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Organic Lawn Care Project

What Bugs Us – Safe and Organic Ways to Deal With Pests in the Garden

Pesticides are designed to kill certain types of organisms or a broad range of species. They include herbicides, insecticides and fungicides. Targets include insects, plants, fungi, moulds and rodents. Unfortunately for Mother Nature and for us, what kills one type of pest often kills a host of other beneficial creatures - birds, butterflies and other insects that are natural enemies to the pest the chemical targets.

Pesticides are "convenience in a can", but we are all starting to realize the high cost of convenience on our health and in the environment. Fortunately, this does not mean your garden will be overrun with pests if you stop using chemicals, because you have a powerful alternative - Mother Nature herself!

Turn Back to Mother Nature To Control Animal and Insect Pests

What we think of as a pest is another species' food source. Sure, Mother Nature gave us these nasties in the first place, but one person's beautiful garden is another insect's buffet. Chemical pesticides are only a temporary solution, and always kill beneficial insects and birds, not to mention increasing the toxic buildup in the environment at large. Luckily, there are natural organic pesticides you can make yourself (see below for some recipes). There is another source to consider too - every pest has a natural predator that is also beneficial to your garden. Why not let loose these predators to protect your plants?

Fighting Insect Pests

Did you know that 95% of all insects in your garden are either neutral or help you in your garden? When you use broad-range insecticides, you also wipe out a lot of the critters that could have helped you battle some common pests. Before reaching for the can, think of the various organic methods and predator species that can help us control these problem pests.

To attract and keep your natural predators, make sure you have a highly diverse garden, such as planting berry bushes for birds and wildflowers for your beneficial insects. Even a couple dandelions, clover and other weeds in the grass will help. Use mulch, stones and plant herbs such as mint to attract and house your insects. The key is to avoid a monoculture of just one type of plant in an area, and instead grow a variety of plants and landscaping features.

Finally, your predator insects will often hatch after your insect pests, so don't be discouraged when you see problem insects invading your garden. Provide a natural, rich garden and nature will provide the checks and balances, with your occassional hand to keep your garden healthy.

Natural Fighters	Organic Methods and Prevention
Cankerworms
- various birds such as cedar waxwing, warbler, chickadee and thrushes - attract them by planting berry bushes and adding a birdbath to your garden - tiny wasps such as trichigramma and telenomus (Gardeners report mixed results when buying them) - these wasps do not bite or sting people or animals	- the most effective method is tree banding to prevent female cankerworm moths from climbing the tree to lay their eggs - Bt, or Bacillus thuringiensis is a natural bacterium that is only effective right after the cankerworms hatch. Apply in two doses five days apart on leaves (the worm will have to ingest the leaf with the bacterium). This is the main product used by the City of Winnipeg's Insect Control Branch
Slugs
- ground beetles, soldier beetles, centipedes - plant a variety of wildflowers to attract and keep these good insects - ants and spiders will often remove and eat slug eggs - nematode powder - nematodes are harmless microbes that naturally inhabit the soil. You can by a special type of naematode that kills slugs. It is effective for about six weeks	- simply take a flashlight after dark and pick and squish them (yuck!) - the beer trap - slugs are attracted to beer (Budweiser is their preferred choice - I'm not kidding), and will drown if you place a jar of beer in the soil buried to the rim - water in the morning instead of at night - slugs come out at night and love moist conditions - iron phosphate baits - completely safe for children and pets - Sprinkle diatomaceous earth where they appear. This is soil made of tiny crushed seashells. They are safe for animals and children, but the sharp edges will shred the bodies of slugs, cutworms and all other soft-bodies insects
Aphids
- Lady bugs - they will naturally occur in your garden, and you can attract them with fennel, dill, cilantro, white cosmos, scented geraniums and even dandelions. Ladybugs will often lay their eggs near aphid colonies - Aphidoletes, or aphid midge larva, actively seek out and feed on aphids. You can buy them in an "aphid controller" pack at garden centres or online, and they will not harm you or anything else in your garden.	- garlic oil (see below for a home-made recipe) - this kills many soft-bodied insects - for small plants infested with aphids, place banana peels around the base - for repeated problem areas, plant garlic, chives, onions or cilantro nearby to repel them (hey, lady bugs love some of these plants too!)
Cutworms
- blackbirds, lacewings, firefly larvae - most predators that feed on cankerworms will also eat cutworms - trichogramma wasps, available at garden centers or online	- spread cornmeal or bran in your garden to kill cutworms. EcoBran is a commercial organic product that specializes in this - though it targets grasshoppers, it works on cutworms as well - similar to cankerworms, use B.T. to kill them in the larvae stage - save your toliet roll paper tubes and plant one inch into the soil around your seedlings to protect them - this is better than soup cans, which may leach chemicals into the soil
Colorado Potato Beetle
- ladybugs and lacewings - ground beetles - many songbirds	- fish oil emulsion spray will repel them and fertilize your plants - hand-pick the eggs and adults, and drown them in soapy water - A few drops of peppermint oil mixed with a litre of water and sprayed will help get rid of them

