Integrated Pest Management

Rooting For You Philosophy

Here at Rooting For You, we aim to bring nature indoors, and to provide an environment as close to the outdoors as possible. As with any retail shop or nursery, we also seek to limit the use of any pesticides, or other toxins harmful to plants. That is why we practice Integrated Pest Management (IPM).

IPM is a process that is used to control pest populations while minimizing the impacts on people and the surrounding environment. Focusing mainly on long-term pest prevention, a successful IPM program utilizes a combination of control methods including biological control, habitat manipulation, changes to cultural practices and use of resistant plant varieties. At the core of IPM is the desire to reduce pesticide use and human incursion into the ecosystem unless monitoring of pest populations indicates intervention is necessary.







 

We use Assassin Bugs (Zelus renardii) for general garden insect control. Raised in an insectary in Arizona, Leafhopper Assassin Bugs are excellent general predators in gardens and greenhouses and remain predatory in all life stages. Their rapid feeding habits and tendency to kill for the sake of killing make them ideal for continued control of various pest insect populations including leafhoppers, aphids, mealybugs, thrips, small caterpillars and more.

Assassin Bugs also have the ability to feed on larger prey than many of their beneficial insects counterparts. Their wide range of food sources and high reproduction rate allow Assassin Bugs to maintain and even grow their population without high pest numbers.

Benefits of Assassin Bugs:

  • Active in high temperatures/low humidities

  • All life stages are predatory.

  • Resin produced on their legs and rostrum increases ability to capture prey.

  • High reproduction rates without specific food sources.

  • Two month life span provides continuous control.

  • Not attracted to synthetic light sources making them ideal indoors.

  • Visible once hatched, more easily monitored.

 

“Nature’s balance was created by diversity which might in turn be taken as a blueprint for political and moral truth.”

—Andrea wolf, The Invention of Nature