8 Organic Pest Control Methods For Your Farm
- Farmbrite
- Apr 1
- 6 min read
Updated: Apr 7
If you're growing crops, you know that harmful insects can be devastating to your plants and harvests. Depending on what you're growing and defending against, you have many organic and natural options at your disposal.
The best way to fight off pests is to detect them early and fight them when their numbers are small. This involves monitoring your space and the early detection of pests. Use the scouting in Farmbrite or your Crop Management Software to track this.
Unfortunately, pests can sometimes gain the upper hand and take over your crop. To get things back under control, we've gathered seven organic ways to fight pests on your farm.
Companion Planting and Crop Rotation
You can plant a highly deserable plant with one that discurages the pests. An example of a planting like this would be marigolds with tomatoes or garlic with broccoli. The scents of these plants are strong and deter pests from setting up home.
To get started on this method, you will need to be strategic in your placement of plants together. There are some negative placements that can stunt growth, so do your research.
Good Companion Plantings: Basil and tomatoes
Radishes and lettuce
Peas and carrots
Pumpkins or squash and corn
Beets and onions
Potatoes and eggplants
Carrots and onions
Companion Plants to Avoid:
Avoid planting beans with onions, chives, garlic, leeks, scallions, shallots, beets, sunflowers, or fennel.
Avoid planting tomatoes with: potatoes, fennel, brassicas, cucumbers, rosemary, fennel, dill, other nightshades, or corn.
Avoid planting cucumbers with: squash, melons, zucchini, potatoes, sage, rosemary, basil, mint, or fennel.
Avoid planting lettuce with: brassicas, celery, and fennel.
Avoid planting peppers with: brassicas, fennel, potatoes, beans, and corn.
Avoid planting asparagus: with alliums, garlic, potatoes, deep-rooted vegetables (carrots and beets), beans, and other perennials.
Avoid planting garlic with: asparagus, beans, peas, parsley, sage, leeks, and onions.
Another method of effective pest reduction is crop rotation. This method is where you change the types of crops planted in a particular area each season. This practice disrupts the life cycle of pests that are specific to certain crops, making it harder for them to build up in the soil and in one area. Farmers can minimize the chances of pests becoming established in one area by rotating where they are growing. This will also help build your soil by building and not depleting it (bonus!).
Natural Predators
A smart way to keep pest populations down is by using their natural predators. Green lacewings and ladybugs are a few examples of beneficial insects that can naturally help reduce a variety of garden pests without pesticides.
Green Lacewings are an insect predator that's best known for feeding on aphids, but their prey might also be other insects like caterpillars, mites, leaf-hoppers, and other soft-bellied insects. Lacewings have long, slender, light green bodies, long antenae, and golden eyes. They have 4 prominent wings, which are delicate looking, almost transparent, with lace-like veins throughout. Lacewing larvae are your best friend in the fight against pests. These larvae are called aphid lions and can consume about 200 to 300 aphids in the few weeks they grow into adults.
Ladybugs are one of a handful of beneficial insects that play a key role in keeping down populations of harmful insects that can potentially devastate your crops. While they might look cute, ladybugs are fierce predators with a veracious appetite for aphids, eating up to 5,000 aphids over their lifetimes. In the wild, ladybugs can live for up to 2-3 years, so that's a lot of aphids.
Farmers can introduce these beneficial insects to their fields, either by purchasing them from suppliers or by planting flowers and crops that attract them. By fostering a balanced ecosystem, farmers can significantly reduce pest populations without resorting to harmful chemicals.
Bacillus Thuringiensis (Bt)
Bacillus Thuringiensis or BT is a naturally occurring soil bacterium that produces a protein that is toxic to certain insects when ingested. It is rapidly deactivated by ultraviolet light and rain.
This is not toxic to humans or other mammals, but certain strains may be toxic to insects like bees if ingested.
Garlic Spray
Instead of planting garlic, you might decide instead to spray the plant with garlic.
