Organic Lawn & Garden Pest Control

Predacious Insects

• Predacious insects are insects that feed on other insects in your garden. The predacious insect will keep the pest population down or get rid of it completely. Aphids are particularly problematic in the garden. They can kill seedlings, transmit diseases to multiple vegetable plants and stunt the growth of your plants. Ladybugs are a natural predator of aphids. Releasing a group of ladybugs in your garden will control your aphid population. The green lacewing is another predator of the aphid. A lacewing will eat up to 750 aphids by the time it reaches adulthood. Another predacious insect for a garden is the ground beetle. The ground beetle preys upon cutworms which "cut" down young plants by chewing on the stems.

Manual Control

• Caterpillars will eat the leaves of many plants found in vegetable and flower gardens. You will see the caterpillars on the leaves and stems of the plants. Pick these pests off with your hands. Put caterpillars into warm soapy water to dispose of them. If beetles are attacking your plants, shake the plants to knock them off. This will need to be done anytime you see them on the plants. Another method of removing pests from your garden is to spray a stream of water on them; most insects will drop off the plants. Stick double sided tape to a bright yellow piece of cardboard or poster board and set it out in the garden. This will trap pests such as white flies, aphids and cabbage worms.

Diatomaceous Earth

• Diatomaceous earth, or diatomite, is an organic insect repellent. It works especially well when you need to treat large areas like lawns. Diatomaceous earth is sediment made up of at least 90 percent of the cell walls of diatomes. These cell walls have a glass-like property. The broken cell walls cause feel sharp and abrasive to insects. Insects and slugs will not crawl across diatomaceous earth. Sprinkle a one-quarter-inch layer of diatomaceous earth across the lawn or garden.

Soap Sprays

• Hand soap is very irritating to most bugs. Mix one-quarter cup unscented liquid hand soap with 2 gallons of water and 6 tbsp. of canola oil. Pour the mixture into a 2-gallon garden sprayer. Spray both sides of the leaves, the stem and the flowers of all plants in your garden with this mixture. This will deter any insects from attacking the plant. Do not apply on days where the temperature is above 90 degrees F, or you could cause the leaves of your plants to burn.

Compost Tea

• Compost is beneficial to your plants. Gardeners add compost to garden soil to add nutrients to the soil and feed the plants. Compost made into a tea can control insects in your lawn and garden. Fill three pieces of cheesecloth with a few handfuls of compost. Place it into a 1-gallon bucket of water for 6 hours. Pour the tea into a garden sprayer. Spray the tea over all of your plants or lawn.