What Most People Get Wrong About Organic Pest Control in the Garden

As a long-term advocate for organic growing, time and time again I come up across the same misconceptions about organic pest control and what it really involves. These myths can easily get in the way when we are trying to create healthy, beautiful, and productive gardens.

The biggest things that people get wrong about organic pest control are:

• Thinking that we need to get rid of pests altogether.
• Assuming that organic pesticides are the answer.
• Looking at individual problems in isolation rather than taking a holistic approach.

I wanted to have a quick look at each of these assumptions and explain in a little more depth why each of them is wrong and why this can lead to barriers to understanding effective organic pest control.

Myth: We Need to 'Get Rid' of Pests

I am often asked how to "get rid" of a particular pest in a garden. But getting rid of particular pests should never be the goal of organic pest control, with the exception of a few non-native and invasive species, of course.

One of the most important things to remember in any organic garden is that even pest species can be crucial parts of the garden ecosystem—with important roles to play in the local ecology. Seeking to eradicate them entirely does immense harm to the biodiversity and health of the ecosystem.

What is more, if we eradicate pests entirely, we risk creating a vacuum in which more pests will come to fill. And when the pests in question are gone, this will mean fewer of the predators that keep their numbers in check. So when the pests inevitably return, their population can boom, and the problem can be worse than ever.

Instead of trying to eradicate particular pests, we should instead be thinking about how to repel, confuse, distract, or redirect a particular species so that they do not decimate our crops or favorite plants.

And we may also, crucially, work on ways to keep their population in check and their numbers down without getting rid of them altogether—largely by attracting their predators to our gardens. Always remembering that to attract things that eat pests, we need some pests around.

Myth: Organic Pesticides Are the Answer

One of the most common mistakes that people make when starting out in organic pest control is thinking that organic pest control primarily means finding natural, organic alternatives to the pesticides they may have previously used.

But it is very important to remember that just because something is organic and natural, that does not necessarily mean that it is inert and harmless. Organic pesticides are free from synthetic chemicals—but they can still do a lot of harm if used with abandon and without great thought and care.

Even organic pesticides should only ever be viewed as a "nuclear option"—as a recourse of last resort, not as the "go to" solution for low-level, common pest problems.

Killing should not be taken lightly, and in any case, pesticide use can sometimes cause a problem to rebound worse than it was before. Often, there will also be collateral damage, and you won't just kill the target pest but also beneficial insects that you want and need in your garden.

It is very important to remember that organic gardening is definitely not just about avoiding certain synthetic products. It is about taking a range of different approaches and finding a natural balance as you work with nature in your garden.

Myth: Pest Problems Can Be Solved in Isolation

Last but not least, it is a common mistake to start thinking about a particular pest issue without taking a look at the bigger picture.

Being proactive and prepared is always better than taking a reactive approach. In other words, we should not react to a pest problem but rather find ways to reduce the chances of a serious pest problem developing in the first place.

We cannot just tackle a pest problem once it occurs without looking at the root causes of that problem within the greater context.

Many pest problems, for example, can be avoided or lessened in severity if plants are in tip-top health to begin with. So choosing the right plants for the right places, providing the right environmental conditions, and caring for plants correctly can go a very long way.

Boosting biodiversity in general and attracting wildlife to your garden is also important. And this also involves looking at particular pest problems in a broader way.

Companion planting and creating the right polycultures of plants can also be very important—not just in boosting biodiversity but also in managing specific pest problems in an organic garden.