Integrated Pest Management for the Lawn

Leaf Raking

Integrated Pest Management (IPM) for the lawn is a sustainable pest control method that removes the energy sources, shelters, and desirable habitats of common lawn pests. A comprehensive approach to pest control, IPM only uses pesticide sprays and granular barriers as a last resort. 

In fact, the sole utilization of synthetic chemicals is not only harmful to the environment but is only a temporary solution to the complex nature of pest infestations. IPM’s multi-faceted approach attacks the root cause of your pest problem and prevents infestations in the long term. Let’s take a closer look at how you can practice IPM for the lawn.

What is Integrated Pest Management?

Integrated Pest Management is a mix of eco-friendly pest control methods you can use on your lawn. It deploys mechanical, biological, and cultural control techniques, using chemical pesticides as a last resort to protect the environment. IPM primarily focuses on long-term pest prevention rather than killing lawn pests, but it also can effectively deal with acute pest infestations.

IPM methods can help treat anything from lawn-destroying pests to invasive plants. From large-scale agricultural settings to the inside of your home, IPM management strategies have a wide application. In this article, we’ll discuss IPM for your lawn. 

While you might be tempted to reach for the cheapest spray to wipe out armyworms or ants, using an IPM approach to control pests means avoiding traditional pesticides unless you’ve exhausted all other options. And even if you do use pesticides, you must apply them in the safest manner possible. 

Before spraying and spreading, check out how IPM works. 

Integrated Pest Management methods for lawns

white grubs in soil
benmenting | Pixabay

Think of IPM as a pyramid with four different types of pest control methods. The base and most of the IPM process includes maintenance, mechanical, and biological methods you use to prevent and control threatening species. Pesticides, on the other hand, take up only the tip-top of the pyramid, like in the image below.

A large component of IPM is pest prevention. Preventing problematic species using an IPM program often means altering the current state of your lawn. Ideally, you prevent pests such as insects, weeds, and rodents from becoming a problem by practicing the following IPM methods starting with cultural control and ending with pesticides (if the pest problem demands it).

Cultural control 

Get familiar with the state of your lawn. Knowing what needs work and what’s working well will help you better tackle cultural control in your yard. 

Cultural practices are specific lawn care steps you take to keep the turf healthy and stop the reproduction and endurance of pests on your lawn, such as:

  • Introduce resistant varieties that better withstand soil and weather challenges and pest infestations. Choose drought-tolerant grasses in a dry climate and shade-tolerant types for a lawn in partial sun. Look for pest-resistant and disease-resistant varieties if a certain pest wreaks havoc locally.
  • Water the lawn once or twice a week with about 1 to 1.5 inches of water per week. Aim to moisten the top 6 to 8 inches of topsoil to promote deep rooting. Read more in our lawn irrigation guide.
  • Test the soil regularly and improve its texture and composition with soil amendments.
  • Balance nutrients with the correct lawn fertilizers.
  • Mow the lawn periodically to increase air circulation and prevent moisture buildup.
  • Aerate the lawn to help improve drainage and prevent stagnant water (mosquitoes love stagnant water)
  • Remove the thatch layer when thicker than ½ inch. 

Mechanical control

Mechanical control in IPM is simply the manual removal of pests in the lawn. Examples include the removal of water sources, food sources, shelter, entryways, or the pest itself. Here’s how you can put mechanical techniques into practice to control pests in your lawn:  

  • Install fences and barriers to keep larger pests out (such as deer).
  • Manually pick pests off the lawn, shrubs, and trees (also known as handpicking in IPM).
  • Deploy mechanical traps for pests.
  • Manipulate pest habitats, such as removing loose debris, tall grass, thatch, or leaf piles. 
  • Remove empty flower pots that collect water. 

Biological control 

Biological control involves protecting the native beneficial insects and introducing common predators, competitors, diseases, and natural enemies to your lawn. Simply put, a pest can’t continue eating away at your lawn if something else is eating it! 

These methods are commonly used in IPM biological control:

  • Install bird feeders to attract birds on your lawn. They are natural predators of many lawn bugs. 
  • Apply Bacillus thuringiensis to the lawn, a bacteria that can wreak havoc on various pests. 
  • Release beneficial nematodes – microscopic worms that destroy pests. 
  • Apply natural pheromones to disrupt the mating cycles of pests. 

