Why Use Natural Insecticide?

Some say that a natural insecticide cannot, by its nature, be as effective as a synthetic one. Chemical insecticides are used often by large farms. It may seem that the time for the use of natural insecticide is past, yet they are still in use. So, why use a natural insecticide?

First, there is an abundance of plants that can be used for their natural insecticide properties. Over 1500 are presently being used for control of pests. This provides a variety of methods to get rid of unwanted insects. There are many factors that will determine which kind of natural insecticide you will use. Some are more inexpensive. Some are more easily obtained than others. Some are safer to humans and pets. If you decide to use a natural insecticide, you will have many choices.

Most types of natural insecticide are biodegradable. This means that when the substance has served its purpose, it doesn't stick around to cause damage to the environment. It is washed away with the rain. It degrades and becomes a part of the soil with no harmful residue. A natural insecticide is often used when there is concern about a synthetic insecticide that is sold commercially. A synthetic insecticide can contain poisons and toxins that are not found in a natural insecticide. These can be harmful to living things other than the insects they were intended for.

Synthetic chemical insecticides often contain ingredients that kill beneficial insects. These insects may be bees that pollinate fruits and vegetables. They may be ladybugs or butterflies, which are also helpful to have in a garden. A natural insecticide will probably leave beneficial insects safe. One downside of using a natural insecticide is cost. Many that are sold in garden centers are more expensive than their synthetic counterparts. If you can, you may be willing to pay the extra cost. Yet, if you can't afford a natural insecticide that is sold in a store, you have the option of making your own.

The use of synthetic chemical insecticides has long been associated with a variety of chronic health conditions. The advantage of using a natural insecticide is that these conditions rarely occur with their use. When you use a natural insecticide, you can be sure that your produce will be safe to eat. All you need to do is to make sure that you follow instructions. Find out how long to wait after application of the natural insecticide to harvest.

One advantage of a natural insecticide is that they don't use fossil fuels. Many of the chemical varieties do. Also, if you use a natural insecticide that is locally available, you will save on transportation costs. There are countless recipes for people to use to make natural insecticide on their own. You can look on the internet, or in your local library or bookstore for the recipes. These allow you to make inexpensive yet effective natural insecticide for your own use.

If you're looking for a reason to use a natural insecticide, you will find several. Safety of plants and animals, environmental protection, and ease of use are only a few. A natural insecticide is truly a viable alternative to chemicals.

The Future of Natural Insecticide

Natural insecticide has gone in and out of favor in the past. At first, of course, that was all there was. Then, when chemical insecticides came around, people saw them as the wave of the future. They were all too anxious to try them. However, it may be that natural insecticide still has a place in agriculture and homes now and in the future.

Bacillus thurengiensis, Bt, has been developed as for use as a natural insecticide. It is made from a bacterium that works with the bacteria in an insects gut to poison the insect. It will need to be used in new ways.

Farmers will need to change natural insecticide usage from one to another to another. This will help to keep the insects from becoming resistant to any one natural insecticide. They will also need to introduce natural predator insects to help with the job. It will also help if they plant more than one crop. In the meantime, Bt has been so successful that biogeneticists have been working to put its genetic material inside of the vegetables instead of on them. This allows the vegetables to grow strong and insect-free. Corn has already been bioengineered this way. It is called "supercorn" and it is already in supermarkets.

Is this natural insecticide? It depends upon how you look at it. Many people think that, while it uses a natural insecticide as its basis, it is highly unnatural. They wouldn't think of eating supercorn.

One natural insecticide may have a use outside of the insect-destroying business. Diguelin is a natural insecticide that has been used in South America and Africa. It has been discovered that it is effective in slowing or stopping the growth of lung cancer in humans. It is thought that it will have important implications in the treatment of certain types of lung cancer. Many countries in Asia, Latin America, and Africa are banding together to implement a new type of insect control. This is called Integrated Pest Management. Rather than use a natural insecticide made from a plant, a bacteria, or a mineral, IPM is based on using other insects.

