Integrated Pest Management#
1 . What is IPM?
Integrated pest management is a pest control approach to keep pests below the economic threshold by using a multitude of approaches instead of relying on just one. It consists of using Biological, Cultural, Genetic and Chemical methods in controlling a pest.
2 . What is an economic threshold?
The definition of an economic threshold is when the pest population level has reached a point where the cost of controlling that pests equals that of the damage caused by the pest and therefore management actions are justified.
Economic threshold in beekeeping is used primarily to manage varroa populations. When varroa levels reach a certain “number”, it is time for the beekeeper to take action to lower the population level. If the beekeeper does nothing, the varroa populations will continue to rise reaching an “economic injury level” which is a point of no return and the colony will surely die.