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Organic Pest Control

We write a lot about pest control from an organic perspective, but you might not notice. You might expect us to talk about which USDA organic sprays to use, but we don’t do that lately here at Gardenerd (our older posts include sprays and powders that are OMRI and USDA approved). Instead, we focus on soil health, physical barriers, using microbiology to build a healthier garden with less work, and a few traps to catch critters that won’t go away after all of the above.

The #2 Topic requested in our New Year’s Survey was Organic Pest Control. Over the years, we’ve published blog posts on many common garden pests: ear wigs, aphids, cabbage worms, birds, etc. Today we’ll point you to them for easy reference.

Droppings and munching are a clear sign you have tomato hornworms.

Aphids – covers all sucking insects

Tiny pods covered in aphids. We put down worm castings and used a hose blast to get them off. It worked well.

Ladybugs: Nature’s Aphid Brigade

Ants on My Artichokes – ants and aphids – treat both problems for a lasting solution

Bugs in My Cabbage – white flies, aphids.

Bagrada Bugs

Photo courtesy of Bugguide.net

Bagrada Bugs on the Loose

Birds

Ask Gardenerd: Protecting Blackberries

Crow Away!

Cabbage Worms / Moths

Cabbage Moths – Pretty but Dastardly

Take Cover – It’s Cabbage Moth Season

Earwigs

Earwigs Don’t Wear Wigs

What’s Eating My Cabbage and Spinach – also covers sow bugs, rats, and snails.

Podcast: Earwig Infestations

Slugs and Snails

Is this a Grove snail? SoCal snails are boring brown, but this is high fashion!

Snails – Can’t Live With ‘Em

Podcast: Snails and Beer – A Good Combo

Mystery Eggs

Squash Bugs

Squash Bug Battles

Tomato Worms

tomato hornworm
Photo by  Jared Belson

YouTube: How to find Tomato Hornworms

Tomato Worms, Flies, and Flower Drop – Oh My!

These are just a few to get you started. If you have a request for specific pest control, post it below in the comments. We’ll point you in the right direction or create a new post!

This Post Has One Comment

  1. Gabriel

    I planted a cabbage last month but a bunch of moths attacked it. Thanks for sharing these tips. I will surely follow them for my garden.

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