The more we discover about synthetic pesticides, herbicides and insecticides the more we learn how unhealthy they are for the environment and the people and animals that live in it. Pesticides can create more problems than they solve.
Spraying garden chemicals to get rid of bugs and weeds not only cause health risks, they often aren’t even that effective. Initially, they will kill off a lot of pests, but eventually these pests can develop resistance to the pesticide and come back even stronger. Another problem is the side effects many synthetic pesticides can have on unintended targets (think of DDT and birds).
The best plan is to avoid the need to use pest control in the first place by starting with healthy fertile soil, matching your plants to the soil type, ensuring proper sunlight levels and watering conditions, and using appropriate organic fertilization and pruning, when necessary. But, if that doesn’t work there are many alternatives to chemical pesticides that can reduce pests while leaving a healthy environment for your plants, pets and family.
#1 INSECT BARRIER
At Planet Natural we offer a large selection of natural and organic pest control solutions that are guaranteed SAFE and effective. From beneficial insects to botanical sprays, we only carry the best. Also, visit our Pest Problem Solver for pest pictures, descriptions and a complete list of earth-friendly remedies.
Barriers & Repellents
Barriers and repellents help keep bugs out of the garden. They can act like a wall preventing crawling insects from accessing your home or vegetables. For example, by planting carrots in toilet paper rolls cutworms can’t get to them. Plants can provide a living barrier to insects, too. Peppermint, spearmint and pennyroyal naturally deter aphids and ants, so plant them throughout your garden and these pests will stay away.
Simmering cedar twigs in water and then pouring the (cooled) water over plants will deter cutworms, corn earworms and other pests. Snails won’t cross a line of lime, just as ants avoid cayenne pepper or iron phosphate — a natural inorganic material widely used as a nutritional supplement — keeps slugs at bay.
In addition to the many “do it yourself” pest remedies, you can purchase organic pest control products that work on just about anything lurking around the garden or home.
Beneficial Insects
Lady beetles, green lacewings and praying mantis are but a few of the beneficial insects that will prey on the garden pests you don’t want. These “good” bugs can be lured into the garden with attractive habitat (food, shelter and water) or they can be purchased and released into the garden — you’ll still need a healthy habitat for them to survive.
There are many reasons to introduce beneficial bugs into your garden. Over the long term, they are safer and more effective than chemicals, but you’ll need to do a little research first to determine what your specific pest problem is and which beneficial insects to enlist to help. Luckily, the Internet provides a wealth of resources, as does your local extension service.
Biological Pest Control
Naturally occurring insect diseases caused by protozoa, bacteria, fungi and viruses, biological pest controls are effective against their target insects but are nontoxic to humans, pets, wildlife and beneficial insects. They are also less likely to build pest resistance than chemical pesticides and they break down quickly in the environment.
IT'S ORGANIC!
Approved for organic gardening, Monterey Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) is a naturally occurring soil bacteria ideal for controlling cabbageworm, tent caterpillars, gypsy moth, tomato hornworm and other leaf eating caterpillars. Will NOT harm people, pets, birds, honeybees or beneficial insects.
One of the better-known biological pesticides is Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), which is often used against leaf and needle feeding caterpillars. This bacterium is found naturally in soils around the world and paralyzes the digestive tracts of the insects that eat it.
Spinosad is an insecticide derived from the bacteria Saccharopolyspora spinosa and can be used as an alternative to malathion sprays. Spinosad has been found to kill medflies, but not the predators that eat them, and it is approved for use on food crops. It also helps control thrips, caterpillars, leafminers, fruit flies, borers, and much more.
A third (of many) biological pest controls is milky spore powder which targets the white grubs of Japanese beetles. When the grubs come to the surface of the lawn to feed (usually July or August) they ingest the bacteria. These milky spores germinate and multiply inside the grub, killing it.
Home Pest Control
Inside the home is probably where most people are concerned about what sort of pest control they use. Choosing an organic way to get rid of fleas, roaches, mice and other creatures will help keep your family and pets healthy and safe.
