Monitor pests and natural controls. Use standardized, tested monitoring methods rather than basing decisions on haphazard observation. Establish economic or aesthetic injury thresholds . Actions are taken only when the potential damage is sufficient to justify action. A. Cultural practices include habitat modification and adapting operating procedures so that opportunities for pest damage are reduced.
Sanitation is the removal or cleaning of sources of pest infestation.
For plant protection, choosing plant varieties that are resistant to pest injury is a cultural control. Other agricultural examples are adjusting planting time, fertilization, tillage, and harvest operations to have the most beneficial or least detrimental affect on the pest management situation. B. Biological controls are predators, parasites, and diseases that attack pests. Measures can be taken to conserve naturally occurring populations. In some situations where naturally occurring biological controls are not effective, they can be introduced from outside sources.