Organic Pest Control: The Natural Way to Keep Bugs Away

These days, more and more homeowners are becoming aware of the dangers of chemical pesticides. They can pose a health risk to you, your family, and pets, and can kill off insects that actually help your plants. Also, they eventually find their way into our water table. Luckily, there are several methods of organic pest control that keep bugs away without the use of chemicals:

• Varietal Selection: The simplest organic pest control method is to select plants that are resistant to bugs. Look on the package for resistance to pests or diseases.
• Cultural Controls: Removing diseased plant material from your garden will help prevent the spread to healthy plants. Crop rotation also falls under this category of organic pest control.
• Physical Controls: It's as easy as it sounds: picking bugs off your plants. Physical controls may also include placing nets or screen enclosures over your plants, and washing them off with water.
• Natural Pesticides: Be careful with these; natural doesn't always mean safe. However, light oils are very good at controlling mites, aphids, mealybugs, and others.
• Biological Controls: This is the practice of using beneficial insects to keep harmful ones away. It can be difficult, however, to keep the creatures in balance.
• Home Remedies: Many people use things like neem seeds, black pepper spray, and beer bait which are both easy to find and scientifically proven to be an effective organic pest control technique. Organic gardening enthusiasts are generally happy to share their recipes. These days, there are a number of products available in health-food and specialty stores that incorporate these home remedies into a convenient form—it's easier to buy a spray, after all, than to mix up the ingredients yourself.

By using a combination of the organic pest control techniques above, you can free your garden from chemical pesticides for good. They may take more time, but your reward will be good food and a clean conscience—not a bad payoff, overall.

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