Boric acid powder acts as a stomach poison to insects and can be used to control cockroaches, ants, termites, and many other household pests. When these insects walk through it, the boric acid sticks to their legs and is carried back to the colony. The fine powder is ingested as the insects groom each other. Boric acid is less toxic to humans and pets than table salt.
Tip: Make your own ant bait by mixing 2 Tbsp boric acid powder with one 8 oz. jar of mint jelly. Place the bait on small cardboard squares and position these “bait stations” in areas where pests are noticed.
Mice can be caught in either live or snap traps. It is best to set these along the edge of a wall (not in the middle of the room) where the rodents are likely to travel. If you choose a live or humane mouse trap, be sure not to contact the mouse and take it far from your home — and not near someone else’s!
To get rid of fleas you’ll need to treat the host (your cat or dog), the house and the yard. Here’s how:
- A citrus repellent can be made by boiling lemons and letting it sit overnight. The next day, spray your pet down.
- For the home, sprinkle regular table salt or boric acid (test for color fastness) over the carpet, let sit overnight and vacuum the next day. Wash all pet bedding in hot water, adding eucalyptus oil to the final rinse.
- In the yard, diatomaceous earth can be applied to all pet resting areas or wherever fleas are suspected.
OMRI LISTED
Kills insects FAST! Safer® Diatomaceous Earth (aka Ant & Crawling Insect Killer) is made from the fossilized remains of tiny freshwater algae-like creatures called diatoms. A mild abrasive, it kills insects within 48 hours of contact… indoors or out!
Traps & Lures
Everyone is familiar with the common mouse trap — the one with the big hunk of cheese that shows up in cartoons. But, traps can be used to catch insects as well as mammals.
Traps use visual lures, pheromones or food to attract pests and capture them, without hurting other insects, animals or the environment.
Traps can either be used to monitor or control a population. When monitoring a population, insect traps can help determine when the insect emerges, how many there are and other information important in deciding what to do about a specific pest.
Traps used to control a population do just that — they capture insects or rodents and (usually) kill them. Sometimes traps alone can take care of your pest problem, other times they are best used in conjunction with another pest management tool. For example, fly traps work well to attract and trap adult filth flies while fly parasites attack and kill immature fly pupae.
Natural Pesticides
Natural insecticides are generally botanical, meaning they are derived from plants that have insecticidal properties. Compared to chemical pesticides they have fewer toxic effects and break down much more quickly in the environment. However, they are still poisons so only indulge as a last resort.
| Botanical Insecticide | Use Against |
| Neem | caterpillars, gypsy moth, leaf miner, loopers, mealybug, thrips, whitefly |
| Nicotine Sulfate | aphids, spider mites, thrips and other sucking insects |
| Pyrethrum | aphid, cabbageworm, flea beetle, flies, harlequin bug, leafhopper, Mexican bean beetle, spider mite, squash bug |
| Rotenone | aphid, cabbage worm, carpenter ant, Colorado potato beetle, cucumber beetle, flea beetle, fleas, Japanese beetle, loopers, Mexican bean beetle, mites, spittlebug |
| Ryania | aphid, codling moth, corn earworm, oriental fruit moth, thrips |
| Sabadilla | armyworm, blister beetle, cabbage looper, cucumber beetle, harlequin bug, leafhopper, stink bug |
As mentioned above, you’ll need to do a little research before selecting an insecticide so you know specifically which one to choose. Apply all these pesticides locally — do not blanket spray the whole garden — to minimize their risk.
If you are trying to get or keep organic certification be sure to check the Organic Materials Review Institute (OMRI) or the National Organic Program (NOP) for a list of materials approved for organic use in the United States. Planet Natural also maintains a list of organic products — all OMRI Listed — offered on their website.
Soaps and Oils
Insecticidal soaps and oils are most effective on soft-bodied, sucking insects such as aphids, spider mites, whitefly and mealybugs. While less effective against many hard-shelled, adult insects (such as beetles), they can be used to control their immature larval stages and eggs. As a result, timing the application is an important factor when using these natural insecticides.
