What is Integrated Pest Management? Understanding IPM & Professional Pest Control

No one likes having bugs inside and around their home in Memphis and North Mississippi.

It doesn’t make you feel warm and cozy or like you are safe and at peace in your home. It might make you feel like there’s a pest invasion taking place or that you can’t relax because you’re worried you may stumble across an insect when you least expect it.

At the same time, you may not want to use aggressive pest control solutions to target your insect infestations.

We get that. Fortunately, there are various ways to approach professional pest control that maintain safety while being very effective against pests.

Like other services, pest control shouldn’t be a one-size-fits-all, blanket approach. You want to work with a pest control professional who looks at the potential options to address your problem from many angles so you can make the best decision with the information he or she provides.

One great approach we use at Lawn & Pest Solutions is integrated pest management (IPM). Let’s explore IPM and how it can control pests on your property.

What Is Integrated Pest Management?

Integrated pest management—sometimes called IPM—is a pest control approach focusing on a combination strategy, using smart techniques to address insect problems.

Using multiple techniques can ensure you can address your pest problem with all the tools needed to treat it.

Let’s dive into some more specifics.

What Does IPM Include?

IPM involves many techniques to ensure you can effectively manage your pests.

And it often combines one or more of these options into a program.

What kind of professional pest control options can be used? There are quite a few:

• Biological controls: Use of natural enemies of pests to control them.
• Cultural controls: Making changes to the area to deter pests. Eliminating humidity in your basement by adding a dehumidifier, for instance, can help reduce basement pests.
• Mechanical controls: This option focuses on stopping a specific pest, such as a rodent trap.
• Chemical controls: Chemical pest controls aren’t always necessary, but they can be used with other control methods to be more effective and targeted, requiring less pesticide use.

Using more than one of these ensures that you don’t approach a pest problem blindly using only one tactic.

What Can IPM In Action Look Like?

Lawn & Pest Solutions uses an integrated pest management approach to pest control, educating our customers on the many options they have for control.

An IPM approach starts with a thorough inspection, an important component of the entire strategy. This allows us to identify your insect problems and where they may be coming from.

Once we identify a problem, we can suggest solutions. You are also part of the decision-making process because your preferences factor into your desired outcome and the control strategies you feel comfortable using to reach that outcome.

This differs from a blanket approach: buying a product that can treat multiple pests and applying it everywhere. This is an almost blind approach because you don’t necessarily need to know the pest or type of pest you’re fighting or even where it’s coming from. That’s not the most proactive or safest approach.

What is the Point of Integrated Pest Management?

Integrated pest management is about being proactive and using inspections, knowledge, and education to truly identify an insect or rodent problem and treat it properly.

We believe this delivers the most effective approach to professional pest control, targeting your issue in the least intrusive way possible.

Cultural Controls Are Key Parts of IPM

Cultural practices, which can help deter pests, are a key part of any professional pest control solution, especially after eliminating a problem.

These types of strategies can include:

• Patching entry holes. For instance, you might have door or window screens with holes, and that’s where some pests enter your home. Repairing those holes can help.
• Seal cracks. Bugs can find their way into your house through cracks in your foundation, and sealing these up can help keep pests out.
• Keep things clean. Pests are on the hunt for food in your home, so by cleaning up after food crumbs and spills, storing food in sealed containers, and disposing of trash properly, you can ensure you have less draw for pests to come inside.
• Reduce dampness. Bugs love humidity and dampness, which can be present in your basement. Using a dehumidifier and repairing leaky faucets or pipes can help reduce this dampness.

Since insects can be persistent, an integrated pest management strategy that uses cultural controls, among other methods, can be a great way to achieve an effective, long-lasting solution.

Embrace Professional Pest Control With IPM in Memphis and North Mississippi

In Memphis or North Mississippi, pests are the last thing you want to invade your home. They are uninvited for a reason, and you don’t want to do anything to give them the impression that you want them around.

That’s why an integrated pest management approach to pest control can help you tackle your pest problems and keep them away with minimal impact on your home and surroundings and a major impact on the bug populations you don’t want hanging around.

If you want to learn more about IPM, call Lawn and Pest Solutions. We excel at effective pest management with IPM, and we can educate you on this strategy’s benefits and help you keep your home pest-free.

Ready to learn why Lawn & Pest Solutions could be your choice for pest control services in Memphis, TN and North Mississippi? We’re excited to learn more about you. Get started today with a free quote. We can prepare a customized plan that is perfect for you and your home.