3609 Hwy 24 (Ocean) | Newport, North Carolina 28570

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 19, 2001

Sally Steele
252-393-8185
sallys@nccoast.org

Coastal Federation Offers Pest Control Tips

     Ocean – To many homeowners, pest control means using pesticides. But an alternative – called Integrated Pest Management (IPM) – offers suggestions that may eliminate the need to use environmentally-harmful pesticides. Here are a few simple tactics that you may want to implement in your garden.

• Natural Predators: Introduce the types of animals that will naturally gobble up pests. Lady bugs, lace wings, praying mantis, garter snakes, and toads are all examples of natural predators that eat insect pests.
• Habitat Changes: Some conditions simply attract pests. For example, those old tires in your neighborhood fill up with rainwater and attract mosquitoes - get rid of the tires and you'll cut down on the mosquitoes. Old sacks, wood and decaying materials will attract an array of pests.
• Timing: Rotate plantings so that the same or a related crop does not occupy the same area every year. Repeated plantings encourage insect infestation and the build up of soil diseases.
• Resistant Plants: When buying plants for the garden always request those that are resistant to major pests and diseases.
• Mechanical Removal: Inspect plants for egg clusters, larvae, cocoons and adult pests. Remove by hand or dislodge with a spray of water.
• Mixed Plantings: Plant mixed stands of trees or crops instead of planting large areas with just one type of plant. Mixed stands are not as susceptible to insect damage.