Less than 2% of the insects you encounter in the garden will be pests. The vast majority of insects in your yard are not harmful - they're either beneficial or neutral. In the interest in keeping them alive, take a targeted, selective approach to dealing with the insects that are pests.
The following common insect pests can be controlled using integrated pest management (IPM) practices. IPM is a strategy that emphasizes less-toxic control solutions that cause the least environmental damage; keeping pests at acceptable, low-levels.
Ant management videos from UC IPM online including: What to do if you have an ant emergency; Why do ants invade?; Overview of ant management; Ant inspection; Using Baits; and Refillable Bait Stations.
As part of a program called "Our Water Our World", we have partnered with retail stores to make less toxic pest control and gardening products more available to consumers, with the goal of reducing the amount of pesticides entering creeks and the Bay through sewers and storm drain systems. Participating stores (shown below) provide fact sheets and "shelf talkers" to make it easy for you to choose a less or non-toxic product.
Our Water, Our World Participating Stores in San Mateo County
Shelf Talkers are small tags placed beneath less toxic products on store shelves that indicate the product is less- or non-toxic to people and pets, but formulated to control and get rid of the targeted pest problem
Pest Control Products to Avoid
Aerosols and Home Foggers disperse chemicals in a way that significantly increase the risk of exposure to people and pets.
Metaldehyde Snail Baits contribute to hundreds of pet poisonings per year.
Pyrethroids are a threat to water quality and are highly toxic to aquatic insects and crustaceans. Avoid products that end in "thrin". The exception to this is pyrethrin which is produced naturally from the chrysanthemum flower.
Lawn Pesticides are rarely, if ever, needed for home lawns. Chemicals in them are linked to adverse long term health effects. In particular weed and feed" type products, which mix fertilizers with pesticides, result in unnecessary pesticide use.
Locate a Pest Management Professional EcoWise Certified Prevention-based pest control practices. They use their knowledge of how pests live, feed, reproduce and move to effectively solve pest problems.
Green Shield Certified is an award-winning, independent, non-profit certification program that promotes practitioners of effective, prevention-based pest control while minimizing the use of pesticides.
Green Pro Certified offered by the National Pest Management Association (NPMA)
The Bay Area Green Gardener Program educates and certifies residential landscapers in resource efficient and pollution prevention landscape practices. Certified Green Gardeners utilize practical, sustainable landscaping skills to reduce water use, to select the most appropriate plants including California natives, to build nutrient-rich soils by promoting plant's natural cycles, and to prune selectively and properly to compliment the natural form and needs of the plant. They are also trained in integrated pest management and the use of alternatives to pesticides and herbicides.
Ask the Expert - Online help allows you to ask a specific pest control question and receive a personal reply. Your question will be answered by staff at the Bio-Integral Resource Center in Berkeley, California. The Center is a nonprofit organization offering over 25 years of experience in the development and communication of least-toxic methods. Click on "Ask Our Expert"
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