Start with prevention
The cheapest pest is the one that never arrives. Choose resistant varieties, rotate crops, space plants for airflow, and water the soil — not the leaves. A healthy plant tolerates some damage. Scout twice a week: check leaf undersides, stems, and soil line. Identify the pest before acting — most insects in a garden are neutral or beneficial.
Tips
- • Tolerate some damage. A few holes in a leaf are not a crisis.
- • Attract beneficials — dill, yarrow, and sweet alyssum feed predatory insects.
- • Quarantine new transplants for a few days before setting them out.
Exclusion and barriers
Row covers keep moths from laying eggs on brassicas and squash. A 2-ft copper or hardware-cloth fence stops rabbits. Paper collars around transplants block cutworms. Netting over ripening fruit deters birds. Exclusion is the most reliable control — it works before pests find the crop.
Tips
- • Secure row cover edges — a gap is an invitation.
- • Remove row covers when fruiting crops flower so pollinators can reach them.
- • Bury hardware cloth 6 inches deep to stop digging animals.
Monitoring and thresholds
Use yellow sticky traps to monitor pest populations. A few aphids are not a problem — ladybugs and lacewings will find them. Act when damage exceeds your tolerance, not at the first sighting. A threshold approach prevents unnecessary sprays and protects the beneficial insects that do most of your control work.
Tips
- • A strong water spray dislodges aphids and mites without chemicals.
- • Hand-pick tomato hornworms and cabbage loopers at dusk with a flashlight.
- • Keep records — the same pest returns the same week every year.
Lower-impact controls — used carefully
When prevention and exclusion fail, lower-impact options include insecticidal soap, horticultural oil, and Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) for caterpillars. 'Natural' does not mean harmless — pyrethrin, neem, and even Bt can harm bees, fish, and beneficial insects. Read the label, follow it exactly, and spray at dusk when pollinators are not active.
Tips
- • Soap and oil must contact the pest to work — spray both leaf surfaces.
- • Bt breaks down in sunlight; apply late in the day and repeat after rain.
- • Never spray near blooming plants pollinators are visiting.
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