These insects are natural predators of the harmful ones attacking crops. With the use of such methods, ordinary natural insecticide methods will likely be ignored in these areas, at least for awhile.

Plant terpenoids are being investigated for different uses in natural insecticide. Some of these substances can be used to repel unwanted insects and attract beneficial ones all at the same time. Molting can be prevented by use of certain plant-derived steroids.

Other plant terpenoids can be used to over-excite the nervous systems of insects. They can disrupt their mating habits and even make them sterile. The only problem with the development of these plant terpenoids is that companies are looking to make synthetic versions of them. They will no longer be natural insecticides.

Many people are concerned about the environment. They want to use natural insecticide to protect the safety of their food and the world around them. However the power of modern agribusiness is overtaking these people. If natural insecticide is to be a viable solution, changes have to be made.

Where to Buy Natural Insecticide

It's nice to have a garden, a yard, a home, and pets. Sometimes, though, you need to be concerned with pest control. If you want to protect the environment and your family's health, natural insecticide may be the way to go. You will need to know where to buy natural insecticide.

One thing you should be aware of is that there are unscrupulous salespeople trying to sell natural insecticide over the phone. This has become a problem in Oregon and other states. The salesperson will give a high pressure pitch for a product that may sound interesting to you. Be sure you ask a lot of questions. Tell them you won't buy from them unless they provide you with a label for the product they want to sell you. Nine times out of ten they'll just hang up at this point. If they don't, be wary. If you buy, ask to be billed rather than give out your credit card number.

However, there is no reason to buy natural insecticide from over-the-phone salespeople when there are so many reputable companies to deal with. You can usually find natural insecticide at your local nursery or garden center.

Major discount store chains are getting into the business of giving advice to go along with the natural insecticide products they sell. Target has the "Ortho Home Gardener's Problem Solver" book available for people to look through as they make their purchases. Wal-Mart also offers advice on pesticides, including natural insecticides, in their garden centers. K-Mart has joined the group with its "bug-finder" charts which offer product choices. With all this help, it's easy to find a natural insecticide for your garden.

If you'd rather shop from home, there are several outlets for natural insecticide on the internet. Eco Safety Products sells many products. They have orange-based and garlic-based natural insecticide. They also have natural desiccant dust that comes in puffer bottles or can be used with an insecticide duster.

Pest Products Online sells an all natural insecticide with pyrethrum and a propionate ingredient. This product is good for crawling and stinging insects. It also sells natural insecticide that is plant oil or boric acid based.

For your pet, an online store called PetEdge sells a natural insecticide called DeFlea. It is good for both fleas and ticks. It sells other natural insecticide remedies for fleas and ticks as well. Orbico Organics sells some of the major types of natural insecticide. It sells Neem products. It also sells products with Rotenone. Some of its products are soap-based.

One popular item is a natural insecticide that contains the spores of the GHA strain of Beauveria bassiana, a bug-killing fungus. It is safe up to the day of harvest. This product seems a little pricey, at $130 per quart. However, a quart will cover an acre.

There are many other online stores that sell natural insecticide. Many of them are just offshoots of physical stores that exist in some part of the country. If you want to talk to someone in person, you can go to a garden center. There are plenty of choices when it comes to finding a place to buy natural insecticide.

Wise Use of Natural Insecticides

The word natural sounds safe and welcoming. It indicates that something is safe because it comes from nature. People trust nature. But anything used in excess can become a negative thing. Anything used in the wrong way or in the wrong combination can become harmful. So it is with natural insecticides.

Wise use means using responsibly. Wise use means you know how the product can be harmful so that you make no mistakes with it. Natural insecticides have become more popular as the concern about the earth's safety and preservation has become more popular. But natural insecticides can still be damaging to pets, to plants, and to people if used improperly.

You have to know the proper application, how much to use at a time (more is not always best), and what precautions to take while you are using the insecticide. If you plan your garden wisely, there are plants that repel insects and good insects that can safely dispose of the not so good ones.

