Last week we discussed fertilizers, this week it's time to talk about pest control. What is a pesticide, what are the benefits of using them, and are there different types of pest control? Tonight we discuss synthetic and organic methods of controlling those pests in your vegetable garden.

What is a Pesticide?

Any substance or mixture of substances intended for preventing, destroying, repelling, or mitigating any pest.Any substance or mixture of substances intended for use as a plant regulator, defoliant, or desiccant. (epa.gov)

Types of Pest Control

Insecticides (all insecticides are pesticides, but not all pesticides are insecticides)Herbicides (plants/weeds)Rodenticides (mice/rat)Fungicides (fungus)Bactericides (bacteria)Larvicides (larvae)

Alternatives to Pesticides

A good organic alternative to pesticides is the cultural methods: crop rotation, and interplant mixtures of plants. The biological control method is the use of naturally occurring disease organisms. You can also use pheromones to attract pests to traps. Hormones can cause insect metamorphosis change, if applied at the wrong time in the life cycle, insects can be killed off.

 IPM: INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT: a combination of pest control methods that keep pest population low without economic loss. Use conventional pesticides sparingly when other methods fail.

HOSS Pest Control

SPINOSAD Takedown garden spray                        Complete disease control

Neem oil                                       Monterey Bt                                         Liquid Copper Fungicide

Fruit Tree Spray Plus                      Fruit Tree Spray Plus                            Bug Buster O

Diatomaceous Earth                        Horticultural Oil                                 Sluggo Plus

Fungi Max                                    Garden Phos                                           Ultra 90 Surfactant

Come and Get it II fire ant            Vegetable and Ornamental weeder        

Vegetable, flower, fruit, and Ornamental Fungicide                                           

Product of the Week

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Titan Sunflower

Watch the Complete Show on YouTube Below:

https://youtu.be/i6KQprbWdx4