Trying to keep your garden all-natural and organic in the face of relentless attacks can make you crazy. After losing another batch of plants to hungry bugs, anyone would want to grab the nearest spray bottle of something toxic. Thankfully, there are a few really good pesticide options that aren’t horrendous for the Earth or for you.
The Finger Treatment: This is as natural and old-school as you can get. Just pick the offending bugs off, and drop them in a bucket with a little soapy water. It’s ideal for larger caterpillars or beetles that are easy to see and grab. Tiny aphids will need another approach.
Diatomaceous Earth (DE): Diatomaceous earth is a fine white powder you can buy at the garden store, and it’s completely harmless to people, plants and animals. On a microscopic scale, it has lots of sharp edges from teeny broken seashells. It feels like baking soda to you or me, but will be like glass shards to a bug. Just sprinkle it around your plants, and the pests are dead almost on contact with it.
Soap Spray: Mix 5 tablespoons of pure liquid soap with a gallon of water. Shake it up in a spray bottle and give a spritz when you see small bugs on your plants. For a more powerful variation on this recipe, add a teaspoon of hot red pepper powder to about a gallon of spray. That will really keep the larger bugs away.
Essential Oils: A strongly scented essential oil can repel insects without doing them any actual harm. A mixture of roughly 4oz water, 4 oz. witch hazel and 30+ drops of a potent oil-like clove, cinnamon, mint, rosemary or eucalyptus will work in a spray bottle. Shake well, and spritz your plants to start driving away the bugs.
Pyrethrum Sprays: Look for commercial products with pyrethrum for a potent and relatively safe insect repellent. It is a toxin (just a very mild and natural one), so take care when using. It will kill most insects and it lingers on the plants, so spraying the leaves will help keep the insects off until it rains. Unlike the soap, you don’t actually have to dose the pests directly.