Integrated Pest Management - a Brief Primer

The practice of integrated pest management (IPM), sometimes referred to as integrated pest control, has been used for several centuries.  As a formal concept in agricultural practice, it was in the late 1950s that IPM evolved from casual practice to a cohesive strategy for managing pests. Driven primarily by agriculture, an IPM program generally consists of four main components:  biological control, chemical control, physical control, and social/cultural control.  These four main elements will be discussed along with the advantages and disadvantages of each, and examples of each type of control will be presented.  The factors that need to be considered when developing an IPM program, the incorporation of the various IPM techniques into the program, and the implementation of the program will be discussed.  Examples of successful IPM programs, with a focus on aquatic invasive species control, will be given.