No matter what type of critter you are facing, there is a green pest control option. In this guide, you will be able to find the right solution to your pest problems, no matter what they may be.

Rotenone-Pyrethrins Liquid Spray

A liquid spray product, this choice is useful for a number of different pests and is safe in most situations. Made from organic compounds, the Rotenone-Pyrethrins spray can be used directly on plants to kill bugs and can even be sprayed on domestic animals to control fleas and ticks. Other bugs, which are detrimental to your plants and flowers that can be controlled with this spray include Stink Bugs, Aphids, Japanese Beatles, Leaf Hoppers, and Fire Ants.

Lime Sulfur Spray

A handy spray, this organic choice not only controls a number of different pests, but it also stops fungus that damages certain shrubs and trees. The Lime Sulfur spray is used during the winter when plants and bugs are dormant. It will kill such pests as various Mites, types of Borers, and Scales. In addition, the spray will stop the fungus that causes Mildew and Black Spot.

Garlic Barrier Insect Repellent

If you would prefer to repel insects and pests instead of eliminate them, then Garlic Barrier could be the right choice. This product is made from concentrated garlic and is safe in all garden and farm situations. When Garlic Barrier is sprayed on plants, it is absorbed and is quickly protecting every part of the plant, from top to roots. Garlic Barrier works well at repelling such insects as Mosquitoes, Deer Flies, Gnats, and other pests, which will bite humans and animals.

Diatomaceous Earth

A light and abrasive combination of silicate and sedimentary powders, this product is a non-chemical way to kill and repel a wide variety of pests. If you are having trouble with snails and slugs, you can create a barrier around your plants since the pests will not cross this product. Because it is abrasive, it will damage the soft skin of slugs, deterring them from the area. The Diatomaceous Earth will kill other insects because it dries out their exoskeleton. These insects include Ants, Carpet Beetles, Fleas, Ticks, Roaches, and various types of flies.

Mosquito Magnet

If you live in a mosquito prone area, then you know the true definition of pest. These bugs buzz in our ears and leave a bite that itches terribly. For people, mosquitoes carry the danger of such diseases as Yellow Fever and West Nile. For dogs and cats, the bugs can bring heartworms. You most likely also know that when mosquitoes swarm, it can seem a losing battle to fend them off. Mosquito Magnet works differently than other products. This machine attracts the mosquitoes to it, drawing them into a trap. You will find that the whole swarm will go to it instead of you and your family.

Sharp Shooter Insecticide

When you want a truly non-toxic all encompassing product, you cannot go wrong with this one. Using all-natural lemon juice, Sharp Shooter can be sprayed on all types of plants, including fruits and vegetables. The insecticide can control many types of pests, including Ants, Beetles, Snails, Slugs, Aphids, Leaf Hoppers, Meal Worms, Caterpillars, Mites, and Mosquitoes. The insecticide is so safe that it can be sprayed on crops even on the same day that they are to be harvested with no worry of harm to humans.

Neem Oil

You know a product is a safe alternative when it is even used as a cooking oil in some of its forms. Neem Oil is a totally organic option to control pests, and is used in cooking and cosmetics in many countries. Neem Oil can control a number of pests by halting their reproductive cycle, but it remains safe to animals, people, and birds. Insects that can be controlled include Aphids, Mealy Bugs, Locusts, Caterpillars, Beetles, Gnats, Snails, Mosquitoes and Cockroaches.

Hot Pepper Wax Insect Repellent

Including a combination of sea kelp, organic edible wax, and garlic, this spray works well to repel insects and is still non-toxic to humans and animals. This product works differently than others and must be absorbed into the pests of question, so it will take a day or so to become completely effective. The Hot Pepper Wax spray can kill and repel a number of insects, including Aphids, Mites, and small flies. However, the spray is not effective against hard-bodied insects, such as beetles.

BotaniGard ES

Created from a strain of fungus, this product works well as a full crop repellent for many damaging insects. While it controls and kills insects, it does not contain any of the harmful chemicals that you will find in many traditional insect killers. BotaniGard EX works against such insects as Whiteflies, Aphids, Mites, Mealy bugs, Beetles, and Weevils. BotaniGard works by penetrating the insect”™s exterior and killing them.

Copper Dust

Made from Copper Sulfate, this dust works well on even delicate fruit trees since it will not burn or damage them. Copper Dust works well at repelling many of the common pest insects, but it also works to stop a number of the damaging fungus that effects fruit and vegetable plants. Copper Dust can stop such damaging fungus as blight, black spot, and mildew.

Rotenone 5%

This fully organic dust is created specifically to deal with those pests that are just plain hard to repel or kill. When you feel at your wit”™s end in the pest battle, then you may find the solution in Rotenone 5% powder. This powder works to kill a wide array of insects, including Aphids, Leafhoppers, moths, maggots, beetles, Mealy bugs, spiders, Cabbage Worms, Fruit Worms, Stink Bugs, and weevils. It is important to note that the spray does contain a skin irritant and care should be taken when it is applied.

Liquid Copper

This organic version of liquefied copper  is effective in controlling a number of fungi and diseases that attack many vegetable and fruit crops. This product can help to stop such diseases as powdery mildew, Black Spot, Leaf Curl, rust, and Fire Blight. The product is useful on vegetables, fruits, and ornamental plants.

Dipel 150 Dust

A product designed to use on lawns and crops, this dust is made to stop chewing insects, in other words, worms. These types of insects can completely destroy a crop if they are not stopped. When Dicon 150 is applied as soon as the pests are noticed, it can kill instantly. Chewing bugs, which can be controlled by the product, include caterpillars, chewing larvae, Cutworms, Webworms, Tobacco Worms, and Cabbage Loopers.

