Growman3001
Active Member
What is the best organic way to get rid of insects eating my plants? Thx...
Insect problem, Organic growers, please help!
- Thread starter Growman3001
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Vindicated
Well-Known Member
Early in the season I like to use food grade diatomaceous earth (never use the kind for pools). However, a lot of organic growers are against this because of the fear of harming bees, wasps, and other predatory insects. On the other hand, I've heard from bee keepers that while it's true diatomaceous earth can kill them, bees are smart enough to avoid a plant that's been dusted, so long as your not dusting a whole field or applying the dust mid-day when they bees are out and about. If you do choose to use DE, make sure to apply it in the early morning, when it's not windy, and mist the plants right before to help the dust stick to the leaves. In my experience, this is one of the safest things to apply, granted it doesn't make for pretty photo shoots.
Neem oil is another popular option, but it really only works on small insects. It's primarily an anti-feeding and anti-reproduction agent, so if you have a family of aphids eating your plants (and assuming they aren't suffocated by the neem oil during it's initial application) they'll slowly begin to die through starvation and won't be able to reproduce fast enough to keep infestation going. There are no known risks of neem oil, but it hasn't really been studied vigorously either.
Pyrethrum based sprays and soaps are a good, but only if you see the pest and want something to kill them on the spot. The only downside is they breaks down really fast (usually about a day or two) and if you use it to often, you'll burn your plants. On the plus side, I've heard that even a diluted spray that isn't strong enough to kill pests or damage your plants, can still work really good as a deterrent.
Oddly enough, aluminum foil (or any silver-metallic looking ground cover) laid down as a mulch will deter a lot of flying insects. Copper tape placed around the base of your plants and containers discourages slugs and snails. Just be careful in the summer. Metal tents to amply the suns rays and an aluminum mulch could make the soil to hot for the roots. In the spring time it works great. Summer, not so much.
If your just dealing with a nibble here and there and your not sure what's causing it, I'd leave it alone. And if you do run across one or two pests, either shake them off, pluck them off, or squirt them with water. If water doesn't work, add a few drops of dawn or ivory dish soap to your sprayer and spray them again.
One more option you can try is introducing beneficial pests to your garden. The downside to this is they won't eat every bad insect, you won't be able to use anything toxic, and you'll have to learn to live with some leaf damage. On the plus side, you don't use anything toxic and you learn to live with some leaf damage.
Hope this helps,
- Vin
Neem oil is another popular option, but it really only works on small insects. It's primarily an anti-feeding and anti-reproduction agent, so if you have a family of aphids eating your plants (and assuming they aren't suffocated by the neem oil during it's initial application) they'll slowly begin to die through starvation and won't be able to reproduce fast enough to keep infestation going. There are no known risks of neem oil, but it hasn't really been studied vigorously either.
Pyrethrum based sprays and soaps are a good, but only if you see the pest and want something to kill them on the spot. The only downside is they breaks down really fast (usually about a day or two) and if you use it to often, you'll burn your plants. On the plus side, I've heard that even a diluted spray that isn't strong enough to kill pests or damage your plants, can still work really good as a deterrent.
Oddly enough, aluminum foil (or any silver-metallic looking ground cover) laid down as a mulch will deter a lot of flying insects. Copper tape placed around the base of your plants and containers discourages slugs and snails. Just be careful in the summer. Metal tents to amply the suns rays and an aluminum mulch could make the soil to hot for the roots. In the spring time it works great. Summer, not so much.
If your just dealing with a nibble here and there and your not sure what's causing it, I'd leave it alone. And if you do run across one or two pests, either shake them off, pluck them off, or squirt them with water. If water doesn't work, add a few drops of dawn or ivory dish soap to your sprayer and spray them again.
One more option you can try is introducing beneficial pests to your garden. The downside to this is they won't eat every bad insect, you won't be able to use anything toxic, and you'll have to learn to live with some leaf damage. On the plus side, you don't use anything toxic and you learn to live with some leaf damage.
Hope this helps,
- Vin