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What’s bugging your yard and garden? Grasshoppers? Worms? Aphids? Ants? Payne’s has plenty of organic pest controls to help conquer critters of just about any kind.
Here’s a brief look at some of the organic pest control options we offer:
Nolo Bait™ is a grasshopper suppression agent made of flaky wheat bran sprayed with a suspension of distilled water, a sticking agent, and Nosema locustae spores. It is nontoxic to humans, pets, wild animals, birds, fish or life forms not closely related to grasshoppers. It won’t harm beneficial insects.
Dipel Dust is excellent for organic control of caterpillars and worms. It doesn't harm beneficial insects like honeybees, earthworms or ladybugs while it does control tomato hornworm, looper, webworm, armyworm, and many others.
Diatomaceous Earth is a remarkable, all-natural product made from tiny fossilized water plants. It works on aphids, thrips, earwigs, silverfish, ants, fleas, ticks and is helpful in dealing with fungus gnats.
 Ladybugs are predatory insects feast on aphids (plant lice), but also prey on pests such as soft-scale insects, mealybugs, spider mites and other harmful bugs. And they are cute!
Neem Oil is an extract from the Neem tree, Azadirachta indica (Meliaceae) that has been shown to affect over 200 insect species including whiteflies, thrips, leafminers, caterpillars, aphids, scales, beetles, true bugs and mealybugs. It works different ly from other insecticides: it is not an instant, knock down pesticide. The ingredients in Neem Oil are similar to the hormones that insets produce, and when Neem enters the bug's system, it blocks the real hormones from working properly. Insects "forget" to eat, to mate, or they stop laying eggs. Some forget that they can fly. If eggs are produced they don't hatch, or the larvae don't moult. Obviously insects that are too confused to eat or breed will not survive. The population eventually plummets, and they disappear.
Pyrethrum is derived from the flowers of a species of chrysanthemum imported mainly from Kenya and Ecuador. It is a fast-acting contact insecticide that repels or kills insects that are present, then it degrades rapidly in the environment leaving no residue.
We can help you choose the right product for your situation. If you’re not sure what’s causing the problem, bring in samples of the leaves or other effected parts so we can diagnose the likely problem and make recommendations
Safe Use of Pesticides: Recommendations from New Mexico State University Cooperative Extension Service • College of Agriculture and Home Economics
When it is necessary to use insecticides to protect the garden, use them wisely and safely. The following tips will help you make better use of insecticides.
• Inspect the entire garden at least weekly to monitor insect numbers and activity. Pay particular attention to underside of leaves where mites, whiteflies, aphids and insect eggs occur. If treatments are applied when an infestation first starts, insect numbers can be maintained at lower levels much more easily, and with smaller amounts of chemicals.
• Apply insecticides to all plants surfaces so an insect anywhere on the plant will be exposed to the pesticide. Do not apply insecticides to wilted plants or during the hottest part of the day.
• Apply dusts only when the wind is calm and plants are dry. Sprays should be applied when the wind is no more than 5 to 10 miles per hour. Repeated treatment may be necessary after a rain.
• Apply insecticides only at recommended dosages. Increased amounts can be dangerous, cause plant damage and leave harmful residues without improving insect control.
• The length of effective control with insecticides varies widely. The longevity of toxic properties varies primarily with the product, formulation, water, pH and environmental conditions. Temperature, humidity, wind and sunlight affect insecticides. The greater the extremes, the sooner the insecticides are detoxified.
• The time interval required by the Environmental Protection Agency between treating a crop and harvesting that crop varies with the insecticide and the crop. This information is printed on the pesticide label to ensure that any residues will be within established tolerances at harvest time.
• Always read and follow mixing and application instructions on the insecticide label for safe and effective insect control.
• Some synthetic organic materials are actually less toxic and more efficient than some natural insecticides. Because a material is a natural pesticide, it does not necessarily follow that it is not toxic to man or harmful to the environment if used improperly. In most situations it is helpful to use several control techniques to reduce insect pest populations to low enough levels that insecticides are not required, or are needed only sparingly. With reduced insecticide use, biological control agents can become more effective, insecticide costs will be saved, and you will have the satisfaction of knowing that few, if any, poisons were applied to edible crops.
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