How gardeners can control pests and also protect pollinators

Picture this: You’ve planted some milkweed, bee balm or California lilac, and you’re delighted to see bees and butterflies fluttering about your garden. You feel good about nourishing pollinators and love the life those plants attract to your yard.

As you stroll past your beds to check on your tomatoes, you notice they’re covered in black dots. Upon closer inspection, it becomes apparent your plants are infested with aphids.

If your instinct is to reach for a chemical pesticide — stop. Although it might eliminate your aphid problem, it will also threaten beneficial insects, which pollinate plants and keep pests under control. Instead, apply the principles of integrated pest management, or IPM.

The practice starts with accepting that a certain pest presence is tolerable. Only when that threshold is exceeded should a control be considered. Your first defense should always be the most benign method available. This is where common