Introduction
All gardens have pests- they’re an inevitable element of nature.
However, when they’re munching through our hard-grown crops and beloved flowers it can be tempting to reach for the chemical pesticides to attempt to control the damage they can do.
But these days, savvy and sustainability-aware gardeners are looking for environmentally friendly pest control products which work alongside nature instead of against it.
Today’s gardeners understand the delicacy of the balance of the eco-system and the dangers involved in interfering with it by using poisons which can have a long-lasting negative effect upon the very environment that they are trying to care for.

Pest control solutions must be effective and provide long-lasting protection against pests, but must also be safe and non-polluting. In this article, I will discuss environmentally friendly pest control products and methods.
Create a Pest-Averse Garden By Removing Diseased Plants
Before you even reach for products of any kind, some pests and diseases can be tackled with your secateurs.
If you spot any signs of disease on your plants, cut out those areas to prevent the spread.
Cut right down to the branch collar to prevent the disease from spreading down into the healthy wood.
If you discover infections in the roots of your plants from soil-borne diseases, such as honey fungus, for example, then remove those diseased roots and dispose of them.
Clean Up Your Garden At the End of the Season
It’s important to clear your garden of any infected leaves or fruit at the end of the growing season.
Spores from fungus and disease can linger and reinfect your plants the following season, so it’s very important to clear them away and dispose of them properly.
Get rid of apples affected by brown rot, or rose leaves infected by rose black spot.
Remove Pests by Hand
Have a daily wander around your garden when you’re enjoying your morning mug of coffee and check for pests of all kinds.
In particular, check under leaves for insects which may be laying their eggs there, or munching away at your leaves.
Many pests, such as slugs and snails, can simply be picked off your plants by hand ( if you have the stomach for it- I don’t!)
Birds are an Environmentally Friendly Pest Control Product
Birds, frogs and hedgehogs are the ultimate in charming and environmentally friendly pest control methods.
They’re not remotely squeamish about getting tucked into slimy pests, such as slugs and snails, so they should be encouraged to take up residence in your garden.
Birds will also pick a lot of insects off your plants for you.

Therefore, it’s a good idea to make them welcome by setting up a bird bath and feeder to keep them chirpy.
The water in the bird bath should discourage them from pecking at your soft fruit or tomatoes for hydration, too.
Environmentally Friendly Bugs
Many insects, such as aphids and green fly, are not gardeners’ friends, but some are.
Ladybirds, lacewings and ground beetles are on our team.
Ladybird lavae eat aphids and ground beetles eat slugs, so they are definitely to be welcomed into our gardens.
Plants That Are Environmentally Friendly Pest Controllers
Some plants have been proven to help control pests, especially when planted next to certain other ones in a system known as ‘companion planting.’
There are many combinations you can try.
If you need to protect your raspberry plants from beetle infestation plant garlic in between your raspberry canes.
Tomato plants can be protected from disease and insects by planting basil alongside them.
Potatoes can be protected against infestation from Colorado Potato Beetle by planting bush beans in alternate rows.
In return, the potatoes protect the bush beans from the Mexican bean beetle.
Everyone’s a winner!
Petunias planted around beans and potatoes also help to keep those pesky Colorado potato beetles at bay.
Crysanthemums and Marigolds
Crysanthemums are known to be repellent to ticks, Japanese beetles and spider mites.
Nor are they well-liked by the ant, flea and cockroach communities.
Therefore, well worth planting in your garden.
Many environmentally friendly gardeners plant marigolds in their fruit and vegetable patches as their scent is a deterrent to nematodes and other soil-borne pests.
Another gardeners’ friend is tansy, which is traditionally a good way to repel ants.
Planting tansy and catnip between your courgettes and cucumbers will significantly reduce the nuisance caused by cucumber beetles.
Plant Aromatic Herbs
Aromatic herbs, such as rosemary, lavender, lemongrass, mint and cloves help to keep pests at bay whilst attracting beneficial insects at the same time.
Growing herbs throughout your lawn and vegetable gardens will help to maintain a healthy ecosystem, allowing your plants to thrive.

Rosemary, in particular, is recognised as a powerful deterrent to bean beetles, cabbage moths and carrot flies.
