As I talked about a few weeks ago, organic pesticides are a great alternative to their artificial counterparts. They have the same effect, without many of the negative detriments! If you would like a full summary of the pros and cons of organic pesticides, you can check out my post on the subject by clicking here. Anyway, this week I wanted to talk about the different kinds of organic pesticides in further depth, for any who may be considering using them in the near future. We will first be talking about each type of pesticide, then going in to some specific brands of pesticides to use, what they should be used for, and how effective each of them might be. So, without further ado, let's get right into it!
Types of organic pesticides
In the last post about organic pesticides, I did have a brief summary of this section (which you can see here). However, if you haven't seen that post, I am going to include a quick recap. of them right here:
Biochemical pesticides- made from natural pheromones.
Mineral pesticides- made from sulfur lime sulfur, and other minerals such as salt.
Botanical pesticides- made from different kinds of plants and the oils that come from them.
Microbial pesticides- made from bacteria, fungi, algae, or naturally occurring viruses.
So now that we have a little bit of an idea as to what the different types of organic pesticides are, let's dive in into some of the most commonly used. Before that, however, I should quickly mention that most of the pesticides I am going to be talking about in this article are used mainly for gardens, however when made in large quantities they can work just as well for lawns too! Now, let's start with a little disclaimer about biochemical pesticides.
Note on Biochemical Pesticides
Unfortunately, not many biochemical pesticides are available for consumer use. The wide majority of them are used only by companies, as they are easy to use in large quantities. Additionally, their effects have been highly debated, so they may not the best choice for consumer use. But, while they may not be available to many homeowners for use in their lawns, they are still a great alternative to many of the pesticides used by companies around the world.
Mineral Pesticides
Mineral pesticides, on the other hand, are very accessible to homeowners, and often cost a lot less than artificial ones. Yes, they may require a little bit of preparation before application, but other than that, they're simple! So, here is a list of some mineral pesticides you can use in your lawn to get rid of unwanted pests:
(Big thanks to the Global Healing Center and Natural Living Ideas for providing the information used in this section).
Himalayan salt spray- made by mixing two tablespoons of Himalayan Crystal Salt into a gallon of water, salt spray is a great method to keep pests out of the lawn. While it works best for spider mites, the salt also works really well at keeping other bugs at bay. If you would like to try this for yourself, you can buy Himalayan Crystal Salt here.
Epsom salt- while also used to provide nutrients to gardens, Epsom salt is a really good deterrent to bugs. To use this you have two options: 1. Dissolve one cup of the salt in five gallons of water (which you can buy here), and then spray or 2. Sprinkle the salt gently around your lawn. Not only will this help to kill off pests, but it may even help your lawn grow!
Botanical Pesticides
Next on the list we have botanical pesticides, which are usually the easiest to make at home and sometimes don't even require you to buy anything (depending what ingredients you have). Here are some of the best ones:
(Thanks to Natural Living Ideas for the information used in this section)
Garlic spray- to create this great spray, mix cloves from five bulbs of garlic with 17 oz of water, and allow them to mix for six hours. Then, add some natural dish soap and pass the mixture through a strainer. Then, add one more gallon of water and it's ready. This one requires more preparation, but it works great on the lawn.
Neem oil- this is my personal favorite of the natural pesticides. It's cheap, easy to make, and works very well. All you need is a teaspoon of neem oil (which you can buy here) a half teaspoon of soap (must be made of natural ingredients) and a quart of warm water. Mix them together, and you have a great all natural pesticide.
Microbial Pesticides
Finally, we have microbial pesticides. And, like Biochemical pesticides, these aren't as readily available as other types. You can still buy them online for use in your lawn, but I would not recommend it as they can be quite expensive, and some of them even use artificial ingredients.
All hope is not lost however. While there is not a pesticide that you can buy, there is something using microbes that may help to protect your lawn. Microbial inoculant, a common solution to unhealthy plants used by gardeners, is essentially "microorganism food" meaning that it helps attract healthy microorganisms. Now you may be thinking, "the whole point of a pesticides is to get rid of organisms!" And while this may be true, microbial inoculant does just that. You see, the microorganisms this solution attracts helps to give your lawn a better immunity to disease, and make it a less appealing home to hostile insects. So, not only does this make your lawn healthier, but it also helps to get rid of pests over time. If you want to use it, you can purchase microbial inoculant here. I would recommend mixing 2 ounces of it per every gallon of water you use, and apply it every week to see the best results.
Which is the best?
In my opinion, the best out of all of these organic pesticides is neem oil. This is largely because of its effectiveness on insects combined with its minimal effect on the environment. Depending on which neem oil you buy (make sure to go for all natural and NOT extract) it has pretty much no negative effects on the environment (it's even safe for bees!). Not only this, but it works really well on keeping harmful insects out. The only downside may be its smell, as it's quite strong, but you get used to it quickly.
Conclusion
As you must have noticed by now, I only included just a few out of the many organic pesticide options. This was done for a reason. I highly, highly recommend you check out the Global Healing Center and Natural Living Ideas for more information on the subject. Not only do they provide a lot more unique solutions, but they are also a lot more knowledgeable on the subject then I am. Hopefully anyone who reads this at least considers using organic pesticides in their lawn, as it really does help the environment. It saves bees, prevents pollution of our water, and brings us one step closer to saving the environment. Thanks for reading.
All credit for information used in this post goes to:
https://www.globalhealingcenter.com/natural-health/organic-pesticides/
http://www.naturallivingideas.com/homemade-organic-pesticides/
http://www.medhelp.org/posts/Animal-Health---General/Mineral-Oil-safe-for-
cats/show/1501768
https://www.teraganix.com/EM-for-Grass-and-Turf-s/35.htm
https://www.planetnatural.com/product/vinegar-weed-killer/
Images:
http://non-gmoreport.com/articles/debunking-alternate-facts-pesticides-organic/
https://www.banyanbotanicals.com/neem-oil/
http://trafficpestsolutions.com/Chemicals/general-info/organic-pesticides.html
http://www.cnchemicals.com/Press/82466-Biological%20pesticides%20to%20surpass%207%20percent%20in%20growth%20rate%20b%202022.html
http://hassanplas.com/pet-bottles-lahore/
https://www.seasalt.com/epsom-salt-medium.html
https://phz8.petinsurance.com/pet-health/pet-toxins/garlic-toxicity-and-pets
https://www.amazon.com/UpNature-Best-Neem-Oil-Extract/dp/B017G5CFUY
http://www.arbico-organics.com/category/mold-mildew-controls
https://www.teraganix.com/Case-of-EM-1-Microbial-Inoculant-p/81000.htm
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/06/100622175510.htm
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