Gardeners the world over will agree: insects love to eat the plants we grow. With organic gardening on the rise, many people are making the switch to produce healthy, chemical-free fruits and vegetables.
If you are new to organic gardening, you may find yourself overwhelmed by all the organic pest control advice available on the internet. How do you know what will work for you?
Reliable Sources for Organic Pest Control Advice
The best way to decide which advice to take in matters of organic pest control is to go to the experts.
Sources such as Mother Earth News, Rodale's Organic Life, and Gardening Channel devote themselves to finding sound organic pest control methods that produce results.
They can provide workable solutions for controlling pests in your specific area.
Find Out Which Pests Are Bothering You
Before you search for an organic pest control method, you need to know what kind of insect is attacking your plants.
Once this has been established, you can begin to search for a product designed for that pest. This will greatly increase your chances of success.
Methods and Products for Organic Pest Control
There are many things that you can do to control pests organically, involving techniques and sprays that protect your plants.
Row Covers
This provides a porous fabric barrier from insects while allowing up to 80% of the available light in.
Floating row covers can be set up using metal hoops and wooden support frames, or simply placed directly on top of your garden.
The fabric is usually sold by the yard and comes in lightweight or heavyweight, and doubles as a frost protectant. You can find this product on Amazon.
Sticky Traps
The intent of these traps is to attracted insects with color and trap them. You need to keep the traps clean for them to be effective and you should place a trap every 3 – 5 feet near the affected area.
You can buy sticky traps these or make them yourself, using a stiff material in the right color for your intended target and coating it with a product such as Tangle-Trap.
Insecticidal Soap
Insecticidal soap sprays work to dissolve the “skin” of insects. These are specially formulated for organic pest control. Thus, don't confuse them with herbicidal soaps, which work to fight unwanted vegetation, not insects. For this to work, the insects must come in contact with the soap spray before it dries.
Do some research first, though, because insecticidal soap spray can damage some plants. You must also be careful not to spray the beneficial insects in your garden.
Oil Sprays
These sprays suffocate pests, so for them to work, it is important to spray the oil spray directly on the pest to work.
There are a few guidelines to keep in mind for using this product. Don't spray on any plant that suffers from lack of moisture, or on any plant on a hot day, and always test the spray on a few leaves before treating the whole plant.
With a little knowledge and patience, you can find the right organic pest control solution for your insect problems.
I agree that growing food organically is perfect and healthy. But the pests don’t seem to agree with this and so they take every opportunity to attack plants. These are amazing tips and I’ll like to try them out especially the row cover.
Hi Gabriella! When I first started organic gardening, I had a lot of issues with pests from cabbage moths to whiteflies. It’s a process to learn how to control them. I found prevention was best, as you mentioned with the floating row covers. But, there are still a lot of options for pest control sprays that are safe for organic gardening which is great!