Organic Pest Control: Two Effective Techniques

Organic pest control in an organic garden can be a frustrating, endless task. Without the use of artificial chemicals and pesticides you need to be at your best to outsmart the pests. Luckily, there are a lot of unique tools and techniques developed to help keep pests off plants and out of your life, some of which are organic and effective. Following are two such techniques.

Block the Pests

Floating Row Covers

You can actually block pests from getting at your plants with Floating Row Covers that are just white, porous, polyester fabric. This fabric is placed over the rows of plants in a garden and supported with wire cages to keep it from weighing down on the plants. The edges of the sheets are pinned to the ground to create a sealed cover. These work to keep the plants safe from beetles, aphids, cabbage moths, and tomato horn-worms.

Pheromone Traps

Another tool help you gauge what kinds of pests are moving into the organic garden are pheromone traps and sticky traps. Pheromone traps put out pheromones to attract the male insects of a species which are then trapped and die. The sticky traps catch any insect that crawls over them. These traps don’t catch all of the pests in a garden, but they can indicate an incoming invasion so you have time to prepare.

Kill the Pests

Oil Sprays

Oil sprays are a way to kill pests by suffocating them as they crawl up onto the plants. Insects breathe through their skin, and when the oil covers the skin it blocks those air pores. Only spray in the morning and avoid spraying the flowers of these plants to keep from harming beneficial insects like honey bees. A Dormant Oil can be used to kill insect eggs and spores on plants during the dormant season, and the Summer Oil is used during the growing season to kill insects. The summer oil is lighter and evaporates more quickly.

Other Insects

Other insects may be a good way to keep the pest population down. This technique involves using beneficial insects to keep bad insects at bay via natural pest control. Beneficial insects are usually predators like Ladybugs, which are carnivores and eat other insects. Parasitic Nematodes can be used to keep insect populations down too. The nematode infects insects and releases a bacteria that kills the host within a couple of days. These nematodes are mixed with water and applied to the soil around the plants by the millions.

Organic gardening is a way to ensure that you get fresh produce that is not covered with pesticides. However, you still need to keep ahead of the pests. Use a few of these tools and techniques to keep the pests under control and your garden organic and pesticide free.