The purpose of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is to control the ingress of pests into our hothouses and limit the use of fumigants and pesticides in the environment by using a range of integrated pest control strategies.

Common pests that target our roses and gerberas are thrips, two spotted mite, heliothis and aphids to name a few. Once infestation occurs the consequences can be catastrophic resulting in unsaleable flowers.

Fumigation is widely used for control of pest infestations. Long term use of harmful insecticides and fumigants can eventually build up resistance into the pests.

One year ago Wilson Roses decided that we had to turn to IPM as a healthier and gentler way of controlling unwanted pests in our hothouses. We had to work hard to convince ourselves not to resort back to harmful insecticides, but we came through and are now able to visually detect new infestations very quickly. When an infestation is detected we combat this infestation by introducing into our hothouses special predatory bugs. We also use sticky cards that hang either from a plant or from the ceiling to help identify potential pests.