The fatty acids in Insecticidal Soap (this is not the same thing as dish soap) penetrate the insect’s outer covering and cause the cells to collapse, thereby killing the pest. It must be applied directly to the insect and will not be effective once it is dry. Insecticidal soap is considered a least-toxic pesticide and will not harm beneficial insects such as praying mantis and ladybugs.
PROVEN EFFECTIVE!
100% organic. Safer® Insecticidal Soap is made from naturally occurring plant oils and animal fats. Penetrates the protective outer shell of soft bodied insect pests and causes dehydration and death within hours.
Horticultural oil is a highly refined paraffinic oil, that once mixed with water is sprayed on plant foliage. It works by coating and suffocating insect pests and their eggs and can be used throughout the year as both a dormant and growing season spray.
d-Limonene, made from the oil extracted from citrus rind, is a relatively new organic insecticide that works by destroying the waxy coating of an insect’s respiratory system. Ideal for use in the kitchen and around the home, d-Limonene can be used to combat fleas, ants and cockroaches. In a recent study, d-Limonene (found in Orange Guard) was shown to reduce cockroach populations more effectively than Dursban, the toxic ingredient in Raid®.
Note: d-Limonene is approved by the FDA as a food additive, and is found in products such as fruit cakes, cleaners, air fresheners and pet shampoos.
Fungicides
Often plant diseases can be avoided by ensuring good draining soil and adequate air movement. But, when that doesn’t work and your plants start to show signs of rust, moldy coatings, blotches, wilting, scabs and rotted tissue it’s time to apply a fungicide.
Tip: Visit our page on Plant Diseases for help identifying some of the more common disease fungi affecting vegetables, flowers, trees and turf. Chock-full of information, we provide pictures and descriptions, plus a complete list of earth-friendly remedies for combatting them.
Sulfur and copper are two broad spectrum organic fungicides that have low toxicity to animals, including humans. However, you still need to exercise caution and read the instructions before applying them. It’s also important to respect their temperature limitations.
Copper fungicide can be used on vegetables, roses, fruits and turf. For best results it should be applied before the disease is visible or when it is first noticed on the plant. Liquid Copper Fungicide is effective against peach leaf curl, powdery mildew, black spot, rust, anthracnose, fire blight and bacterial leaf spot and is approved for organic gardening. Spray all plant parts thoroughly, and repeat every 7-10 days.
Sulfur Fungicide is a finely ground wettable powder that can be used on fruits, vegetables and flowers. The extremely fine particle size provides better coverage and adhesion over fruit and leaf surfaces, resulting in greater efficiency. Sulfur Plant Fungicide is effective against powdery mildew, rust, scab, brown rot and much more. Do NOT apply during periods of high temperature or within two weeks of an oil spray as burning may occur.
A new broad spectrum bio-fungicide that is approved for use in organic production is known as Serenade Garden Disease Control. Containing a strain of Bacillus subtilis, it provides protection against many of the most common fungal and bacterial diseases, including bacterial leaf blight, botrytis, early blight, fire blight, late blight, powdery mildew and scab. For best results, treat prior to disease development or at the first sign of disease infection. Repeat at 7-day intervals or as needed.
Eric Vinje founded Planet Natural with his father Wayne in 1991, originally running it as a grasshopper bait mail-order business out of a garage.
Eric is now retired, but is still a renowned gardener known for his expertise in composting, organic gardening and pest control, utilizing pesticide-free options, such as beneficial insects.
Eric believes when you do something good for the environment, the effects will benefit generations to come.
Recommended Products
Yellow Sticky Traps
Use to attract and capture whiteflies, thrips, fungus gnats, flea beetles & more!
Read more
Boric Acid Powder
This ready to use powder kills bugs fast but is no more toxic than table salt.
$6.95Read more
Garden Spray (Spinosad)
An effective insect killer that was recently discovered from soil in a rum distillery.
Read more
Orange Guard
Made from citrus peel extract, Orange Guard kills and repels for weeks -- without worry!
$14.95Read more
Mosquito Dunks
Kills mosquito larvae for 30 days! Will NOT harm people, pets, wildlife or fish.