Critter Ridder

If the pests that plague your yard and your plants are of the warm-blooded variety, then Critter Ridder can be the right organic product. A liquid or granulated product that irritates pests if they touch or taste it. Critter Ridder will work to repel such animals as Raccoons, Cats, Skunks, Squirrels, and Groundhogs.

When you want to protect your yard, your garden or your crops, then consider choosing a green product that will work quickly but will not harm the environment or your family. Choosing organic products is not only safe, but it is also smart and helpful. You will find that your pest problems disappear very quickly.

About the Author: Leslie Douglas is a freelance writer who is passionate about the environment and leaving a legacy of appreciation for the outdoors to future generations.

Help support The Good Human! If you do your Amazon shopping through my Amazon link, a very modest sales commission is generated. This is true for any product at Amazon, not just the eco-friendly ones. Please keep this link in mind for all of your Amazon purchases, as when you click through one of them and do any shopping, it really helps keep The Good Human going. -> My Amazon.com Affiliate Link. Thanks!

In 1997, I lived in Ojo Caliente, New Mexico, near the Rio Ojo on the way to the mineral springs. (David’s note – Oh how I miss New Mexico!) The soil was very sandy, a stark change from the adobe clay I was used to in Taos, and water ran right through it.

There was a small flower bed under a cottonwood tree off to the side of the house. When I see a flower bed, I have an impulsive need to fill it up. I planted it with the leftover flowers and shrubs from the foundation plantings. When I went to water it, though, I realized that my longest hose only reached just inside the edge. I watered the plants in by hand until they seemed established, then I let nature take its course.

It was a very dry summer, so I turned the hose on that bed a few times to get as much of it wet as I could. The sandy soil was not helpful in keeping things damp! By fall, the pansies and other annuals were crispy, but the hardy native plants had survived. I was moving back to Taos, so I dug those up and took them with me. If anything could have withstood that watering torture (or non-watering torture!), it got a gold star and deserved to come along.

Can you already see why it’s important to plant native species? Only the plants that were used to very little water survived. They did not need more than natural rainfall to get through.

Adaptable species are hardy, too. They may not be native to an area, but they grow and thrive in similar conditions. The sandy soil and climate in Ojo are similar to parts of France and Greece, I was told. Herbs do well in those countries, and mine flourished with very little care in Ojo! I had the most beautiful lavender I’d ever grown! And with little maintenance!

Other reasons for planting native and adaptable species:

They do not need fertilizer. Native plants are used to growing in the local soil, and that is why they are established there. They get exactly what they need from the environment. You don’t have to add anything.

They are less prone to disease and pests. Plants that are stressed from too little water are susceptible to attack. An extreme case in point is the bark beetle damage to the pine forests of the Rocky Mountains. After years of drought, the trees were so stressed, bark beetles were able to move in and kill thousands of acres of trees. Like I say, that’s an extreme example of susceptibility. As a homeowner, when you grow drought tolerant species, a drought will not interfere, but you an also choose to water in dry times.

They offer food and shelter for wildlife. You can attract local birds all year with nectar in summer and berries and seeds in winter. If you planted a yard full of exotic plants, the native animals would not be able to feed, nest or have shelter.

You will have more time to enjoy your native/adaptable landscape by eliminating water, fertilizer, pesticides and the maintenance that goes along with them.

Do not move to a different part of the country and expect to grow the same plants you grew at home! You can move across town and experience the same thing. Soils, light, humidity and rainfall all affect not just plants, but all wildlife.

Live within your ecosystem to be a conscious gardener. To learn more, get involved in your local or regional Native Plant Society, and check out these books:

For the southwest, I highly recommend Judith Phillips’ books, especially Natural by Design: Beauty and Balance in Southwest Gardens and its companion, Plants for Natural Gardens: Southwestern Native & Adaptive Trees, Shrubs, Wildflowers & Grasses.

Here are books for other parts of the country.

Help support The Good Human! If you do your Amazon shopping through my Amazon link, a very modest sales commission is generated. This is true for any product at Amazon, not just the eco-friendly ones. Please keep this link in mind for all of your Amazon purchases, as when you click through one of them and do any shopping, it really helps keep The Good Human going. -> My Amazon.com Affiliate Link. Thanks!

While not every city has the same access to nature as Denver does (LA, I’m looking at you), there are bound to be cool areas you haven’t yet explored or even heard of within a short drive of your house. Next time you are feeling tired or burnt out, find a cool park or open space and get back to nature. You might be missing something really cool in your own backyard.

Help support The Good Human! If you do your Amazon shopping through my Amazon link, a very modest sales commission is generated. This is true for any product at Amazon, not just the eco-friendly ones. Please keep this link in mind for all of your Amazon purchases, as when you click through one of them and do any shopping, it really helps keep The Good Human going. -> My Amazon.com Affiliate Link. Thanks!

In all seriousness, from the porch of your house, would you rather look at these?:

or this?:

Energy doesn’t come free with no expenses at all, (monetary or otherwise) so in order to continue living the lives we have become accustomed to we are going to need an energy source. Solar will play a roll, for sure, but we will need wind power as well. And for my dollar, and if I had to choose one I might have to look at on a daily basis, I would definitely choose this:

Wind turbine pictures from Shutterstock.com

Help support The Good Human! If you do your Amazon shopping through my Amazon link, a very modest sales commission is generated. This is true for any product at Amazon, not just the eco-friendly ones. Please keep this link in mind for all of your Amazon purchases, as when you click through one of them and do any shopping, it really helps keep The Good Human going. -> My Amazon.com Affiliate Link. Thanks!