The steps in Integrated Pest Managnement are,
1. Identify the true cause of the problem.
2. Determine if the problem needs some kind of control.
3. Determine what would be the least toxic means of control.
4. Apply that means of control.
5. Revue.

I would love to see the pics of the biodome you live in.

There are several different branches of a good IPM system. Most of us practice some of them without even knowing it. All are important. Our goal is to use many or most of these methods in an integrated, planned program of control. Integrated Pest Management

Cultural Control: One of my favorites; it includes selecting pest and/or disease resistant varieties, plant rotation, spacing, careful fertilization practices, housekeeping and sanitation habits, and alternating planting dates.

Biological Control: Here's where we do everything we can to attract and sustain natural predators and parasites. But it also includes the artificial introduction of such critters, as well as the inoculation of bacterial propagules that infect specific insect pests (flies, mosquitoes, grubs, etc.)

Mechanical Control: includes such tasks as cultivation, trapping, exclusionary devises, and (what??) hand weeding.

Chemical Control: Biological pesticides are also included in this category, of course. Organic products are chemicals. Chemical control is always the last ditch effort (organic or not) when it comes to a good IPM program.

I am of the very strong opinion that PREVENTION should be our goal, whether it comes to insect pests, or diseases, or weeds.

Hoodat has the right attitude.

"I am of the very strong opinion that PREVENTION should be our goal, whether it comes to insect pests, or diseases, or weeds."
Absolutely and that is why I tell people to look closely at the soil their plants are growing in and to work on making that soil into a good, healthy soil. Plant diseases and insect pests are not normal and are the result of a problem that can be fixed without the aid of heavy doses of poisons.

Plant diseases and insect pests are a very normal part of a natural ecosystem, Kimmsr. It's when their activities become unbalanced that one might consider them (the activities) abnormal. Or when we have created an unbalanced environment, and expect the pests not to take advantage of it.

This can happen due to a variety of reasons, some of them incurred by humans while others are a part of natural cycles. It's up to us to foster a healthy soil, to grow our plants under optimum conditions, to avoid pest prone plant species whenever possible, and all of the other factors I mentioned earlier.

If we practice IPM, we go a long way in keeping the pest population down to a dull roar.

Plant diseases and insect pests are a part of the ecosystem that removes from the gene pool plants that are too weak to survive, but they do not need to be a "normal" part of anyones garden. Many people, that have gardened using what is called "conventional" methods using synthetic fertilizers and not adding sufficient amounts of organic matter to soils, will see as normal disease and pest problems, since those plants are not growing in a good, healthy environment.
We are finding today that many gardeners, following the directions of the manufacturers of many of these synthetic fertilizers, are contributing much to the pollution of our planet because the plants cannot use that much of those nutrients and the excess nutrients flow into the water we drink every day. In soils with adequate amounts of organic matter many of those nutrients can be held in the soil longer, but too much OM in the soil can create very similar problems also. Balance, or a good, healthy soil is necessary.

With healthy plants and healthy soil the vast majority of garden problems will be self correcting. The hard thing is to know when to step in and when to step back. Many, if not most, inexperienced gardeners tend to step in too soon and do too much.