To make garlic spray for your plants
Supplies:
Spray bottle
Glass jar
Cheesecloth or strainer
Garlic, 4-5 cloves, crushed
Water, 1 quart
Dishwashing Soap, 4-5 drops
Garlic Spray Instructions:
Crush: Peel and crush garlic cloves.
Combine: Add the crushed garlic, water, and dish soap to a glass jar.
Steep: Allow the mixture to sit for 12-24 hours.
Strain: Strain the mixture through cheesecloth or a fine-mesh strainer to remove the garlic pieces.
Store: Store the concentrated garlic spray in a glass jar.
Dilute: Before using, dilute the concentrate with water at a 1:10 ratio (1 part concentrate to 10 parts water).
Spray: Pour the diluted spray into a spray bottle and apply to plants, focusing on areas with pest infestations.
Frequency: Spray plants once a week or twice a week if it rains.
Timing: Avoid spraying when it's close to harvest time.
Test: Always test the spray on a small, inconspicuous area of the plant first to ensure it doesn't cause damage.
Diatomaceous Earth or DE
Another way you can fight against pests is by using diatomaceous earth or DE. This fine powder can be sprinkled around plants or on pests. It is effective against pests that have a hard, waxy exoskeleton, like beetles. This powder is abrasive to pests and causes them to dehydrate.
Unlike chemical insecticides, diatomaceous earth is naturally derived and considered non-toxic to humans and pets when used as directed.
Spinosad
This naturally occurring substance produced by soil bacteria fermentation is a broad-spectrum organic insecticide. Spinosad affects the nervous system of insects, causing paralysis. It is approved for use in organic farming on the Organic Materials Research Institute list and is generally considered safe to mammals, but it does have negative impacts on the environment. It's important to note that this is lethal to bees.
Floating Row Covers
Keep those rows covered with floating row covers. Row covers are a woven or plastic material that is placed over the growing area to protect and cover the plants. It is put over the crop at the time of planting and removed at harvest to keep the plant protected.
These do have a few downsides, though. If you live in a windy place, these can blow off or even into trees or biodegrade and cause harm to the environment through microplastics. But you can use 100% cotton or wool instead of plastic. These covers are also not 100% effective from things that emerge from the ground or if you are covering an already infested spot. And for pollination, you will need to remove the covering.
Raise the BRIX Level and Other Methods
Raising the Brix level on plants (the sugar level) will help deter pests. Brix is the measure of sugar content is a plant's sap. Plants with a high Brix level are less palatable for insect attacks because they are healthier. A BRIX level of 12 or higher is best (measurements go from 0-20). You can measure this level with a refractometer that measures the concentration of dissolved solids in a liquid. This is especially useful in flowers and insects that are picky eaters.
To raise Brix levels, optimize photosynthesis, making sure the plant gets enough sunlight. Trim surrounding plants back if necessary.
Make sure that you have the correct balance of potassium, phosphorus, and trace elements.
Add carbohydrates, like molasses, to the root zone (1 part to 5 parts water).
When all else fails, you can use hand picking, pest traps, or broken rows of different plants used like fences between the same crop.
Organic pest control methods offer farmers a diverse array of solutions that prioritize sustainability, environmental health, and crop vitality. By using natural predators, practicing crop rotation, applying plant-based sprays, and maintaining healthy soil, farmers can effectively manage pests while preserving the integrity of their land. Adopting organic pest control strategies is not only beneficial for the farm but also for the broader ecosystem, ensuring that future generations can continue to grow healthy, pesticide-free food. As consumer demand for organic products grows, these methods will play an increasingly important role in shaping the future of agriculture.
We wish you the best of luck in your planting season. Use Farmbrite to track what pests you've spotted, when and how you've treated your plants, and automatically set a reminder to retreat or follow up, as well as many other necessities for your crop treatments and agriculture software
As always, Happy Farming!
