Organic gardening is all about growing food naturally, without the use of chemical and toxic additives. Although organic gardening involves different aspects, the two main principles of organic gardening are natural soil preparation and natural pest control. Even if you are not an organic gardener, you can still use organic gardening pest control practices – for your own benefit as well as for others’.

By definition, pesticides are toxic. They are intended to kill living things, namely insect pests. At the same time, most pesticides are toxic to other living things, too, including people. Children and pets are two groups who these toxins are especially dangerous to. Pesticides have been linked to cancer, asthma, learning disorders, birth defects, central nervous system toxicity and many other health problems. Organic gardening pest control practices do not use toxic pesticides, and that does make a difference if to think of the amount of exposure we have to pesticides in our environment. No matter how careful you are, you just can’t avoid being exposed to pesticides, sometimes in toxic amounts. All water sources in the world are now contaminated with pesticides.

Pesticides don’t go away; they get more and more concentrated as they move up the food chain. The pesticides in water sources are absorbed into water plants, which are eaten by fish. The pesticides are not excreted by the fish, but are absorbed into their bodies, which are eaten by people. It is a similar process with land plants and animals, as pesticides have been absorbed into soil, too.

Organic gardening pest control practices stops the distribution of these toxic chemicals and provides safer food sources for us. If organic gardening pest control practices were adopted by most people in the world, we could eventually eliminate world-wide pesticide contamination.

Companion Planting

Organic gardening pest control always chooses the least toxic solution. Companion planting is a safe alternative that can prevent pests from invading your garden. Some plants have the ability to keep bugs away, so planting them next to your tasty plants is a good idea. Garlic, onions and marigolds are stinky plants that repel bugs. A good idea is to plant them in a border around your garden to mask the smell of your other vegetables.

Remove the Bugs

If pests are already on your plants, you have to remove them. Remember, that not all bugs are pests – you only need to remove the ones who are enjoying your vegetables and/or flowers. Early morning or late evening is the best time to hunt the pests as they tend to invade your veggies when it’s cool. Remove any tomato hookworms, potato bugs, Japanese beetles, slugs or other insect pests that you find. Another way to remove bugs is to spray the plants with the hose and wash the critters off.

Predator Bugs

There are bugs that eat other bugs, so they automatically become a wonderful organic gardening pest control. Ladybugs, lacewings and praying mantises are all garden-friendly bugs. They are available at the garden store, and you just need to release them into your garden – they will take care of aphids, mites and many other pests. Most spiders are bug-eaters, too, and will take care of many flying insects for you. If you see a nice barn spider web in your garden, don’t touch it and let the spider work for you.

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