Is Organic Pest Control Effective?
“Organic” seems to be the watchword of the day, for people of a certain frame of mind. An awareness of the health effects of concentrated chemicals within our bodies has brought the organic mindset to the forefront. In this article, we will take a look at organic pest control and if it is really effective when it comes to pest prevention in your home and garden.
A definition of organic
Organic seems to be a term that is fairly straightforward; most of us would say that if something has been labeled as organic, it has come about without any use of chemicals during the process, whether it be growing produce or controlling pests.
In reality, however, organic as a term is actually a label, generally approved through official channels. This means that the term is not quite as straightforward as we first thought; many of the foods we see in the organic aisle, for example, have in fact been treated with some kind of chemical, just one that is safe or in tiny amounts.
Organic pest control
There are several methods that fall under the category of organic pest control. They include using a living organism to control the problem (a cat might get rid of mice, aphids will be eaten by ladybugs), using certain kinds of plants to deter pests away from certain areas, and so on. Basically, organic pest control means using measures already in place through nature to keep pest populations down.
Is organic pest control effective?
In many cases, you will find that organic pest control is in fact quite effective when it comes to managing your pest problems. In fact, understanding common pests and what makes them act, live, eat, or breed in a certain way has become the backbone for many companies which practice pest control. It is certainly much more effective and safe than traditional approaches which called for a blanket use of toxic chemicals. Still, there are some cases in which strictly organic pest control will not answer.
When to consider using chemicals, and which ones to use
Organic pest control will take a period of time to produce results; in some cases of garden pests, for example, you will have to write off one season and plan better for the next. Or, you might find that nature’s preventions don’t always work (this is pretty common and you probably are acquainted with it in some form - rabbit populations or locust populations often boom every few years, despite all the natural controls in place). If you’re in the middle of one of these natural blips, which we usually term infestation, you might want to consider different measures.
Now, the good thing here is that although chemical has become a bad word, not all chemicals are in fact bad. If you really think about it, chemicals are all around us; they are simply combinations of different elements. There are chemicals that are non-toxic, and there are also chemicals which have a very minimal toxic effect.
These “least toxic” chemicals are what are commonly being used today in a system known as integrated pest control. After an evaluation of the situation, a professional pest control person can determine a course of action based on a knowledge of the pests and control options.
It’s important to keep in mind that while organic pest control is effective, in some cases it may not work. In those situations, it is important to be open to using an integrated approach that uses the least harmful chemicals that there are.