Want to cut back on synthetic pesticides? Here's how

Here are some strategies that can help reduce the need for synthetic pesticides in the home garden. Whether you aim to make your garden chemical-free, low chemical, or even high input, these strategies can help you save money and effort and lessen the environmental impact.

Some plants are especially attractive to insects; the idea behind trap crops is to take advantage of this attraction to trap and kill pests. A crop of blue hubbard squash, for example, could be grown to draw striped cucumber and squash borer adults, which are particularly fond of this kind of squash. Desirable summer squash can be planted in the center of a field, with hubbard squash planted along the perimeter. The hubbard squash would be sprayed with an insecticide when pest populations are observed. This strategy keeps the pest coming to the trap crop, where the insects are then destroyed. The desirable crop will be free of both pests and pesticides.

To manage apple maggot on apple trees, sticky, red spheres can be hung in trees. The adult flies are highly attracted to these spheres, which will trap and kill them. Japanese beetle traps are not an effective method, because they draw more insects into the yard, not all of which are killed by the trap.

Weeds don't just look unsightly; they also provide places for diseases and insects to survive from season to season. Many weeds are alternate hosts for viral, bacterial and fungal diseases, providing a safe location for pests to winter, even though the weeds many not show any symptoms. To keep pests down, mow or remove weeds as much as possible, particularly adjacent to vegetable gardens.

Crop residue provides an easy way for insects and diseases to survive from year to year. By clearing away, tilling over, or covering residue so that it can decay, you can avoid many insect and disease problems. For example, tomato diseases often survive on diseased leaves and stalks. Clear away that debris before next year's crop is planted, and plants are less likely to become reinfected. Destroy volunteer tomatoes when they sprout in summer, since some diseases can winter on seeds.

Crop or plant rotation isn't possible in the perennial bed, but it's possible and a good idea in vegetable gardens and annual display beds. By planting the same crop in the same location year after year, you compound disease and insect problems that would have otherwise been minimal. Because some diseases can survive on members of the same plant family, even when related plants don't show disease symptoms, crops should be rotated across families.

For example, the space where tomatoes were grown this year should be planted in a crop of a completely different family next year, such as squash or onions. If peppers or eggplant are planted where tomatoes grew, disease problems could survive because these plants all belong to the same plant family. Spend a few minutes learning about plant families so that rotation schedules can be planned. If space is limited and rotation isn't feasible, plant resistant varieties whenever possible to minimize disease problems.

Looking to avoid verticillium wilt on tomatoes, or scab on crabapples? To make disease management easier, select cultivars that resist disease problems. Roses that resist black spot, lilacs that resist powdery mildew and tomatoes that resist nematodes are widely available in the trade, as are many other resistant varieties.

Healthy plants are better able to withstand attack and damage from pest problems than are stressed plants. Keep plants healthy by adding organic matter to the soil, choosing the right plant for the right place, and selecting healthy plants from the nursery. Once plants are in the garden, water until established and provide water and nutrients according to plant needs. When the occasional plant shows symptoms of stress or infestation, consider removing it from the garden to protect other plants.

Not every plant pest is worth trying to control; oftentimes, damage is only cosmetic. Roses rarely die, for example, from feeding by Japanese beetle adults. Gardeners may be able to tolerate some damage on rose plants, knowing that beetle adults are active only for a few weeks. Similarly, aphid infestations are almost always cosmetic in nature. Learning which pests are important saves the gardener time and effort.

By using these and other pest management strategies, either with or without the addition of natural or synthetic pesticides, you can minimize many insect and disease problems. Using these strategies isn't always the easiest way to manage pests - the gardener has to be knowledgeable about pests, timing and management - but they certainly can lead to a more fulfilled gardener with a healthier, more enjoyable garden.