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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.
RELATED ARTICLES
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)
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