The time to treat pest infestations and diseases in your landscape is before they occur. And early spring is a good time to start with a program of Integrated Pest Management.
What is Integrated Pest Management?
Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is a holistic approach to the long-term health of your plants. It’s a USDA-sponsored program designed to improve economic benefits in plant management while reducing human health risks and adverse environmental effects. It extends to all forms of pest management from insect damage to plant diseases in both agriculture and urban landscapes.
How Does Integrated Pest Management Work?
IPM programs are tailored to meet the needs of different growing environments. But whether in agriculture or landscaping, all programs have five components in common.
- Plant and Pest Identification
An IPM program starts by identifying plants and the insects and diseases that commonly affect them. Highly-trained staff properly identifies your plants and their pests to develop a program to best manage them. - Monitoring and Assessment
An IPM Plant Health Care program technician makes multiple visits to your property to check the health of your trees and shrubs. This allows for monitoring the progress and staying proactive in protecting your plants. - Damage Prevention
The main goal of any IPM Program in urban landscapes is to prevent damage to trees and shrubs. Programs are designed to make sure your plants have the proper water, nutrients and soil amendments for their ideal growth and overall health. Keeping your trees and shrubs healthy is the first step to preventing insect pest problems. - A Combination of Management Tools
IPM programs are designed to keep your trees and shrubs looking their best while using fewer pesticides. Donovan Arborists’ IPM Programs combine techniques to effectively manage pests while causing less damage to beneficial insects.
Putting Integrated Pest Management to Work for You
At Donovan Arborists we believe in being proactive in preventing insect infestations and disease outbreaks in our customer’s trees and shrubs. We understand that people have different views when it comes to the use of pesticides on their property. Together with your input, we develop a plan that determines the actions taken.
We ensure your landscape is healthy and that the direct environment around the plant is not stressed. Stress contributors (soil, water and nutrient levels) are effectively managed and kept in balance, reducing the risk of pest and disease infestation and the need for traditional pesticide use over time.
Paul Donovan is an International Society of Arboriculture Certified Arborist with over 21 years of experience working in the Colorado Front Range and Denver metro area. Donovan Arborists offers a complete landscape maintenance package as well as planting, pruning, and shearing services for property in the Denver area. And we’re always happy to give free estimates to homeowners and property managers for any services they may need.
