Natural Pest Control

Forget the exterminator! Before technology delivered quick and easy, poisonous insecticides to our doorstep, homemade repellents and natural insecticides were used to control unwanted pests in our homes and organic gardens. Garlic, hot peppers, and onions made into sprays, were some of the most common and successful of these ol’ timer pest control remedies.

Not all Insects are Pests

With the use of any repellent or insecticide one must take care to not kill or run off nature’s own predators and pollinators. Without bees, most all plants cannot bear fruit. The fruit of most plants, the part of the plant that produces the seeds for future crops, is the part we eat and find our life-sustaining nutrition. In many cases, insects such as ladybugs and praying mantis will do more to protect our crop than we ever could!

Protecting a Garden with Organic Pest Control

Adding a few drops of liquid dish soap to these sprays will help them to stick to plants and increase their effectiveness.These mixtures can be applied with a inexpensive weed sprayer. Best if shaken often.

• Steep 1/2 teaspoon of crushed garlic and red pepper in 1 gallon of water for 12 hours. Dilute 25% and spray sparingly on vegetables to repel tomato hornworms and other sucking and chewing insects.
• To kill mites, mix 1 cup of buttermilk with 5 cups of wheat flour in 5 gallons of water. .
• Boil a 1/4 lb. of cedar chips in 2 gallons of water for 2 hours, strain and dilute to 3 more gallons of water for a spray that will repel most all beetles.
• Quassia chips, once readily available in most drug stores, can now be found online and through herbal shops. It has several medical uses one should explore. As a natural pest repellent, prepare as cedar chips above. At about $10 for pound of chips, this concoction will kill aphids and caterpillars, but is safe to bees and natural predators. A favorite for today’s organic gardener.
• Green soap is used by a lot of tattoo shops and hospitals as disinfectant prewash, and can be used at home with fresh cuts and abrasions. Mixed 1 cup of green soap tincture to 3 gallons of water, will kill many leaf eaters on contact. This one will not need the dish soap as a emulsifier.

Natural Poisons

An alternative to chemical poisons, are botanical poisons. These are made from the chemicals plants produce for their own protection. Harmless to humans and pets, these substances are deadly to unwanted pests. The most popular of these are rotenone, pyrethrum, and ryania. The stage of plant growth as well as all cautions on label, should be closely observed with these products.

Other Old School Defenses

• 3″x3″ squares of aluminum foil with slits half-way through one side will allow them to be placed around the stems of plants and on the ground underneath plants to ward off aphids and squash borers.
• Tar paper or roofing felt, that can be picked up as scraps behind roofers, can be cut and placed in the same manner as the aluminum foil to repel cutworms from attacking young plants. Both should be picked up and disposed of during fall harvest.
• Flour sprinkled on young cabbage heads will kill the cabbage worms.
• Salt applied to slugs will melt them.

Many more natural ways to deter and eliminate pest in garden can be found through simple research, the internet, specialty books and of course, talking to older folks in the area. Hope this helps, good luck with your project!