Many people think wasps are bad. They can be if someone is allergic to them and gets stung. They can be if a mischievous child irritates them just to see how angry they can get. But wasps are also good for our environment. They are not just insects that can harm; they are a positive force as biological control for our agricultural crops. They help keep caterpillars under control. If you wonder why this is helpful, ask the farmer or gardener whose crops are ruined by the caterpillars. If the crops suffer, we suffer as prices rise because of the damage that is done to reduce availability. Developing a pest management program is wiser than over-use of pesticides, whether they are natural or not. If you must use a pesticide because of the location of the wasps or because they have become out-of-control around your home or property, at least wise up about the best way to do so.

There are natural insecticides that are so toxic that we must cover our faces to avoid ingestion while using them. One such product is the dust of diatomaceous earth. Even though it is a form of calcium, and calcium is a useful mineral, we must take care when applying it for insect control. The minute particles are not good for our lungs. Any dust that is inhaled excessively can be harmful.

Rotenone is a botanical insecticide extracted from the roots of certain plants in Asia and South America. If you use this substance unwisely, you can damage your fish and beneficial insects. It causes stomach poison in insects, acts slowly, and loses effectiveness a week after being used on the plants. But if you inhale unsafe amounts of this insecticide, you could be sick longer than a week. Wise use of it can control aphids, some beetles, fleas, lice, and some caterpillars. So, if you don't want to hurt your butterfly population, you may want to choose another type of insect control.

Of course, some natural insecticides are more harmful than others. Just remember to always wash your hands, cover your nose and mouth, avoid using them on windy days, and be careful with them around small children and animals.

Attacking Insects with Natural Insecticides

Some people have the mistaken idea that all insects are bad. An abnormal paranoia of anything that creeps and crawls or slithers can sell a lot of chemicals and natural insecticides. The market feeds off people's fear of insects. Parents teach their children to be leery of insects. While it's true that there are many insects that can cause harm, they usually do so as a way to protect themselves and preserve their species.

Attacking all insects is irrational. It would cause a huge imbalance in nature if we didn't have insects. It's even necessary to feed off the predatory insects to keep the insect population under control.

If you need to attack insects, at least do nature the justice of attacking the ones that are only a threat to you or your plants' survival or health. People who are allergic to certain insects have little choice but to rid their homes and property of them. A wasp or bee sting could put some people in the hospital.

Some insects that are beneficial and do not cause harm to us will cause harm in some form to our plants. Butterflies are beautiful creatures, but gardeners and fruit crop growers may not appreciate their caterpillars! Beneficial insects that don't hurt us or our crops are ladybugs and some species of wasps. Honeybees can sting when threatened, but without honeybees, our honey supply would suffer. People aren't the only ones who benefit from honey. Insects and other animals benefit as well.

If you must attack insects, natural insecticides can be safer for our environment than the chemical poisons that line the shelves of our stores. Natural insecticides are made from oils, flowers, seeds, and sometimes even bacteria.

Neem comes from the Indian lilac tree. It prevents feeding and is a growth regulator. Pyrethrum is one of the most popular natural insecticides for attacking insects. It is used to paralyze and must be applied directly. It's contained in many pet shampoos for flea and tick control. Nicotine is well known as a tobacco product, seen mostly in a negative light because of the harm it causes lungs when smoked. It can also help control some insects. Rotenone and sabadilla dust can be considered exotic natural insecticides because they are made from plants that exist in other countries. Sabadilla can wreak havoc on a honeybee population, though, and is a short-term insecticide.

Boric acid has been used for many years to help control nasty little roaches. Ants have been an age-old problem because of their ability to bite and take over our kitchens. Wasps that do sting cause allergic reactions, fear in small children and many adults because of their aggressive nature. People usually use some form of spray to attack them so they don't have to get too close and risk their painful stings. They've been attacked by hairsprays and soap solutions.

People who live in rural areas can be quite creative in their attempts to attack insects with homemade insecticides. Some say cinnamon placed around a central air unit can keep the ants from entering and invading the points used to help run the units. Whatever your preferred method of attack, please be sure to use caution and consideration.