Read more
Big Bag Fly Trap
Holds up to 40,000 flies! Scientifically formulated to capture several species.
$9.95Read more
Milky Spore
The #1 remedy for white grubs in turf! Milky Spore is safe, effective and easy to use.
$34.95Read more
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47 Responses to “How to Get Rid of Bugs Organically”
Hello, and thank you for this site. I am highly allergic to bee sting. Is there anything I can do to lower my risk of death in my yard during the spring and summer. I live in northern Arizona. Thank you again for any assistance.
Betty – This page on yellow jacket control (https://www.planetnatural.com/pest-problem-solver/lawn-pests/yellow-jacket-control/) is found right here on the blog. While we can’t help with your allergic reactions… we can reduce your chance of getting stung. If we come across anything else we’ll be sure to let you know.
Call your county extension office. They will come get the bees or have a bee keeper come get them!
This is a great post. I wish I had known about salt to get rid of fleas, will it work on bed bugs? My parents had an infestation last year, it would be nice to be prepared in case it happens again.
I’ve used “food grade” diatomaceous to get ride of bed bugs overnight! I put the fine white powder in a sock and lightly dusted the bed sheets. Just take care not to breathe it as you are dusting. A dust mask is advisable. You can also dust behind furniture and directly on rugs and carpets. It will also eliminate ants and other insects. Cedar oil is also very effective. I’ve purchased that from a company called Cedarcide, which you can find on line. Good luck!
About bedbugs, I’ll tell you what we did since we could not afford to tent my father’s rental. We lived in Ohio so it was easy to get a big barn heater and put the propane tank outside the window. We tried everything but heat is what killed them all. We took out the electronics — DVD, VCRs, TV’s, clocks, radios — and got the room up to 120 degrees for 8 hours. After we aird it out and swept up the dead ones. It didn’t seem like a lot but you’d be surprised how many were hiding.
I would like to know how to get info on getting rid of infestations on green beans
Tina –
What do the bugs look like and we’ll send some suggestions. Also, please see the link below for a list of common garden pests and least-toxic remedies.
https://www.planetnatural.com/pest-problem-solver/garden-pests/
What do you suggest using for mole crickets? They are destroying my grass.
It looks like Safer’s Grub Killer will work on mole crickets. Also, you can apply Beneficial Nematodes as a topdressing to lawns.
https://www.planetnatural.com/product/grub-killer/
https://www.planetnatural.com/product/beneficial-nematodes/
Hope this helps!
Thanks for the great info! Using beneficial insects in to get rid of garden pests is a wonderful idea.
Thumbs up!
If you pests on your plants then your plants are not healthy. Healthy plants will create conditions that pests will not like. Check out biological gardening.
Dear sir –
I have an ongoing organic tea garden on conversion process.
I m suffering from a mosquito bug name hellopaltis.
Please send your valuable suggestions to control this insect.
Thnx, Shekhar Agarwal
Any suggestions on how to rid myself of the new Asian stink bug. Wow!! Tried everything. Nothing kills these creatures!! They live forever. We are inundated with them on the east coast especially where we have a heavy crop area. I am in VA. Live on acre and half, fair amt of trees. Attack my vegetable garden every year; love tomatoes! Get in house and hibernate during winter and somehow multiply by thousands! Perplexed what that are living off of during this time???? Help?
Mint leaves and peppermint leaves are a natural organic item that keeps beetles, roach family type insects, on the move.
I have had the same problem. I moved to nc last year from FL and had never seen them. They’re worse in fall than spring for us but keeping curtains up, making sure windows are sealed, and that the screens are intact will help a ton. I’ve also heard that mint keeps them at bay but haven’t had many issues with them in my garden.
