The days of indiscriminately spraying when we see a bug are gone.  Not only are the chemicals potentially damaging to us, they kill many of the good insects that help our garden. To protect our plants and our environment we need Integrated Pest Management (IPM), which is a holistic and sustainable approach to plant health.  

IPM:

• Follows Best Management Practices (proper watering, clean conditions, crop rotation, adequate fertilization, weeding, etc.) to maintain a healthy environment for crops 
• Requires monitoring (watching and/or recording the plants' health) to notice any pests, diseases, or deficiencies in the early stages when they are easier to treat
• Assesses level of injury from pest or disease before deciding to take action.  If pests or diseases are not damaging and remain below threshold levels, then no action is taken.  This saves money and time when compared to the typical approach of spraying chemicals whenever an insect or disease is spotted
• Uses mechanical methods (handpicking, shaking off, spraying off) as the first line of defense against pests
• Uses biological methods (predatory insects, beneficial fungi, beneficial worms, domestic fowl, etc.) when possible to reduce pest populations
• Properly and safely uses pesticides like Safer, fungicides, and herbicides as a last resort to control severe infestations.

Why it is important to get rid of insect pests quickly

1- Insect pests can damage and destroy leaves, flowers, and fruits

2- Pests multiply fast and at infestation levtempels can kill entire plants

3- Insects pests can spread deadly plant diseases, like lily mosaic virus and cucumber mosaic virus

Prevention

1- start with healthy plants.  Select vigorous varieties and inspect thoroughly before buying

2- good gardening practices.  Provide appropriate sun, water, soil, spacing, and air circulation

3- interplant insect pests repellants, like marigolds, nasturtiums, dill [demo of repellant plants]

How to tell a bag bug from a good bug

1- Location.  Bad bugs like to hide underneath leaves during the day  (photo of aphids underneath leaf at http://www.wemoss.org/images/2008_awards/worst_pest/aphids_under_nasturtitum.jpg)

2- Appearance.  Good bugs generally have big mandibles and sharp claws to catch and eat bad bugs, which typically have sucking (mosquitos, aphids) or small chewing (caterpillars) mouthparts

3- Action.  Bad bugs eat plants.  Watch for damage leaves or direct feeding.

How to stop the pests once you have them - for every garden problem there is a natural and organic solution

Mechanical Methods:

1- knock them off (aphids, caterpillars) with a water hose (photo of aphid at http://www.biobest.be/v1/images/plagen/pMyzus.jpg) 

2- vacuum them off (young grasshoppers) with a strong wet/dry vac

3- put sturdy gloves (like Foxgloves and/or West County Gloves) on and start smashing

Biological Control - using good nature to combat the baddies:

1- ladybugs are great for aphids, mites, and other small pests. Release ladybugs underneath the plant that has the pests in the evening.  

2- praying mantises are indiscriminate killers, eating any large insect whether friend or foe

3- parasitic wasps lay eggs inside caterpillars and some ants as the young wasp hatch they eat out the pest from the inside, like "Aliens"  (photos at http://www.wemoss.org/images/jul07/kitchen_gardening/tomato/hornworm_wasp_eggs2.jpg and http://www.wemoss.org/images/jul07/kitchen_gardening/tomato/hornworm_parasitized.jpg)

Chemicals are a last resort  used only for big outbreaks or serious pests, like thrips

1- choose Safer and other organic products to limit your exposure to toxins

2- wear gloves and masks then spray on a dry day when there is little to no breeze 

3- spray the undersides as well as tops of leaves

Monitoring

After stopping pests, continue to monitor and suppress any comebacks

Enjoy the wildlife and docu-dramas right outside your door.  You don't need to kill every bug, but for the sake of your garden, keep them in check.

Related websites

 http://garden.org/pestlibrary/

http://www.saferbrand.com/advice/organic-gardening/organic-pest-control 

http://garden.org/urbangardening/index.php?page=june_grasshoppers 

http://garden.org/pestlibrary/bugs.php?q=show&id=1622 

http://www.wemoss.org/profiles/thrips/index.html 

http://www.chicagobotanic.org/plantinfo/pest/index.php, 

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