Organic Pest Control: Avoiding the Environmental Impact of Pesticide

Everyone knows pesticides are bad for the environment in some way. If there isn’t a direct impact on a non targeted insect or creature, there is almost certainly going to be an impact on the food chain if taken too far. The problem anyone with a garden can readily tell you is that pests can destroy much of your garden, without providing any alternative benefit. So what is an effective way to combat garden pests and minimize any external impact on plants or animals outside your garden? Well, you may want to consider adding beneficial bugs to the mix. These are insects that target pests, and leave your garden alone.

Insects such as braconid wasps, of which North America has over 2000 species, or ground beetles that eat caterpillars, Colorado potato beetles, slugs, tobacco budworms, corn earworms, cutworms, and squash vine borers. Lacewing larvae, otherwise known as aphid lions, eat aphids, small caterpillars and their eggs, larvae, mealy bugs, whiteflies and many other species. There are several more good bugs all itching for the chance to help, too!

The key to making sure the balance stays right is to provide certain flowering plants for your army of good insect soldiers to eat when there are no bad bugs to feed on; planting flowers does this, in or around your garden. The good bugs use the nectar as fuel when looking for bad bugs and reproducing, and pollen protein in the creation of eggs.

So which plants are easiest for your good bug army to make use of? Researchers have identified groups of flowers that provide easily accessible nectar and pollen: plants in the daisy family, such as aster, yarrow and cosmos; those in the carrot family, such as cilantro, dill, fennel, parsley and wild carrot; alyssum and other members of the mustard family; mints; and buckwheats. Other flowers to consider are those with extra-floral nectaries such as peony, elderberry, sunflower, morning glory, vetch, willow, plum and peach. These flowers have glands, which produce nectar in glands outside the main flower and are quite helpful to ladybugs and other good bugs, in extreme weather and also during drought.

However, until your nectar producing flowers get going, you will probably need to add some incentive for the good bugs. Try sugar water, mixed at 3/4 cup sugar to 1 quart of water. Researchers at Utah State University found that sugar water was great for attracting parasitic wasps. To apply, the researchers used a fresh solution and applied to the foliage with sprayers.

There are additional steps you will want to take as well. Be sure to provide a habitat that’s suitable for the good bugs you are introducing. Also, be sure to find bugs that are native to the area. Grow shrubs and perennial grasses; researchers in California found that hedge growths were conducive to good bug populations. Use mulch in your garden to deter beetles. Finally, be sure to add water to the mix; bees need water, and a small gravel filled container of it should be changed regularly to help support them. Or you could try growing Silphium perfoliatum L, AKA the cup plant, which captures and holds water in its leaves.

Using these and other methods of organic pest control can help keep our crops safe, increase our yields, and keep pesticides out of our bodies and the environment. For more information google organic pest control. There is a wealth of information available.