Take Natural Approach to Pest Control

The natural approach pays the biggest dividends in insect and blight control, and there are two primary options--natural substances and disease-causing microorganisms.

Here are some of the products with the best records of success. These products are offered by a variety of firms, the Ringer Corp., (9959 Valley View Road, Eden Prairie, MN 55364) being the most prominent.

A word of caution, however. Insecticides of any kind should be used sparingly and only as a last resort. Some beneficial insects will be killed in the process, no matter what you use.

One of the most effective, broad-spectrum insecticides is extracted from the seeds of the African and Southeast Asian neem tree. The active ingredient, azadirachtin, is a growth regulator, which is to say that it causes death. Ringer/Safer markets this extract under the BioNeem trademark. It’s effective on a variety of common pests, including aphids, gypsy moths and webworms. Though BioNeem has very low toxicity, it remains effective for two to seven days.

Insecticidal soap is another proven insect killer. It’s made from fatty acid salts derived from animal fat and plant oils. When sprayed on soft-bodied insects, it kills them by breaking down their cell wall membranes. Insecticidal soap works well on sod webworms.

For effective control of hard-bodied insects, such as June bugs and Japanese beetles, pyrethrum, an extract from the chrysanthemum flower, works well.

To treat infestations of subsurface grubs, you might try mail-order nematodes which kill grubs from within, or milky-spore disease (bacillus popillae), which is a fungus that attacks grubs and other soft-bodied subsurface pests. Once established, milky-spore disease remains effective for years.

For treatment of bill-bug larvae, diatomaceous earth works. Diatomaceous earth is a sediment taken from the sea floor and is made up of millions of dead, single-cell creatures that dehydrate soft-bodied insects on contact.