I’m looking for some kind of non toxic organic bugspray for my vegetable garden. I grow an organic garden with vegetables and some herbs and can’t use anything toxic. But I get aphids and sometimes whiteflies. Do you have anything I can spray or do I have to just keep pulling them off my plants by hand?
We get asked for non toxic bugspray all the time and really, it’s kind of a oxymoronic request. That sentence might sound rude but if you think about it, how can something be non toxic and yet be strong enough to kill something? What I think most people are asking for when they request something non toxic is a spray that can safely be used for some kind of pest yet not adversely affect the applicator, their plants, their family, their pets or their environment. So to answer your question using this as the guideline for what you believe to be non toxic; yes, we have some non toxic bugspray that will be safe enough to use on your organic garden.
In fact there is a whole group of products that are now approved for organic gardening. In general these products will target pests like aphids, spider mites, white flies, thrips, caterpillars and other garden pests yet not make the fruit or vegetable uneatable. The reason these products are safe enough for such applications is that in general, they don’t last long. In other words, if you apply them in the morning, by the next day most if not all of the active will be gone from the plants where it was sprayed.
And the ability of a spray to quickly breakdown and dissipate is fundamental for it to be labeled as organic. By quickly metabolizing, these products won’t pose a hazard to the people applying them, the plants they’re applied to or the harvest being grown that will someday be consumed. But keep in mind this ability comes with a price. In this case what we find is that products which break down quickly don’t protect the plants a long time so the treated plants are more likely to get re-infested faster compared to when a traditional pesticide is used. But that’s okay; it only means you’ll need to treat more frequently and if that’s what it takes for something to be safe enough for use on plants we grow for food, so be it.
So what do we have that’s approved for organic gardening and works on aphids and white flies? We’ve got a few products. The best is probably the MULTIPURPOSE INSECT KILLER. Another good choice is 3 IN ONE SPRAY. The Multipurpose controls most any common garden pest so it’s versatile and pretty much the only spray you’ll need. The 3 In 1 adds a fungicide, miticide and spreader sticker to the formulation so you’ll be able to take care of even more potential problems gardens typically fall victim to during the course of any growing season.
Here are direct links to the products listed above:
Organic Insect Killer: https://bugspray.com/exempt/liquid/pest-away
3 in 1 Spray: https://bugspray.com/organic/liquid/3-in-1-fungicide-miticide-insecticide
And for future reference, refer to our Non Toxic Pest Control site. This site features nothing but products that are either approved for organic gardening or federally exempt under section 25b of FIFRA. Products exempt use low impact actives like food extracts. plant oils and other essential elements.
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