A healthy pest free crop of cucumbers

Commercial Organic Pesticides

 You can buy these at your Local Hardware Store or Garden Centre.

These are the tried and tested Pesticides that are quite often used in Commercial Organic Farming Operations.

They tend to be expensive compared to Chemical Pesticides but they don't have any of the nasty side effects that can come with Organophosphates.

Organic Pesticides:

Neem Oil;

Use Neem Oil as directed but don't expect the bugs to drop off your plant before your eyes as its effects can take a couple of days to become apparent.

The good thing about the product is that the more you use it the less you will have to use it!

It has a very good Deterrent effect that is quite long-lived, this makes it great for all your permanent plants.

If you have an ornamental plant with constant pest problems Neem Oil can be used as a soil drench which draws the oil up through the plant killing and deterring pests from the inside out.

Pyrethrum;

Made from the Pyrethrum Daisy, it is one of my favourite Organic Insecticides as it pretty much nails any pest you may have, it does struggle with Scale though.

Once it is dry it has absolutely no residue to speak of, commercial growers are allowed to use it up to five days before harvest because any traces leave the skin of the fruit pretty much straight away.

This has a drawback though, it only kills while it is wet so never spray during the heat of the day otherwise it actually dries before it has had a chance to work.

Always use a lot of water when applying to make sure you get good coverage of the Pest. When I use it I always spray in the evening, to ensure slow drying conditions.

Dipel;

A great safe Insecticide for chewing Insects mainly caterpillars.

It works by leaving a Bacterium on the leaf that the caterpillar eats and then perishes.

Quite short-lived, will last a week and that’s about it and needs to be reapplied after rain.

An excellent product because it only harms chewing insects that consume it otherwise lets everything else be.

Diatomaceous Earth;

This product is ground up remains of Hard Shelled Algae with the consistency of Dust.

It works by breaking down the outer shell of the Insect causing them to de-hydrate.

It is a great Flea treatment for your pets bedding or your Flea infected carpets etc. Sprinkle it on the bedding-flooring leave for a few hours and then just Vacuum up the powder and dead Fleas.

White Oil;

Not strictly an Organic Pesticide but one that is allowed in Organic Farming as it is relatively harmless to the applicator and the Environment.

That is not necessarily the case with the plant though, White Oil works by suffocating the Insect which it can also do to the plant as well.

It works well on sucking Insects that are difficult to kill with normal Organic Insecticides.

The Oil can close off the cells in the leaves of a plant that it breaths through, obviously suffocating it.

This does only happen in extreme cases but you need to be mindful of this when spraying White Oil. The softer the plant the more careful you need to be.

Only spray during the cooler part of the day and stick to the label rates and your plant will be fine, the greblies not!

Be Happy,

Barry

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