Which of the following is a step in the Integrated Pest Management (IPM) cycle?

• A. Identify pests
• B. Sweep the area with a net
• C. Ignore monitoring
• D. Apply pesticides

Answer: (A)

Identifying pests is the foundation of IPM because you can’t manage what you don’t know. When you correctly pin down exactly which pest is present, you can choose the most effective and least disruptive control methods, protect beneficial organisms, and set appropriate action thresholds. IPM relies on ongoing monitoring and accurate identification to guide decisions, so actions are based on what pest is there and how its population is behaving. After you know what you’re dealing with, you monitor levels, decide if action is needed, and employ a mix of tactics—biological, cultural, mechanical, or chemical—while checking results over time. The other options don’t fit as steps in the cycle: sweeping a net isn’t a formal IPM step, ignoring monitoring contradicts the whole approach, and spraying pesticides is a possible tactic but not the isolated step you start with and only occurs when thresholds indicate action.