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Pest, Weed & Disease Control
Natural Pest, Weed and Disease Control
Why Manage Your Garden Naturally?
Insects, spiders, and other crawling or flying creatures are a vital part of healthy gardens. Most perform important jobs such as pollinating flowers, recycling nutrients and eating pests. In fact, less than 1% of garden insects actually damage plants.
Unfortunately, the pesticides often used to control pests and weeds are also toxic to beneficial garden life -- and may harm people, pets, salmon and other wildlife as well.
Follow these Basic Steps to Natural Pest, Weed and Disease Control
- • Create a healthy garden to stop pest problems before they start. Healthy plants and soil not only resist pests and diseases, they also encourage beneficial garden life.
- • Identify pests before you spray, stomp or squash. When you see damaged plants or what appear to be pests, use a gardening guide to identify the "suspects" first. What you think is a pest may actually be a beneficial insect!
- • Give nature a chance to work. Do not try to eliminate pests at the first sign of damage. Garden pests feed beneficial insect populations and allow them to grow.
- • Use the least toxic pest controls available. You can often control pests by using traps or barriers, or by simply removing large pests and infested plant parts. These methods do not harm beneficial garden life or the environment. If pesticides are the only way to control a problem, look for the least toxic ones and closely follow the application tips.
Find a Solution for Your Pest, Weed or Disease Problem
To solve a particular problem, see the control methods described in the Alternative Pest and Weed Controls brochure (PDF), or see the professional ProIPM factsheets or just call or email the Garden Hotline with your question at (206) 633-0224, help@gardenhotline.org.
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