Organic Insect Repellents, Insect Control Methods
Your organic gardening program will need to address insect control methods.
Those nasty, harsh chemicals that effectively kill every insect around
is not part of your organic arsenal. Chemical insecticides can have long
term harmful effect on you and the environment.
Fortunately, there is a wide range of organic insect control methods. You
may want to experiment with a variety of insect control methods, to see which
works best for you and your plants.
Organic Insect Control can take a number of forms:
Insect Repellents
As the term implies, insect repellents "repel" rateher than kill insects.
These repellents may contain a variety of agents. The most common repellents
are garlic based. Many insects do not like the oil of garlic, and will fly
off in search of other foods.
Frequent application of organic repellents is often needed, especially after
heavy rains.
Make your own organic insect repellent sprays.
Companion plants
There are two types of companion plants: those that compliment the nutrient
needs of other plants, and those that insects do not like. Plants that insects
do not like, make great companions to other plants in your organic garden.
Planting onions and garlic amid your organic vegetables, will repel a variety
of insects. In addition to providing insect protection, you can harvest the
onions and garlic, too. Marigolds are another great companion plant.
A companion plant can also be one that insects like. In South America, coffee
growers plant banana trees around the coffee crops. Insects like the sweet,
banana plants and fruit, much more than coffee plants.
Note: Plants that repel insects often make good components of insect repellent
sprays.
More on Companion plants
Beneficial Insects
One way to get harmful insects out of your organic garden is to introduce
and promote beneficial insects into your garden. The most well known
beneficial insects are lady bugs and praying mantis. If you've got aphids,
the lady bugs will thrive. If you have a variety of insects, the praying
mantis will find ample hunting.
You can actually purchase these beneficial insects, and introduce them to
your yard or garden.
Did you Know? They say Lady bugs bring good luck. However, not if
you are an aphid.
More on Beneficial Insects
Insect Barriers
A fine mesh insect netting will keep even small insects out of your garden.
The fine mesh keeps insects out, yet lets sunlight, air and moisture in.
The amount of sunlight entering and reaching your plants is dependent upon
how fine the mesh is.
There is a wide range of insect an pest netting. A 1/4" to 3'8" mesh may
be effective against Cicada and grasshopper invasions. They are very effective
against these pests, some larger sized beetles, and a few other very
large insects.
Buy/browse pest netting now.
For the vast majority of insects, a finer meshed insect netting is required.
Pest and insect netting can be very effective against flying and crawling
(above ground) insects. But, they will not deter insects that live in the
soil.
Floating Row covers can also ve used to keep insects away. Unfortunately,
they also shade the plant. Therefore, use of row covers should just be temporary.
More on Organic Gardening:
Organic garden seeds - the all important starting
point
Organic garden soil and soil amendments
Organic fertilizers
Organic insect repellents/insect control
Organic disease control
Related Topics:
About the USDA
Buy Organic Seeds and Supplies - Seeds, fertilizer,
fish emulsion, repellents, and more.
Make your own organic fertilizer. The Compact ComposTumbler quickly
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