Chemical control 

Pesticides are substances that kill, limit, or repel pests. This includes any form of chemical control like insecticides, herbicides, and fungicides. Use pesticides in IPM only when other options have failed, and you need to maximize control.

Pesticides come in different forms:

  • Botanical pesticides contain toxins derived from plants or minerals and are less toxic to the environment and beneficial insects. Three such examples are azadirachtin, Spinosad, and pyrethrins.
  • Horticultural oils are also eco-friendly and fit well with the IPM requirements. Popular examples are neem oil, citrus oil, or garlic oil.
  • Insecticidal soaps are most effective on soft-body insects. They’re often used against aphids and spider mites.
  • Insect growth regulators (IGRs) mimic insect hormones and disturb pest reproduction and growth.
  • Synthetic chemicals are to be used as a last resort. A few broad-spectrum pesticides not IPM-compatible often applied on lawns are carbaryl, imidacloprid, clothianidin, and pyrethroids (the synthetic alternative to pyrethrins).

Always try the natural and least aggressive option first. Ask a lawn care professional about the suitable product if you are unsure. It’s important to use the right pesticides to avoid spreading chemicals that don’t work on your target pest but might harm the beneficial organisms in your lawn.

Practical Integrated Pest Management for Lawn Owners

Releasing natural predators and monitoring pest activity sounds like there’s a steep learning curve to IPM. But here’s the good news: You might already practice IPM on the lawn via common lawn care practices. 

Let’s take a closer look at how you can implement IPM strategies on your lawn in a few simple steps starting with preventive cultural practices: 

Mow your lawn at the right height

mowing lawn
Zoli | Pixabay

Mowing your lawn properly is an important step in habitat manipulation. Pests and diseases like to take refuge in overgrown grass, so mow your lawn regularly. Proper mowing is also an essential cultural practice that keeps the grass healthy and more resistant to pests. 

Here are a couple of easy pointers to follow when mowing your lawn:

  • Avoid mowing the grass during the hottest hours of the day.
  • Do not mow wet grass.
  • Do not remove more than one-third of the grass blade at a time.
  • Ensure your lawn mower has sharp blades so your grass is cleanly cut and not torn or ripped.
  • Vary the pattern you mow on a weekly basis. If you mowed the lawn vertically this week, try mowing it horizontally the next.
  • Find your grass’ preferred mowing height.

Water properly 

watering
Kyryl Gorlov | iStock

A lawn that’s too wet will attract pests. They love the moist conditions. Here’s how to water the lawn the right way: 

  • Water the lawn in the morning, ideally before 10 a.m., so the sun doesn’t evaporate the moisture before your turf can absorb it.
  • Avoid watering the lawn in the evenings. While too much sun will dry out the lawn, no sun after watering causes excess moisture to build up.
  • Don’t overwater the lawn. Most lawns that are already established only require 1 to 1.5 inches of water on a weekly basis. 

Remove thatch buildup 

metal lawn scarification tool
Silberkugel66 | Pixabay

Thatch is a layer of dead and living plant matter that sits above the soil but underneath the grass and builds up over time. While some thatch is beneficial for turf growth, overgrown thatch is an ideal spot for pests to eat, reproduce, and live. 

Remove lawn debris 

Removing lawn debris is a method of habitat manipulation that involves little work on your end. Remove the homes of pests, like wood piles, brush piles, leaves, and weeds. Store wood piles and rock piles away from your lawn and house to avoid pests taking shelter nearby.

Remove still water 

Standing water
Michael | Flickr | CC BY-SA 2.0

It doesn’t take much stagnant water to attract pests. Getting rid of still water helps prevent pests from hydrating and reproducing, such as mosquitoes. Locate still water in your lawn and remove the source. Here’s what to look out for: 

  • Stray watering cans or buckets that are collecting water
  • Planters and pots that leave a pool of water at the bottom of the saucer
  • Birdbaths with still water
  • Clogged gutters flooded with water

Pro Tip: Try adding a fountain or water wall to the yard as a fun DIY project. The moving water won’t attract insects. 

