A Primer on Natural Pest Management
By Kymisha Montgomery, CGC Urban Agriculture Coordinator
Many gardeners turn to chemical pesticides to control pest problems. While these toxins can be very effective at reducing pest insect populations, they also cause a host of unwanted issues. For instance, they:
Kill beneficial insects and microorganisms
Pose a threat to the health of people and pets
Encourage pesticide-resistant insect species
Smell bad
Leach into groundwater
And not all bugs are bad! In fact, many of the insects you find in your garden are beneficial to the ecosystem’s natural balance and, therefore, to your vegetable production. They can even help you manage the “bad” bugs.
Consider the following when you are frustrated by insect damage in your garden:
Start with and support healthy plants. Stressed plants are more likely to be attacked by insects and more vulnerable to disease. Watch for early signs of pest problems and take preventative measures as soon as possible.
Get to know the pests in your garden. By knowing their names and their lifecycles, not only will you be able to deal with them properly, but you can also avoid killing some of the “beneficials” by mistake.
Hand-pick harmful insects. This technique sounds almost too simple to be useful, but it works! By staying on top of things, you can keep insect populations in check. Every few days, look over your vegetables thoroughly. Pick off and squash or otherwise dispose of unwanted critters.
Rotate your crops. Moving where you plant each crop family from year to year will limit the available host plant species for pest insects and therefore limit their population. In addition, since different plant species need different nutrients to thrive, moving plant families around from year to year will balancing soil nutrient loss and create healthier plants.
Ask what your friends and neighbors do to manage pests. Sometimes you can learn effective, simple, inexpensive methods that have been passed down over generations and have proven worthy of some attention.
Use succession planting. When your garden includes the same plants at different stages of maturity, it is less likely that the same pest will wipe them all out. When transplanting a squash plant into your garden bed, for instance, sow a seed next to it if you have had bad experiences with squash vine borers in the past. The younger plant may escape the pest that gets the older one.
Practice companion planting. Companion plants, when grown together, promote one another’s healthy development by deterring pest insects or providing necessary nutrients for growth. They can be planted adjacent to one another or used in a rotation of plantings to take advantage of their beneficial characteristics.
Prepare yourself for some level of damage. Most of us have been conditioned to expect fruits and vegetables without irregularities. Some damage from insects is bound to occur. Often, though, it is insignificant and will not harm the long-term health of the plant.