To learn more about which plants to plant together to help with pest control, read my article that tells you all about it: Popular companion planting combinations for a thriving garden
How to Create Pesticides From Natural Ingredients
We have already discussed some methods of deterring pests from infesting your garden:
- Clearing your garden of any diseased plants as soon as they are spotted
- Inspecting your plants regularly for signs of pests and diseases and acting promptly
- Attracting beneficial insects and birds
- Companion planting.
Now let’s look at creating your own environmentally friendly pest control products, using ingredients that you probably already have in your home.
Many eco-friendly gardeners recommend using hot pepper spray to deter adorable pests, such as bunny rabbits and deer. ( Can you tell I don’t get these in my garden?!)
To create hot pepper spray, mix hot pepper flakes or powder with water and apply it to plants or areas where you’ve observed these pests hanging out, scoffing your plants.
Follow the manufacturer’s instructions and take care if you employ this method.
Cayenne Pepper Spray
You can concoct your own spray to deter cabbage loopers from chowing down on your Brussels, kale or cabbages.
Add 3 teaspoons of cayenne pepper to a quart of water in a spray bottle.
Then spray the leaves and surrounding ground with the mixture.
Minced Garlic
Another homemade pest control spray can be made by steeping minced garlic and chilli peppers in water.
When sprayed onto your plants, this mixture will repel insects such as beetles and aphids.
It will also repel rabbits, and, incidentally, vampires.
Create Your Own Environmentally Friendly Pest Control Products With Caution
Although you may believe that you are doing your garden habitat a favour by creating and applying your own homemade pest control products, proceed with caution.
The experts at the Royal Horticultural Society advise gardeners to think carefully before using what they call ‘Home Brews’.
“ Some people turn to home-made brews as they try to reduce chemical inputs into their gardens. These apparently benign concoctions containing essential oils, washing up liquid or similar are best avoided as they may pollute the wider environment or harm plants, for example by scorch. They can harm a range of organisms and as they are not properly tested, we can’t be sure of their environmental effects.
Whatever their origin, these products kill pests and diseases, so should be used with discretion.”
So, a word of warning about creating your own pest control products at home, then.
Environmentally Friendly Pest Control Products on the Market
However, there are many environmentally friendly pest control products available to buy on the market, so let’s have a look at a selection of the best of them.
Neem Oil
Neem oil is a firm favourite of organic gardeners and farmers. This natural product, derived from the seeds of the neem tree, is used to repel a wide variety of insects including whiteflies, leafhoppers and caterpillars.
Mix it with water and spray it directly onto the pests as an effective insecticide.
You can also drench the soil with it around tree roots, or on vegetable plants before you put them into the ground.
Your plants will then draw up the Neem extracts through their roots and it will become present inside the plant tissue- repelling insects.
Insecticidal Soap
These products kill soft-bodied pests, such as earwigs, whiteflies, mealybugs, thrips and aphids.
They work by entering the soft outer shells of pests and damaging cell membranes, leading to starvation and dehydration.
The active ingredients within insecticidal soaps are fatty acids and salts.
Their manufacturers claim they are natural, effective and biodegradable and can help remove sooty mould, honeydew and other leaf fungi.
Insecticidal soaps are an example of environmentally friendly pest control products, but they need to be used minimally, as they can also be toxic to beneficial insects.
Spinosad
Another favourite method of pest control amongst organic gardeners and farmers. Spinosad, created from fermented bacteria, is extremely effective in killing off a whole variety of pesky bugs.
They are killed by the spray itself, or by ingesting spinosad from the leaves of plants after treatment.
To avoid harming bees and other beneficial insects, it’s advisable to spray in the evening when they’re not on the move.
Click here to purchase Spinosad.
It’s got great reviews on Amazon, but, as with all biocides, make sure you read the instructions on the container and use with caution.
Diatomaceous Earth
This is a natural and effective method for controlling crawling insects. Diatomaceous earth is a naturally mined mineral product of fossilized remains of diatoms, a type of hard-shelled algae.
It creates an abrasive barrier, absorbing the oils and waxes from the bodies of certain insects and anthropods.
This kills them as they dehydrate.
A popular use of diatomaceous earth is under fruits and vegetables which rest on the ground, such as squash, watermelon and cantaloupe.
Sprinkle it around your garden to keep ants away from your plants. You can use it directly from the container, or dilute it with water to create a surface spray.