Hi, I live in HI and have a vegetable garden with tomatoes (in pots), carrots (in a pot), green beans (in the ground), garlic (in hanging pots) and peas (in the ground). My peas and green beans grow fast and harvest a lot, but the leaves look super yellow as they grow taller and then they just die. Is that normal after 1 harvest? The garlic has these tiny itty bitty black bugs with 6 legs. The garlic sprouts fine, but dies before harvest. My tomatoes generally do pretty good, in a pot (hanging or on the ground), but spiders seem to make webs connected to them. Is that OK or will they eat them? All of them have ants and little roach looking bugs crawl on the stuff on or in the ground…is there anything I can do that’ll get rid of them, but safe for us to eat the vegetables? Sorry I know that’s a lot. Any help is greatly appreciated! 🙂
will cayenne pepper spray get rid of leaf miners on my tomatos?
Each evening, what look like cedar beetles crawl across my living room floor and I squash them. As many as 5 or 6 a night, spaced several minutes apart. Tonight one flew at me! I never see where they come from, just see them crawling, and I’m getting really creeped out. What can I do? I live in a wooded suburban area of Norh Carolina.
My husband has sprayed the grass for the white grubs. On raised gardens close by where he sprayed. I mean a distance of a foot. I have pepper and tomato plants. How safe will they be,they are still at the flowering stage.
Hopefully you didn’t eat those plants if your husband sprayed with a synthetic pesticide. The drift could go for hundreds of yards – miles depending on the breeze and temperature. This is why these chemicals are so bad for us all. Hopefully your husband has since found an alternative method to eliminate white grubs. Ridding one’s home of pests is never worth the cost of human health let alone all the beneficial insects and wildlife that could take care of the problem naturally.
It appears that our lawn has something similar to lawn moths. I have dogs that eat the grass so I need a pet safe remedy for getting rid of the lawn moths. Your suggestions would be greatly appreciated
Here you go, Nancy!
How to Get Rid of Sod Webworm
https://www.planetnatural.com/pest-problem-solver/lawn-pests/sod-webworm-control/
New to growing orchids. Have only one. It has been busy growing air roots. Now it has a flowery stem growing. Picked it up to water & found out it is infested with ants. I’m trying the “cyanne” pepper to see what happens. Thanks for the site.
Exactly Dig, homemade pesticides are very effective and cheaper than the market products. The important thing is they are not harmful to the environment or people. I mostly use Garlic, Pepper and Onion as an Insecticide to save my garden plants from insects.
Hi,
In my back yard i have a number of annoying bugs like flies, moths, mosquitos and spiders and some crawling bugs. I don’t have plants but i like to bbq and all the bugs are discouraging. Any suggestions?
Your backyard SHOULD have some bug such as those you mention for the healthy balance of nature. They won’t bother you and it’s food for the birds and other animals in your yard.
They won’t bother you? MOSQUITOES won’t bother you?!?!?!? That’s criminally stupid.
What can I use to get rid of frogs big frogs. My neighbor is not the cleanest. So I would need to use something to cover a very large area. Any help is great….yard is infested with fleas also. HELP…..
Great post thank you! Its certainly great to have more of a safer option to get rid of all the pests.
I have this little container garden started (http://imgur.com/a/zDli2). Sorry for the bad picture of the whole thing, it’s morning and the light comes from the other side. 🙁
I’ve had one incident of spider mites on my Thai basil but I’ve been spraying it with soapy water every morning and it seems the mites have lost the battle. I noticed that my tomato has some pest spots on it, I cant see any bugs (though I’ll keep an eye on it) but it got me thinking of what I could do to keep my little garden pest free. Are there preventative measures? They’re located on my porch that is on a big patio area between 2 units of the apartment. They get plenty of good direct sunlight but because it’s a closed off area, there aren’t any predatory bugs (like praying mantis or lady bugs) to help keep them strong. I’d like to keep it as organic as possible.
Oh! And I’ve never had a tomato of my own before, should I prune those little shoots at the bottom? (And don’t worry I plan to re-pot the poor thing this weekend into a nice 5 gallon tub.)
I have a container garden as well. I use beneficial nematodes to control fungus gnats and flies.
Neither will do much harm to established plants (in fact, flies are a minor pollinator & fungus gnats eat fungus that grows on the soil), but it is gross to walk outside and be swarmed by flies. I swear by beneficial nematodes now.
I also find a wide mouth bowl with vinegar and a bit of soap and a splash of water works wonders for luring & trapping adult fungus gnats & flies. The soap is important because it breaks the surface tension of the vinegar.
