Mechanical Control
• Regulatory Control
• Chemical Control

5. Natural Control
Definition
• Long-term suppression of a
population by the total
environment
• Control pressures that are
naturally applied
• Physical factors vs biological
factors
• What would happen if we
did nothing?
Examples
• Unfavorable weather
conditions
• Soil texture
• Soil compaction
• Plant competition
• Natural population stresses
• Food plants available
• Predators and parasites

6. Host-Plant Resistance
Definition
• Resistance of plants to
attack or unwanted
influence
• Not a cure-all but definitely
a big help
• Important IPM component
• Some plants are completely
immune
• Other plants are highly
susceptible
Examples
• Oblonga citrus rootstock to
Verticillium wilt fungi
• Dicot insect pests generally
don’t bother monocot
plants
• Monocot insect pests don’t
generally bother dicot
plants
• Citrus resistance to Cotton
Root Rot

7. Cultural Control
Definition
• The use of cultural practices
to make the environment
less favorable for survival,
growth, or reproduction of
a particular pest
• Seldom spectacular
• May require repeated
applications
• Usually pretty cheap to do
Examples
• Modified planting dates
• Tillage
• Rotation of vegetables in a
garden
• Water management
• Sanitation
• Trap plants

8. Biological Control(Biocontrol)
Definition
• Reduction of pests using
living organisms, such as
predators, parasites, or
pathogens
• Naturally occurring effects
(natural control)
• Human applied or human-
influenced applications
(biocontrol)
Examples
• Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt.)
• Parasitic wasps
• Lacewing larvae
• Lady beetle adults and
larvae
• Assassin bugs
• Cattle, goats, and sheep
grazing off weedy plants

9. Physical-Mechanical Control
Definition
• Direct or indirect measures
that are directed against the
pest itself and not its
environment
• No resistance identified
• Disrupts its physiology
• Changes the environment to
the detriment of the insect,
weed, or disease organism
Examples
• Fly swatter
• Chopping hoe
• Shovel
• Hand removal of insects
• Barriers or excluders
• Shaking and jarring
• Bird netting
• Herding and/or trapping

10. Regulatory Control
Definition
• Prevention of entry and
establishment of foreign
plant and animal pests
• Eradication, containment,
or suppression of new
infestations
• Legal authority and
responsibility, USDA and
State of Arizona
Examples
• Ports of entry
• Government programs
• Sterile male techniques
(Screworm, SE US)
• Poison bait programs
(Mediterranean fruit fly, CA)
• Fire ant exclusion in nursery
stock

11. Chemical Control
Definition
• Using chemicals to control
pest populations
• Scheduled chemical
applications are tempting
but cause concerns
• Economy, speed, and need
for repeated applications vs
non-target effects, cost,
resistance, and hazard
Examples
• Insecticides
• Herbicides
• Fungicides

12. Other Considerations
We need to know:
• How to properly identify
pests (and non-pests)
• Pest name and biology
• Damage thresholds
• How many pests are
present? (Scouting)
• Control alternatives
• Did the solutions applied
actually work?
IPM pyramid

13. How to Get Started?
• Identify the problem
• Determine just how bad
it really is
• Create a plan for control
• Follow the plan
• Assess how we did
• Sometimes we do not
have to do anything

14. Puncturevine

15. Puncturevine
Pest biology
• Summer annual dicot
• Thrives in hot, dry conditions
• Seeds in a hard, thorned case
• Single taproot; vine grows low
to the ground
• Seeds may remain viable for
up to 5 years in soil
• Hairy leaves tend to shed
water, herbicides
Control options
• Hand removal, hoeing, etc,
before flowering
• Cut taproot below the
crown; remove and discard
• Mulching
• Stem and seed weevils
• Preemergent herbicides
• Post emergent herbicides
• The smaller the plant, the
easier to control

16. Other Annual Weeds

17. Other Annual Weeds
Pest Biology
• Winter vs summer annuals
• Seed dormancy
• Some seeds will live 100
years or more in the soil
• Monocot vs dicot
• Low growing or standing tall
• Seed dispersal techniques
• What is the tolerance?
• Understanding the
importance of the crown
Control options
• Get at them early and don’t
let up
• Don’t let seed accumulate
• Manage your water
• Cultural operations
• Mulching is a good tool
• Preemergents
• Contact sprays
• Translocated herbicides

18. Perennial Weeds

19. Perennial Weeds
Pest biology
• Bermudagrass
• Nutgrass
• Underground stems, seeds,
aboveground stems
• Top dieback does NOT mean
the plant is dead
Control options
• Prevention
• Don’t let it get started!
• Dig it out!
• Wear it out!
• Don’t give it a second
chance!
• Translocated herbicides

