Natural Pest Control - Spring 2005

Spring 2005

Natural Pest Control

How to maintain a beautiful yard that’s healthy for you, your family, and nature.

By Allison Knab

RACHEL ROSENBERG PAINTS A PICTURE OF TWO LAWNS. One is smooth, green, and features two parents biting their nails about letting their kids play on it. The other is also green and healthy, with grass a bit higher than the first — and kids and pets running across it. The executive director of the Safer Pest Control Project (SPCP) knows which one she’d prefer.

Weed control can be safe for kids and nature.

Photo by Karen Glennemeier.

Cumulatively, residential property owners use a huge amount of pesticide — 67 million pounds in the United States each year, according to SPCP — more per acre than agriculture. Personal exposure to these chemicals can cause illness and increase the risk of diseases such as cancer and asthma, especially in children. And what one family puts on their yard often washes to the street and into the nearest waterway. The combined pesticide residues of just one neighborhood can quickly add up to create a dead zone in the local stream or river.

But transitioning to more natural alternatives encourages people to be outside, actually using the yard without worries. A yard where people are happy is also a yard where wild creatures are welcome — birds and butterflies are much more likely to visit a pesticide-free yard. And safer lawn and garden care is easier than most people think. The first step, experts say, is to improve the health of your soil and plants.

CHOOSE THE RIGHT PLANTS. A plant that feels at home in the right soil, moisture, light, and climatic conditions will be less prone to disease and pests. Native plants, having evolved in local conditions, are best suited to this job. Even if you’re not willing to part with your lawn, consider adding some native garden plants on the borders or converting just one section. It’s probably the biggest step toward yard health.

Left to right: Eastern tailed blue butterflies, Red-spotted purple.

Photos by Thomas Bentley, Dennis Manning.

ENLIST THE PROS. Imagine having your own private force of insect control agents, who want nothing more than to personally remove each pest bug from your plants. Adding natural landscaping and reducing pesticide use will welcome a host of beneficial insects, such as lacewings, praying mantises, ladybugs, as well as birds. These creatures were born to prey on pest insects (and they’re nice to have around). Synthetic pesticides actually keep these allies away.

Caterpillar-hunter ground beetle.

Photo by Ed Reschke.

WATER RIGHT. Simple as it may seem, most of us are watering our yards incorrectly. Lawns should only be watered when they really need it, and then watered slowly and deeply. Rosenberg recommends one inch of water once a week. The idea is to grow deeper, stronger roots, which will make your grass more drought-resistant and able to tolerate disease and insects.

AIM HIGH IN MOWING. Mowing your lawn a little bit higher — about 2.5 to 3.5 inches — is another easy way to improve its health. The taller leaves allow for more photosynthesis and a deeper root system. Keep mower blades sharp and leave your clippings on the lawn.

KEEP PLANTS OFF JUNK FOOD. Chemical fertilizers act as junk food for plants, says Rosenberg, allowing them to “green-up” quickly without increasing their strength. Organic fertilizers, on the other hand, encourage real, long-term health. Compost, grass clippings, alfalfa meal, bonemeal, and rabbit food are the garden equivalent of eating high-protein fish instead of sugary marshmallows. They are often the best solution to many pest problems.

Praying mantis.

Photo by Ed Reschke.

Homeowners who keep their yard healthy in the first place often don’t have to do much more to keep pests at bay. But NATURAL PRODUCTS FOR PEST CONTROL can help with occasional outbreaks. They’re effective, easy to use, and not too hard to find. But use them with restraint. Camille Stauber of Sustainable Places in Skokie says that even with natural alternatives, people too often adopt the conventional wisdom of dumping products on every problem before addressing the root cause.

CORN GLUTEN MEAL, a byproduct of the corn milling process, is a natural, pre-emergent weed control. It should be applied early, around the time forsythia begin to bloom in the spring, since it must catch weeds before they reach the surface. Since it contains nitrogen, corn gluten is also a natural fertilizer. Corn gluten comes in powdery, granulated, or pellet forms.

DIATOMACEOUS EARTH, says Connie Cunningham of the Midwest Ecological Landscaping Association, “is a very old-fashioned insecticide.” It’s made up of the fossilized remains of single-celled organisms called diatoms. Their glass-like surfaces cut through insect cuticle and cause insects to die of dehydration. Cunningham recommends them for earwigs, ants, and box elder bugs, but since diatomaceous earth is a broad-spectrum killer, it’s important to apply it just to the ground surface where you think insect pests will be moving. It’s usually found in one-pound bags.

VINEGARS. Swap chemical herbicides for pure vinegars, which work as broad-spectrum plant killers that will get rid of weeds on patios and other unwanted locales. Vinegars high in acetic acid will do the trick, or buy products that combine vinegar with other natural weed killers in ready-to-use spray.

Dagger moth caterpillar.

Photo by Dennis Manning.

BENEFICIAL NEMATODES. Nematodes are tiny parasitic worms found nearly everywhere, including in the soil and on plants and animals. They’re particularly fond of grubs, a local lawn pest, which they burrow into and then lay eggs. Beneficial nematodes can be bought in a tiny package and applied to the lawn with a pump spray, where they augment the existing nematode population to control more than 230 insect pests, including the larvae of Japanese beetles and chafer beetles. Even better, they continue to reproduce and control pests.

NEEM OIL. Made from the seeds of the neem tree, neem oil can be used to prevent fungus growth, repel insects, and control mites. It’s nontoxic to birds, mammals, and most beneficial insects, although it can affect bees so shouldn’t be used when they’re around. The oil coats leaves to prevent the germination of fungal spores, so apply before fungi appear. The oil generally comes in a concentrated form for dilution with water.

MYCORRHIZAE are underground fungi that form a symbiotic relationship with plant roots, helping them to obtain nutrients and water (they’re a key element of healthy native ecosystems). They improve root and plant growth, increase disease resistance, and reduce drought stress. The fungal spores come in large jars and can be sprinkled on roots, seeds, or applied below the soil surface in early spring.

HOME SOLUTIONS. As part of his program, Bill Scheffler of Pure Prairie Organics uses yogurt to kill fungus, powdered sugar or corn syrup to get rid of aphids, and garlic as an all-purpose pest barrier. (Put two cloves in a blender with a quart of water, grind them up, and apply with a sprayer.) Cayenne powder is also effective.

There are many effective products and ingredients that can deter pests. Shown here are Garden Gypsum, Diatomaceous Earth, Milky Spore Powder, Natural Horticultural Vinegar, Powdered Sugar, 70% Neem Oil, Fish & Seaweed Fertilizer, Light Corn Syrup, Pure Vinegar, Red Pepper, and Garlic. Products courtesy of The Chalet and Organic Matters.

RESOURCES

Where should you go for technical information, products, and local expertise?

Safer Pest Control Project, (312) 641-5575. Lots of handy recommendations and helpful fact sheets, including list of local garden stores selling natural products and services.

Midwest Ecological Landscaping Association, info@melaweb.org. Web site links to hundreds of sources of information for more in-depth research.

McHenry County Defenders, (815) 338-0393. Bug-by-bug solution list, and a recipe for homemade spray.

Biocontrol Network, (800) 441-2847. One-stop mail-order supplier with wide selection of alternative products.

The Native Garden Oasis (CW, Spring 2004)

Purple Maniacs Welcome! Bringing the wild back to your yard (CW, Summer 1999)

Unlock Your Yard! Getting Started With Native Plant Gardening (CW, Spring 2002)

Gardening for Seeds (CW, Fall 2001)