I thought I would share my thoughts, and the steps I take, in regards to Integrated Pest Management (IPM). Please let me know if there are things I missed here or there are steps you take that could help.
My IPM plan
Grow tent preparation:
Before starting a grow run I remove everything from my tent and wipe down interior with bleach wipes and allow to air dry. All lights, fans, grow containers are washed, bleach wiped and allowed to air dry before going back into tent. Lights are cleaned, vacuumed and wiped down before being reinstalled. I disassemble fan when I can to clean the blades to keep efficiency up.
Grow medium:
I chose soil-less grow medium and think that helps keeps the occurrence of pests at a minimum. I also add a layer of expanded clay pellets on top of the grow medium to keep fungus gnats from feeling at home.
Additives to nutrients:
I use Hydroguard and silica. Both of which I believe helps keep the plants healthy and less hospitable to pests.
Monitoring:
There are yellow and blue sticky traps in the tent. I've had a minor fungus gnat problem on a past grow and these alerted me before the problem got out of hand. I also choose to grow several smaller plants that allows me to remove them from the tent for watering and a closeup inspection on a regular basis.
Outside influences:
Whenever I do any type of outdoor activity, gardening, lawn maintenance, etc. I come into my house through a side door that leads into my laundry room. I'll strip to my boxers and then head directly to the shower. Even if I don't plan on going directly to my grow I try to keep spores, molds, yada yada from entering the house without being obsessive.
Environment:
I keep a clean grow area. I regularly wipe up the floor, pick up any dead vegetation and don't leave any standing runoff. The tent also has good ventilation, circulation and air replacement. A tower fan, two computer fans and an exhaust fan keep things fresh. The exhaust fan is connected to a controller to help keep tent temperature and relative humidity in the proper range. I had PM once, before I got my environment under control.
Preparation for infestation:
So far I haven't needed these items but I am prepared if necessary. I have several products that I have ready to use if needed to fight pests. I have a bottle of Lost Coast Plant Therapy (
https://www.lostcoastplanttherapy.com/) and also some Mosquito Bits (
https://summitchemical.com/products/mosquito-bits/). I have three sprayers to use depending on when, where and why needed. I have a small atomizing sprayer that gives a mist rather than droplets, a spray bottle and a pump up 2 gallon sprayer.
If you have any comments or something to add I'm all ears!
Discord
Links