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Organic Pest Control You can wash your aphid problems away with insecticidal soap. Some "green" pesticide products are specifically labeled as insect killing soap. These products wash off the insect's protective covering and they dehydrate and die. Never apply insecticidal soap in the heat of the day and be sure to wash it off the plant after one hour. You may have to "wash" the plant more than one time for control. Light Horticultural oils will control scale, mites and tea lice. Mites and tea lice appear in the winter on plants such as camellias, azaleas, gardenias and Buford hollies. They cause black honeydew that makes the plants you want to show off in the winter and early spring landscape unattractive. Scale is an enemy of fruit trees and actually looks like brown or gray scale that can be found on the bark of peaches and plum trees. It's a complicated little pest that sends a threadlike mouthpart into the bark of the tree to suck sap. It then coats itself in a waxy covering that is hard to penetrate with conventional pesticides. Horticultural oil applied over the entire tree in the early spring when the buds first begin to swell will control scale. However, it is best to remove an entire limb if it is infested with a large amount. The oil applied during the winter on the evergreens mentioned above will control mites and tea lice. Be sure to spray the underside of the leaves when spraying for mites. Light horticultural oil contains fewer impurities than the old heavy dormant oil. Also, light horticultural oil can be used later in the season or mixed with another pesticide or fungicide to act as a "sticker." Although some of the newer oils can be used during the summer, I would test a small area before treating the entire garden. Plants damaged by oils are Japanese or red maples, hickories, walnuts, junipers and redbuds. Avoid oils with high sulphur content. Neem extract from the seeds of the neem tree interferes with molting, and will knock out the bugs that grow quickly such as squash bugs and leafhoppers. It also helps with powdery mildew and black spot on roses. It can be used on fruit trees, flowers and vegetables. Sometimes neem oil comes mixed with other non-organic pesticides, so read the labels carefully. Mineral oil applied with an eyedropper in the ear tips of corn will control corn earworm. All-natural Pyrethrum will paralyze all insects immediately and can be toxic to birds and fish, but is considered an organic solution. Pyrethroids are synthetic versions of pyrethrum and have a longer residual but are not considered organic. Pyrethrum shouldn't be applied in the heat of the day. Roaches ants and fleas can be controlled with diatomaceous earth, a powder made from fossilized prehistoric crustaceans called diatoms. It cuts into the insect's bodies causing them to dehydrate. It becomes less effective when wet.
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Looking for some organic pest control? Here is a list of some of the most common organic pest controls and what they do. Cabbageworms, mosquito larva, armyworms, tomato hornworms, and caterpillars can be controlled with Bt, or Bacillus thuringiensis, a naturally occurring fungus. It will degrade after a few hours in the sun so multiple applications may be needed a few days apart to eliminate the problem. Spinosad is a similar product with a 20 day residual and is the preferred method of control on my garden. Spinodad is also effective for flea beetles, Colorado potato beetles, thrips and fire ants. Skip a year between usage sustituting Bt for one year, to prevent immunity from developing.