20. Aphids and Relatives

21. Aphids and Relatives
Pest biology
• Soft bodied insects
• Sucking mouthparts
• Eggs vs live birth
• Relatively short life span
• Vector plant diseases
• Large populations can do
significant damage
• Large populations tend to
crash
• Favorite target of predators
and parasites
Control options
• Biological control
• Food supply and diseases
• Time of year
• Strong stream of water and
persistence
• Insecticidal soaps
• Pyrethroids
• Malathion

22. Necrosis of Saguaro

23. Necrosis of Saguaro
Pest biology
• Decomposing soft rot
bacteria, Erwinia sp.
• Can be spread by moth
larvae, contaminated soil,
other diseased plants
• May be a result of over
watering
• Small, circular soft spots
that later turn black,
rupture and release bad
smelling fluids
Control options
• Small lesions may be
excavated by someone who
knows what they are doing
• Manage water carefully
• Watch for a callus or “boot”
formation
• Arms or other parts in
danger of falling should be
removed to protect people
and property

24. Water Mold Fungi

25. Water Mold Fungi
Pest biology
• Soil-inhabiting, one-celled,
fungus-like oomycete
• Loves wet conditions
• Suitable host, moist soil
encourages resting stage
germination
• Mobile spores flit through
the soil to the roots where
they can do much damage
Control options
• Good water management
critical
• Ensure good soil drainage
• Group plants according to
water needs
• Test soil using the “hand feel”
method to schedule irrigations
• Desert-adapted plants seem
more hearty than imported
plants

26. Orange Dog Caterpillar

27. Orange Dog Caterpillar
Pest biology
• Caterpillar of a swallow-
tailed butterfly
• Adults lay eggs on the tree
• Generally one generation
per year
• “Animated bird droppings”
• Chewing mouthpart
• Pupate and emerge into
adult butterfly stage
Control options
• Ignore and enjoy the
butterflies
• Heavy infestations on young
trees can be hand picked

28. Citrus Thrips

29. Citrus Thrips
Pest biology
• Small, cigar-shaped, tan
insects
• Find using “hand dusting”
technique
• Rasping mouthpart
• Crinkling and curling of
leaves
• Damage looks bad but
cosmetic only
Control options
• None

30. Citrus Foot Rot

31. Citrus Foot Rot
Pest biology
• Oomycetes of the root rot
group previously discussed
Control options
• Good water management
critical
• Ensure good soil drainage
• Group plants according to
water needs
• Remove infected bark down
to top brace roots
• Resistant root stock
• Copper sulfate (Bordeaux)

32. Citrus Greening Disease
• Asian Citrus Psyllid is
the vector
• Bacterial disease
• No cure!
• Regulatory control at
work
• Makes the fruit taste
like turpentine
• Not here yet so control
not needed at present

33. Agave Weevils

34. Agave Weevils
Pest biology
• Serious pest of large agaves
• Agave americana
• Adults, dull black, 1 inch long,
long curved snout in front
• No functional wings
• Adults active early April
through summer
• Adult feeding not a big deal
• Warning: eggs hatch
• One generation per year
• Symbiotic relationship
Control options
• Whole neighborhood has to
cooperate
• By the time symptoms appear
it is too late
• Timely removal of all plant
parts, including the base
• Early April application of
systemic insecticide
• Imidaclorprid, acephate
• Another application in late
May
• Do NOT treat agaves in bloom

35. Flat-Headed Woodborers

36. Flat-Headed Woodborers
Pest biology
• Larvae of beetles
• Attracted to dead or dying
wood
Control options
• Keep plants healthy by
providing good care
• Prune off dead, broken, or
diseased wood
• Use good pruning
techniques
• A drop of wood glue

37. Blacktail Jackrabbit

38. Blacktail Jackrabbit
Pest biology
• Little or no nest
• Young born with hair
• Quickly mobile
• Consume a large amount of
material
• Attack many residential
plants, including cacti
Control options
• Fencing
• Tree trunk guards
• Guard dogs
• Repellents
• Predators
• Trapping requires license
• Pesticides requires license

39. Cochineal Scale

40. Cochineal Scale
Pest biology
• Soft-bodied, flat, oval-
shaped, only on Opuntia
• Sucking mouthpart
• Crimson colored body fluids
• Crawler stage
• Stationary unless disturbed
• Carminic acid deters
predation by other insects
• White, fluffy covering
Control options
• Light populations usually do
no harm to the plant
• Prune off pads with the
most heavy infestation
• Blast off loose insects with a
strong stream of water
• Use a mild insecticidal soap
solution
• Last resort, commercial
insecticide with surfactant

41. What would be the Treatment
Threshold for these Insects?

42. In Summary
• Integrated Pest
Management (IPM) can
effectively be applied to
urban landscapes
• IPM benefits the property
owner as well as the
environment
• Uses a variety of control
methods
• Be sure to consider all
options before creating a
control program