This environmentally friendly pest control product is non-toxic and organic, so it’s safe for humans and pets.
A word of warning with this product is that it can take significantly longer to have an effect than the application of chemical insecticides.
Of course, it’s also important to read the label carefully and use as instructed.
Floating Row Covers
Use floating row covers to cover your plants and protect them from pesky insects, rabbits and birds.
Make sure you secure all along the edges to prevent anything from crawling underneath.
These floating row covers will protect your plants from pests and bad weather, too. Just remember to remove them once your plants begin to flower for vegetables that require pollination.
Solar-powered ultrasonic repellent against vermin
This awesome piece of kit claims to drive away dogs, cats, deer, rabbits and squirrels without any chemicals or a single whisker on their bodies coming to any harm.
I love the way that the description of this product includes the claim that it prevents ‘garden raiding’ amongst other things.
That created an amusing image of masked rabbits raiding the cabbage patch in my mind!
Anyway, the description for this product also says: “ It works or we refund you. Zero quibble.”
Sounds like you can’t go wrong with this product then! Additionally, as it’s powered by solar it won’t cost you a penny to run, so it’s worth giving it a go to keep all those whiskery garden raiders at bay.
Another point from the description: “ 3X PREDATOR SETTINGS – REPELS 10 WORST PESTS.”
Surely everyone needs one of these?
I’m just thinking of a ranked list of the 10 worst pests everyone would like to see repelled from their lives.
Hmm… Politicians? Debt collectors?! Wonder what would top your list?!
Fruit Tree Grease Bands
These are designed to protect fruit and ornamental trees from damage caused by winter moths, caterpillars, ants and earwigs.
They work by trapping moths before they have had the chance to lay eggs and they stop crawling bugs from climbing up your trees.
These grease bands are easy to use and free from poison; you simply cut it to the length you need, wrap it around the tree trunk and secure it with the string provided.
The manufacturers claim they are a humane and effective barrier against orchard pests, whilst their green colour is not attractive to beneficial insects.
Environmentally Friendly Slug Trapper
SLUGS! Don’t get me started! There’s simply nothing to like about slugs!
Yes, rabbits scoff your cabbage and lettuce and deer nibble just about anything, but at least there’s something warm, fluffy and adorable about those particular pests.
But slugs? Pah! They just have got to go!
Ever since I reached down and picked a lovely head of lettuce from my garden only to find a huge long slug on the back of my hand they have filled me with loathing.
I know that many gardeners avoid using poisonous slug pellets by putting down saucers of beer to attract slugs, but in my opinion, that is an unforgivable waste of good beer.
After all, a slug is your garden enemy, not your drinking buddy.
If Hedgehogs and Frogs are being elusive…
So- what’s the solution to ridding your garden of these slimy monstrosities?
As I suggested earlier in this article, you could attempt to entice the help of slug-eating communities, such as hedgehogs, birds and frogs.
For some peculiar reason, those guys view slugs in the same way that you or I may view a tender piece of filet mignon.
However, if they are elusive, a slug trap is a great environmentally friendly pest control product which could well help to control the slug population in your garden.

You can put beer or bait into the trap (I’d certainly be choosing bait, not beer myself!) and the slug slimes its way into the trap, and can’t get out again.
Simple as that- no chemicals to worry about.
I would also like to point out that there’s no need to touch the slimy individuals either, thankfully, as that would put me right off buying this product!
The pack contains 20 of these traps.
They’re made of plastic, which I was a bit uneasy about, but the manufacturers claim that they are very durable and can be used over and over again.
Therefore quite a sustainable product.
Click here to buy slug bait for your traps: the manufacturers point out that it’s cheaper than using beer: “ Keep your beloved beer in the fridge” they say. Good idea!
In Conclusion
I hope that you have enjoyed this exploration of environmentally friendly pest control products; both homemade and available on the market, and I would like to think that you have found it helpful.
Recommended reading
Time-Saving Tips for Lazy Gardeners: Create a Beautiful Garden
Simple Ideas for Creating a Low Maintenance Cottage Garden
Affiliate Disclosure:This article contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase as a result of clicking on them, then I will receive a small commission. This will be at no extra cost to you, but will maybe be enough for me to treat a slug to a small beer at my local pub.