Successful integrated pest management (IPM) includes less or non-toxic home landscape and garden care. IPM focuses on identifying the conditions causing pest problems, changing the conditions to discourage recurrences, and selecting controls that minimize health and environmental risks. Speak with your landscape or nursery professional about IPM and see the following Resources section for IPM references.

Plant selection ­ Select plants that are well adapted to Davis, including natives and disease resistant varieties.

Plant health ­ Provide the proper amount of food, drainage, light, and water to reduce pest related problems.

Garden hygiene ­ Remove pests' hiding places (leaf piles, animal wastes, rotting fruit, standing water).

Create barriers and try traps ­ Try netting or plastic covers for plants. Sticky barriers prevent insect movement. Try sticky or beer-Þlled traps.

BeneÞcial insects and others ­ BeneÞcials eat pests. Examples are þower þies, honeybees, lacewings, ladybugs, spiders, parasitic wasps, and birds. Encourage beneÞcials with þowering plants (food source) and plant variety (adequate cover). Some beneficials can be purchased from retailers and mail order firms.

Physical removal ­ Pull weeds and remove pests by hand. Try a hard spray of water to knock insects from leaves.

Botanical pesticides ­ These are derived from plants. Many are less toxic than most conventional chemical pesticides.