I frequently suggested to some friends to use in their garden few insecticides (especially if they have children) preferring approaches based on an integrated pest management (IPM)… and in the blog IPM in the south it has been reported that in several states of USA there are laws requiring that parents were notified when insecticides will be applied to a school building. Reducing the number of pesticide applications in schools, while still keeping the school pest-free keeps children from getting sick from both chemicals and allergens brought in by pests.
Why I think that IPM is interesting for agriculture and gardening? According to the summary of the Southern Region Integrated Pest Management Center it is important to remember that:
- not every insect is a pest insect;
- reducing the amount of pesticides you will save you money;
- you will never be able to completely annihilate every insect, try to manage them;
- use different methods at various times so that pest insects don’t have the opportunity to build up resistance;
- reduce the amount of chemicals that you use on your crops.
For instance, several studies comparing organic agriculture to conventional farming found that insect species were more balanced in organic farms. The chemical control of psr crop insects is not our unique choice!