Aerate the lawn

Aerating is an important part of your lawn care routine. In essence, aeration is the process of removing small soil plugs from the ground to help loosen compacted soil, allowing for better flow and absorption of water, nutrients, and oxygen. 

A regularly aerated lawn will produce a deeper root system for your turf, leading to the longevity and strength of the lawn. The healthier your turf, the more resistant it will be to pests and diseases. 

Brownie Points: Aeration also helps improve water drainage, which means it can help drain the stagnant puddles that plague the lawn’s low areas.

Test the soil

small handful of dirt
SuSanA Secretariat | Wikimedia Commons | CC-BY-2.0

Soil testing is not only great for monitoring the health and progress of your lawn, but it also serves as an important part of cultural practices. Detecting any nutrient deficiencies or poor pH levels can help you stay one step ahead of pests and diseases that prey on a weak lawn. 

Prepare a soil sample for your local cooperative extension. Search for your local cooperative extension online and follow its listed instructions. You’ll receive a full report after analysis. If you’re curious about the report, check out how to read a soil test.

Overseed

overseeding
Elena | Shutterstock

Last but not least, a well-rounded approach to IPM means a well-rounded lawn care routine. Overseeding is a crucial part and guarantees your lawn will be fuller and healthier when done properly. It’s a process where you apply grass seed over an existing lawn to help thicken dead zones or thinning areas. A thicker, healthier lawn means fewer run-ins with pests and fungi. 

Pro Tip: When overseeding, it’s important to know which grasses work best for the local climate of your city.

Find your action threshold

Setting the IPM action threshold is as simple as determining how much pest activity you (or your lawn) can tolerate before applying chemical or non-chemical controls. It’s the tipping point where good-quality lawn care practices and other prevention methods no longer work, and you need to use more active pest control techniques. 

Say you find a stray white grub wriggling in the dirt. This doesn’t necessarily warrant applying grub control measures to your yard. But when large brown patches develop on your lawn, or several grubs are in the soil, this is a sign of a larger issue. That’s when it’s a good time to apply IPM strategies to combat this specific pest. 

Here are the recommended action thresholds for the most common lawn pest insects:

Lawn PestAction Threshold (Number of insects per square foot)
Armyworms 3 to 5
Billbugs 20 to 25
Cutworms
Chinch bugs 15 to 20 
Sod webworm4 to 6 
White grubs8 to 10 

Monitor and identify pests

Monitoring
Clayton | Pixabay

Monitoring in IPM is not only important for determining what treatment methods to use but also checking how a particular control is working and if further interventions are needed. When you use IPM practices on your home lawn, you’ll want to begin and end with monitoring. 

Some helpful ways to become a pro at monitoring your lawn’s health and pests are: 

  • Manually check your grass, trees, and shrubs on a regular basis. 
  • On your lawn, check foliage and grassroots. Look for signs of stress (brown patches, yellow grass, bare spots) and insect damage (holes in the leaves, chewed-off grass).
  • Set traps to monitor pest activity. 
  • Test your soil quality.
  • Use a magnifying glass to check for signs of fungal infections.
  • Keep an IPM journal with your observations about pest presence and pest damage. 

Lawn pests are active in different periods throughout the year. Find out what lawn bugs are more likely to damage your lawn right now from our guides on:

To check for insect presence and estimate pest population, check the root zone or use the drench test. 

The drench test is effective when checking for caterpillar larvae (armyworms, cutworms, sod webworms) and chinch bugs. Here’s how to use it:

  • Add 2 to 4 tablespoons of liquid dish soap to 1 gallon of water and mix.
  • Apply the solution across an area that’s about 1 square yard.
  • Wait 10 minutes. If there are any soil insect pests, they will rise to the surface.
  • Identify the pests in your test area, put them in a can, and count them. Divide the number by 9 to determine the average count per square foot and compare it with your action threshold.

Grubs and billbug larvae don’t come up at the drench test. You’ll need to check the root zone to find them. Here’s how to do it:

  • Dig or cut beneath the thatch layer in your lawn.
  • Examine grass roots and crowns.
  • Search for legless white larvae (billbugs) or six-legged larvae (masked chafers).
  • Check an area of about 1 square foot and count the bugs.

