Organic Gardening Pest Control Is Effective
One of the biggest mistakes that gardeners make is in assuming that all the insects that are in their garden are harmful and need to be gotten rid of. Nearly 95% of the things that crawl and buzz around your garden are either harmless to your plants or are beneficial to them – bees, for example, play a huge role in plant fertilization. Many other of these small creatures either eat weeds or consume the eggs of harmful bugs. That does not mean that the few which are harmful can be ignored or wished away you will have to get rid of them.
If you are an organic gardener half your battle against harmful insects is already won since you are promoting the natural way in which plants protect themselves. But that is still not enough and using chemical insecticides and pesticides means your garden is no longer organic. However, there are many natural herbs and other ingredients that can be used as organic gardening pest control materials – things you can make for yourself. Besides being very effective and ensuring that your garden remains organic, organic gardening pest control sprays are much cheaper than commercially produced chemical pesticides.
There are five main types of organic gardening pest control sprays and mixtures that are commonly used and all are comparatively easy to prepare and use. Sprays made of a mixture of water or alcohol and strong smelling materials like tobacco leaves, garlic, onions, and even fish can be sprayed onto plants to drive away insects that are sensitive to smell. A lot of plants give off odors that humans cannot smell but are strong enough to drive away insects and a spray made up of water in which these plants have been soaked is an effective organic gardening pest control method. An organic gardening pest control spray made from plant based soaps and detergents will repel many insects without harming the plants. You can kill many insect types by spraying them with a homemade mixture of vegetable and mineral oils which will coat their bodies and suffocate them. And finally sprays made out of chilies, methylated alcohol and even salt when they come into contact with the skin of many insects causes it to burn and so kills them off.
Finding the recipes for these organic gardening pest control sprays is not difficult any organic gardening book or an online search will give you all the information you need. Be warned that over using these sprays can be counter productive. Do not presume that just because they are organic they are not strong – using too much can damage your garden. Also keep in mind that some of the stronger organic gardening pest control sprays can, if used in sunlight, have a chemical reaction that could cause your plants to burn and these must be used only after sunset or when the garden is in the shade.