Repelling Animal Pests

As "cute" as rabbits and deer are, they can certainly make a mess of your garden. Unfortunately, the food we like and the flowering plants we grow also attract animals. Never use chemical poisons for animals! Since our biology is similar to that of mammals, any chemicals used against them are also poisonous to us. Children and pets do not know that the bait is not for them.

With few natural enemies in an urban setting, most problem animals can rapidly multiply. Other than making your garden look like a fortress, the only other thing to do is to use scent repellants or plant species of plants that are unappetizing to deer and rabbits. Using live traps only locates a problem animal to another location - unless it is a wild animal, such as a groundhog or skunk - in this case, let them lose a few kilometers outside the city, preferably on the other side of the river from your house.

Here are some preventative measures to minimize the damage to your garden:

Problem Animal	Organic Methods and Prevention
Rabbits	- 36" high chicken wire - bend the wire 4-6 inches outward, and bury this part six inches deep. This prevents them from digging through. Stake around your garden bed or vegetable garden for support - If you have a fence, bury chicken wire using the same method and attach to the bottom of your fence. However, small rabbits can squeeze through chain-link fences - Grow plants that rabbits hate the smell of - lavender, garlic, and catnip - however, extreme hunger will override bad smells if a bunny sees delicious looking flowers ahead!
Deer	- Plantskydd Deer Repellent - emits an odor that smells like a predator is nearby (works against rabbits as well) - the active ingredient is dried blood, similar to that found in bloodmeal. - Fencing at least 8 feet high - plant deer-resistant plants, such as marigolds, zinnia, bleeding hearts, native prairie plants, liliacs, dogwood, juniper, pines and blue spruce
Mice, rats and squirrels	- eliminate the reasons for rodents to stay on your property - avoid winter food sources left on the ground, such as birdseed, pet food, compost outside a bin and human food. Also, remove potential areas for shelter, such as clutter in the home or garage, piles of lumber on the property, and wooden walkways or decks with small entry points underneath - To build a better bird feeder to only feed birds, place an aluminum pie plate over the feeder. Squirrels will have a hard time trying to overcome this obstacle.

Home-Made Insecticides

There are a variety of safe insecticide and even herbicide sprays that can be made from your own kitchen. Here are a few you can use in your garden:

All-Purpose Garlic Spray

One of the best multi-purpose organic gardening sprays. It not only combats pests, who hate the smell, but it prevents the spread of some plant diseases. Some garderners say it does not work against red ants, grasshoppers and Colorado potato beetles.

1/2 cup finely chopped garlic cloves
2 cups water

Mix well. Let it sit for about a day, then strain out the garlic into a spray bottle. Lightly spray your plants. Putting too much on could harm your plants, so keep it to one spray or fine mist, or test individual leaves first and wait two days to see if it has a negative effect. To increase the potency of the insecticide, add crushed hot pepper and/or a tablespoon of dissolved pure soap to make the spray stick to the insect.

Basic Oil Spray

1 cup of vegetable oil ( soybean, corn or canola)
1 tablespoon dishwashing liquid.

Place oil and water in a jar or empty ketchup bottle and mix. Leftovers can be kept in these containers for later use.

Take 1 tablespoon of the oil mixture and add 2 cups of water. Place the solution in a spray bottle and spray the plant with the problem infestation. As oil and water don't mix, shake the spray bottle often to keep the solution well mixed. Repeat every 10 days.

Alcohol Oil Spray

Adding isopropyl alcohol to the mixture increases the effectiveness of the oil spray. This mix is lethal to many insects, but could harm apple tree leaves and African violets.

1 cup alcohol
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 quart water

Mix these ingredients together and place in spray bottle. Spray on infested plants as necessary.

Basic Soap Spray

Soap sprays work best of soft-bodies insects like aphids, mites, whiteflies and scale. It coats the bodies of the insects, causing them to dry out. It is safe on all edible vegetables and usually leaves no residue on plants. It is also safe for beneficial insects like bees.

2 tablespoons dishwashing liquid (not detergents like Tide, which are more harsh)
1 gallon warm water

Mix and use as a spray when needed.

Contributed by - click to read more organic gardening information and composting methods.