Learn how to recognize and approach the most common lawn bugs from our complete guides about:

Checking the foliage and the root zone is also the way to go to spot fungal diseases. Read our guide on the most common lawn diseases for the telling signs of fungal infections.

Use pest control methods

Pesticides
Gustavo | Pexels

Choose proper control methods depending on infestation severity and add them to your IPM plan. Mechanical and biological control techniques are the least damaging to the environment. Start with them if the infestation is still low.

If there’s no other choice, consider pesticides. Here are simple ways to use pesticides properly as part of the IPM treatment:

  • Use organic pesticides with degradable ingredients. 
  • Choose selective pesticides instead of broad-spectrum formulas. Selective pesticides are less harmful to beneficial insects and mainly attack the target pest.
  • Apply pesticides at the right time for maximum effect with minimum application – the specific stage in the pest’s lifecycle when it’s the most vulnerable.
  • Use spot applications instead of broadcast treatments to avoid spreading lawn bug killer on unaffected areas and harming beneficial organisms.
  • Follow the application instructions on pesticide labels very carefully.
  • Protect yourself with gloves, suits, eye goggles, and a breathing mask if needed.
  • Wash and sanitize hands and tools after handling pesticides.
  • Keep kids and pets indoors when applying pesticides to the lawn.
  • Promptly clean up any spills.
  • Store your pesticides securely and properly, according to the manufacturer.

What are the pros and cons of IPM? 

Like anything in life, the IPM approach also has advantages and disadvantages. We’ve compared some of the pros and cons of using Integrated Pest Management on your lawn to help you make the best decision for your turfgrass.

IPM Pros:

  • Minimal effect on the environment with its limited use of harmful chemicals.
  • Maintains a balanced ecosystem through mechanical and biological control by eradicating harmful species while promoting helpful ones.
  • Reduces costs by limiting or eliminating the purchase of expensive pesticides or pesticide application services that must be done quarterly.
  • Prevents pests and diseases from developing natural resistance to chemicals. 
  • Provides a long-term solution to pest control. 

IPM Cons:

  • Requires extremely controlled methods to eradicate certain pests or weeds when releasing natural predators.
  • You’ll likely need to release natural predators more than once, as they will eventually escape from the area you release them in. 
  • Requires extensive research and education to execute IPM techniques correctly. 
  • Involves more resources and manpower to execute and monitor strategies than traditional pesticides. 

Long-term, IPM benefits outweigh the drawbacks, especially for eco-conscious homeowners wanting a safer outdoors and a healthier environment. 

FAQ about Integrated Pest Management 

Does IPM work for indoor pests?

Yes. You can use the strategies of outdoor IPM in your own home. Here are some methods homeowners can execute:

• Keep a tidy space by cleaning up any spilled food and vacuuming regularly.
• Seal and store food properly.
• Declutter to help limit spaces for pests to hide.
• Seal cracks and crevices in the walls and foundation.
• Reduce the humidity and moisture in your home.
• Throw your clothes and bedding into the dryer to kill off any potential outside invaders.

What are the key components of an effective IPM strategy for lawns?

The key components of an effective IPM strategy for lawns are:

  • The action threshold
  • Pest identification
  • Monitoring
  • Prevention
  • Control

Is IPM the same as organic pest control?

Integrated pest management is not the same as organic pest control. Organic pest control utilizes chemicals with strictly controlled ingredient lists. IPM uses chemicals as a last resort. If chemicals are used in IPM, they can be either organic or inorganic.

Is it time to invest in professional pest control? 

Integrated Pest Management takes time and resources. However, it’s an environmentally sensitive way to tackle your pest problem while promoting the overall health of your lawn. While it’s possible to do it yourself, you could be overwhelmed by lawn care techniques and constant monitoring.  

If you’re already running off limited time, consider hiring a lawn care professional who can take on lawn mowing and lawn care. Finding trained individuals through Lawn Love can eliminate most of the legwork behind IPM.

Main Image Credit: Don LaVange | Wikimedia Commons | CC BY-SA 2.0

Sinziana Spiridon

Sinziana Spiridon is an outdoorsy blog writer with a green thumb and a passion for organic gardening. When not writing about weeds, pests, soil, and growing plants, she's tending to her veggie garden and the lovely turf strip in her front yard.