Integrated Pest Management (IPM)

Terms such as “weeds” and “insects” are in many cases too general to provide any meaningful recommendations for the management or control of either.

Many insects are vital to the well-being of trees and other plants.  However, only a small portion of the vital ones will be noticed by even the most knowledgeable forest landowner.

When insects create a problem in the forests, landowners can in most cases easily notice there is a problem.  But how does the landowner deal with a detrimental insect while not impacting negatively the beneficial ones or the environment?

That is where IPM or integrated pest management becomes important.  It relies on a combination of common sense practices which take an effective and environmentally sensitive approach. In forestry settings, IPM takes advantage of pesticide applications, mechanical methods, biological methods, and even the choice to do nothing. Sometimes doing nothing is the most economical approach.

Typically IPM involves five steps: Inspection, Identification, Action Thresholds, Control, and Evaluation.

Please contact the Arkansas Forestry Commission or your local county extension agent for identification of specific insects and recommendations to manage their effects on your trees.

The University of Arkansas, Division of Agriculture, Cooperative Extension Service has some information on general application of pesticides for both insects and weeds if you click here.  Once the page opens, click on the appropriate link and the first few pages of each document will provide information on weights, measures, application methods, conversions, mixing, and many more topics.

Additional information on IPM may be found at:

Southern Integrated Pest Management Center (SIPMC)  http://www.sripmc.org/

Information on funding opportunities, regional IPM research and regulatory issues, as well as publications and training courses related to IPM.