Garden pests can be a nuisance, whether they’re aphids devouring your lettuce or stink bugs ruining your tomatoes. Chemical insecticides, however, may not be the most ideal solution.

Though they are effective at warding off destructive insects, they can also threaten your and your family’s well-being, causing skin irritation, eye problems, and even cancer. Further, they may harm helpful bugs as well as birds and other wildlife and contaminate groundwater, making their way into various bodies of water and sickening aquatic animals.

Instead, take a greener approach to limiting the presence and impact of pests. While eco-friendly methods can demand more time and effort than conventional pesticides, the potential rewards of a healthier and more sustainable garden make them a valuable alternative.

Preventative strategies

To start, there are many ways you can work to prevent destructive bugs from getting to your plants in the first place, including the following.

Know your enemy
Finding insects in your oasis is a given—if you think about it, you’re the interloper in their natural habitat. The key is to know which ones actually pose a threat. After all, some can be advantageous, like pollinators and ladybugs, which devour unwanted insects and their eggs. Scour online gardening guides like the ones from the Big Bug Hunt to help you determine which pests your plants are susceptible to, what to keep an eye out for, and how to ward them off.

For instance, aphids can suck nutrient-providing sap from all sorts of plants, including lettuce and roses. Meanwhile, grasshoppers love to feast on crops like peas and beans. In either case, an effective preventative tactic would be to remove their hiding places: pulling weeds for the former and keeping your grass lower for the latter.

Companion planting
This age-old gardening technique involves growing certain crops together to gain benefits that result in greater production, with one consideration being insect control. Hardy species like marigolds and herbs like basil and rosemary are great options since they are low-maintenance and attract helpful insects such as mantises that eat beetles and other pests. Plant them in rows among vegetables with similar care requirements or as a beautiful border around your garden, and you can rest easier knowing fewer bugs may gnaw on your bounty.

Barriers
Pests can reach your plants in a variety of ways. To thwart ones from the soil, spread diatomaceous earth (DE), a powder made from the fossilized remains of single-celled aquatic organisms, on your dirt directly after planting seeds or seedlings. This abrasive substance deters crop-consuming insects by damaging their exoskeletons as they crawl through it. Be careful to purchase food-grade DE that’s nontoxic to both humans and birds, fish, and other wildlife, and freshen this coating regularly, such as after heavy rain.

As for airborne insects, consider putting a cloche—a dome-shaped glass or plastic container—over your plants, especially young, delicate seedlings, which are very appealing to common garden pests. This solution will allow sunlight through while keeping intruders at bay. Another barrier method is lightweight insect netting; simply drape it over garden hoops for effective protection without squashing your plants.

Regardless of which option you choose, cover your seeds or seedlings immediately after planting them so pests won’t get trapped inside the enclosures. You may also want to remove the barrier during the day (when some plant-eating bugs are less active) to allow butterflies and other pollinators to visit flowering crops like zinnias and peppers.

Natural repellent
As an additional precaution, you could apply a natural insect repellent to your garden. For instance, consider a garlic spray, which you can purchase online or at your local garden center. The garlic may help deter all sorts of pests, from ants and aphids to thrips and flies. Use it sparingly, though, as it can also repel insects you actually want in your garden.

Ways to remove bugs

If destructive pests still make their way in despite all your efforts, you can give these nontoxic removal strategies a try.

Water
The easiest method might be to simply spray them off with your garden hose, or you could try handpicking them and dropping them into a container of hot, soapy water to kill them. Then simply throw the bugs into your trash.

Insecticidal soap spray
Spritzing on an insecticidal soap spray will suffocate pests without harming most helpful insects. But do a test first, such as on a small leaf, to ensure that it won’t hurt your plants, and wash it off within a few hours of applying it so they won’t be negatively affected.

Traps
Another way to stop bugs in their tracks is by capturing them in traps. For instance, try catching earwigs by digging a hole in your garden and placing a shallow container filled with vegetable oil and a dab of soy sauce in it; the soy sauce will attract them, and the oil will smother them. Likewise, you could snare small insects like flies and aphids by employing homemade sticky traps made with biodegradable yellow paper and a sticky, appealing natural substance like honey. You can also purchase sticky traps, but they might not be as eco-friendly.

Protecting your flowers and vegetation from pests using natural methods can require constant monitoring and hard work, but the rewards are well worth it. Not only will you enjoy healthier crops, but you may also help preserve the earth’s delicate ecosystem.