How to control garden bugs organically

Gardening organically means gardening without pesticides.  So, how do you get rid of all the insect pests in your garden?  Do you need to get rid of all the insect pests in your garden?  Scott Meyer, expert gardener and editor of Organic Gardening magazine helps answer these questions.

Although gardeners get very frustrated by the sight of insects in their garden, the fact is, 80% of garden insects are good bugs – they eat other bugs! The friendly ladybug and the praying mantis are wonderful insects that feed on other pests that would otherwise harm your garden.

Why no pesticides or insecticides?

• Although a serious insect infestation can ruin a garden, it is best not to overreact.  Chemical insecticide kills all of the insects in a garden, the bad and the good.
• Chemical insecticides have a larger impact on the ecosystem beyond the insects in your garden. If it’s bad for the bugs, it’s bad for the spiders that eat the bugs and the birds that eat the spiders, and so on.

A gardener’s first defense against insects is observation. 

• Observe what damage the insects are really doing in your garden. As an example, Scott Meyer shared a broccoli leaf that was full of holes, but it came from a plant that was producing a beautiful head of broccoli.  Overreacting to the potential problem with chemical pesticides could be more harmful than the pest itself.

If you do need to intervene and treat pests in your garden, there are good organic solutions:

Plant Oils

• Peppermint oil is a good solution for repelling bugs as well as fungus.  You can spray this directly on the leaves of the plant.
• Garlic oil repels pests well. (And some humans, too.)

Insect Soap

• Insect soap should be sprayed directly at bugs, as opposed to spraying it on the plant.  The soap removes a protective coating that insects have and it makes them vulnerable to the conditions outside.

Row Cover

• You can also use a row cover, which is a special knd of fabric that allows light, air and water to come through, so the plant gets what it needs without the bugs.

Birds

• Invite birds (birds that eat bugs) into your garden by installing a birdbath.  

Flowers

• Plant flowers around your vegetable garden.  They attract beneficial insects and birds that feed on the nectar of the flowers and eat bugs hanging out in your garden.

How about the larger pests that prey upon your garden?  

• The most secure protection against raccoons, rabbits and deer is a fence.  Deer can jump an 8-foot fence, so build it tall and at an angle, so the deer cannot figure out where their feet will land. Install an electric fence if you can do it.
• There are other tactics that deter deer:

1. Deer hate the smell of pungent soap. Hang deodorant soap in your garden.
2. Reflective tape or aluminum tins that flutter and clatter in the wind create movement and noise that can make mammals nervous, sending them next door to your neighbor’s garden.