You can buy ladybugs & predatory bugs online as well if you really want some bugbros around. Hope It Helps.
BTW Eric Awesome Website. Learnt lot from it 🙂
Earwigs in my house. What do I do?
Seems like our yard has a lot of webs lately. Any suggestions?
Sherrell –
Could it be sod webworm?
https://www.planetnatural.com/pest-problem-solver/lawn-pests/sod-webworm-control/
Hope it helps!
How can I get rid of termites in my garden? They destroyed my kale, are attacking the corn, and I bet they are planning their next invasion as I type.
I was doubtful about them being termites, but they definitely are. I want them gone asap, but I also want to save our veggies if at all possible.
Any suggestions?
Thanks!!
Sue –
I think you’re having trouble with earwigs, not termites. However, you seem pretty certain, so I’ve included links to both control pages.
https://www.planetnatural.com/pest-problem-solver/garden-pests/earwig-control/
https://www.planetnatural.com/pest-problem-solver/household-pests/termite-control/
Hope it helps!
Thanks for the fast reply!!
This a photo I took with my phone-dug one of them up. Can you please clarify for me?
Do you have a recommendation as to what I can safely use on my veggie gardens and how to apply it?
https://www.facebook.com/sue.skelly.7/posts/1318404981507239
Thanks
Well Sue…that’s a termite! I was under the impression that termites only ate wood/ cellulose, but after a quick Google search I’ve found that they will also feed on plant roots. In fact, multiple gardeners are commenting on the same problem that you’re having.
Try burying strips of cardboard soaked in boric acid as a possible remedy for termites in your garden. They will eat the cardboard “bait” and the boric acid will kill them. Some growers have also seen good results when applying beneficial nematodes over the area.
Good luck!
I love that there are organic options to keeping the garden pest free! My mom has always made home remedies to keep bugs off her plants (and she was a big fan of boric acid within her home!), but I never had the patience to come up with my own homemade products. After reading this article, I’ve done a little research and found some great organic pest control products that I think will fit my needs!
I have been using a boric acid with a lure in it. I live in an apartment building — it seems like it’s hard to get rid of roaches. I also have to be carefully I have two cats. Is there anything else I can use? I make sure to bag up my garbage in containers and zip lock bags to throw away.
Hi Kathy –
I’ve attached a link to our cockroach control page here.
https://www.planetnatural.com/pest-problem-solver/household-pests/cockroach-control/
Hope it helps!
Hello, I work for an organic food packaging facility and have been working diligently on solving a large scale infestation problem with what we believe to be grain beetles/warehouse beetles/weevils, and flour beetles. Do you know of any long term and or fast acting solutions to this infestation problem that would not interfere with our day to day operations?
We have an 8 hour window every night from 10PM-6AM in order for us to sanitize and organize our product, and I believe this would be an opportune time to address the bug issue. Any products you’d recommend or even any fogging procedures you might try yourself?
I’d be greatly humbled to have this issue resolved. We’ve tried freezing them and fogging them however they always seem to come back stronger than before. This has resulted in countless loads being returned to our facilities.
Please let me know if you have any solutions.
FYI, we have been using EVERGREEN as our organic solution however, little progress has been made with it.
How and when would you get rid of aphids on butterfly weed?
So weve just bought a house that had a section already for a garden. It’s of course over grown, so we decided to cut everything down to see what we’re working with. As everything is cleared out and were getting ready to start planting, we’ve noticed ant piles, rollie pollies, crickets, grub worms, and termites. We’re now seeing asparagus growing up in the garden and would like to save them. What products can we use to safely treat this garden area and possibly the rest of our 1 1/2 acres that I’m sure are infested with all the same things. (Safe for garden foods, kids and dogs.) Thanks
(We’ve also noticed termites killing a few trees on our property, and near our house! Eeek….
I have black beetles in my lawn. How do I get rid of them naturally?
I have a deer and rabbit problem and I would like to keep them away from my garden. Are there any flowers or plant that I can grow to limit this problem?