There’s something so wholesome about growing your own produce. It’s a great excuse to get outside and cultivate something beautiful (and delicious). But we’re not the only ones who love home grown goodness. Unwanted pests are regular visitors to the veggie patch, so we wanted to help you do something about it! We’ve searched high and low to bring you the best organic pesticides to keep unwanted insects out of your garden.
Organic pest control is safer for children, pets and our beloved pollinators. It also helps create a healthier, more balanced garden in the long term. Whether you DIY your own, or want to know the best ones to buy, here is your ultimate guide to natural pesticides and organic pest control for Australian gardens.
Related article: Stylish vases to elevate your floral arrangements
Related article: What are the birth month flowers and their meaning?
Most common citrus pests and how to get rid of them
Citrus trees are a wonderful addition to your garden, but they’re also magnets for bugs. From sap-sucking aphids to citrus gall wasps, here’s how to identify and control the most comment citrus pests in your garden.
Aphids
Not all pesky bugs need to be dealt with using chemicals. For aphids, a great organic pesticides treatment is simply to knock them off with a jet of water. You can encourage ladybugs and lacewings into your garden to keep them at bay too.
A lovely alternative is to companion plants such as nasturtiums or marigolds to help keep black or green aphids away.
Bronze orange bug
Large and smelly (seriously, these bugs are stinky!), these bugs suck sap from shoots, flowers, and fruit. Early intervention is key with these little pests. Wear gloves to handpick them off your plants, or deter them with horticultural oils (keep reading for a DIY recipe below). Birds and parasitic wasps can also help keep populations down.
If they really start taking over, use an organic certified insecticide to protect the health of your tree.
Citrus bud mite
These worm-like critters are pale in colour and really, really tiny. Almost microscopic in size, they can cause big problems to citrus trees.
Predatory mites like black hunter thrips and mite midges can help get citrus bud mites under control. Pruning infested leaves and branches is the best way to stop the spread. Be sure to dispose of them carefully and do not place in compost.
Horticultural oil (check out our DIY recipe below) can be an effective treatment when applied prior to flowers and fruits blooming.
Citrus gall wasp
Gall wasps lay eggs inside young branches, causing unsightly swellings (galls) that weaken the tree. The best treatment is pruning. Remove any infested branches in late autumn or winter before larvae emerge, and dispose of them properly. Burn or bin them (be sure to place in a bag to stop them spreading). Definitely do not put them into your compost.
For stubborn infestations, try a product using petroleum oil or an organic certified insecticide. You can also try horticultural oils (you can DIY your own using a handy recipe below) to help manage infestations while keeping your garden eco-friendly.
Citrus leafminer
Leafminers are a very common pest for Australian gardeners. They tunnel inside citrus leaves, leaving behind silvery squiggly trails. These trails weaken the tree and reduce its ability to photosynthesis.
To treat them naturally, prune any infested leaves and apply neem oil or horticultural oil (DIY recipe below) to help prevent the larvae from entering the foliage. It’s best to do this during the warmer months when the pest is most active.
It’s important to note that severe infestations may require chemical intervention. So get on top of them as soon as possible!
Fruit fly
Ugh, fruit flys are nasty little critters. They lay eggs in fruit, making it inedible. And what’s worse, they can lay up to 500 eggs at a time so infestations occur quickly — gross!
To prevent an infestation, get rid of fallen fruit quickly and use exclusion netting or bags over any ripening fruit. Exclusion netting can help prevent female flies from laying eggs on the fruit. Bags can be used to allow space for fruit to continue to grow, and tied at the stem.
Organic pesticides for fruit flys include a DIY trap. We love this idea from Gardening Australia… it uses Vegemite! If you’re not into DIY, there are plenty of organic baits on the market to help keep these nasties away. This one from Yates is our pick.
Mealybugs
Tiny but destructive, these pests can distort flowers, stunt growth, and cause sticky honeydew (see below). To get these critters under control, try neem oil, horticultural oil or introduce predatory insects like lacewings.
Did you know? ‘Honeydew’ isn’t a fruit (well, it is, but not in this instance!). It’s essentially sugary waste produced by sap-sucking insects. Honeydew attracts other insects and promotes the growth of sooty mould, a type of fungus.
Scales
There are a few different types of scales but they’re ALL annoying! Some look like little bumps on stems and leaves. They can produce sticky honeydew that attracts sooty mould.
The best control over scale insects, is horticultural oil or neem oil. Prune heavily infected areas.
How to get rid of caterpillars on plants
Caterpillars are small but mighty. They can demolish your veggies overnight if they’re not dealt with effectively. But let’s do it naturally! Here are a few ideas for organic pesticides that can help you get rid of caterpillars in your garden.
- Handpick them off your plants. Simple, yet effective.
- Use BT (Bacillus thuringiensis), an organic certified microbial control for these pesky little garden munchers.
- Create your own soap spray (DIY recipe below)
- Spray with a garlic or chilli spray — our go to recipe is below. Caterpillars are NOT big fans!
- Encourage birds and wasps into your garden to help with pest patrol.
Can you use vinegar to kill caterpillars? Well… yes, vinegar will kill caterpillars, but this comes with a warning as it can also damage your plants. We’d personally avoid this one.
How to treat scale on roses
Suffering from white scale on roses? A natural pest control to treat these plant pests is to wipe or scrape them off with a soft cloth or toothbrush and rubbing alcohol.
For bigger problems, spray the area with horticultural oil (DIY recipe below) or neem oil. Prune infested stems to reduce the spread.
Organic pesticides to control red-shouldered leaf beetles
Another annoying plant pest in Australia is the red-shouldered leaf beetle (Monolepta beetle). It may be small, but it causes a lot of issues in the garden.
The adult beetles cause holes in plant leaves, damage the plant and can stunt plant growth. Meanwhile, the larvae attacks the root of the plant so all up, they’re one destructive bug.
If left untreated, they can (and will) go to town on your plants so it’s best to treat as soon as you spot one of those yellow-orange beetles with a band of red across the shoulders.
Encourage natural predators like birds into your garden to help keep them away. If you spot some, handpick them from your plants or shake branches to dislodge them. Then place them into a soapy water mixture. Apply neem oil to deter the red-shouldered leaf beetle. If things get out of hand, organic-certified insecticide might be a necessary treatment.
Keeping pumpkin beetles out of your garden
Pumpkin beetles sound cute, but these guys can cause a lot of damage in the garden. Especially to young seedlings. They’re most common on cucumber, watermelon and pumpkin plants.
To treat, handpick them and drop into soapy water, or spray with neem oil. It’s a good idea to cover your seedlings with fine mesh netting until they’re established.
Another tip! You can also companion plant basil, marigolds, or bitter gourd to deter pumpkin beetles.
Slater control in your garden
Slaters, also known as pillbugs or woodlice, are common garden dwellers that feed on decaying organic matter. These critters actually play an important role in the garden, breaking down organic material. However in large numbers, they can start nibbling on young plants and seedlings.
To control slaters in your garden, remove excess organic debris such as fallen leaves, mulch or decaying wood as this is where they hide and thrive. Slates loooove damp environments so a good trick is to water your garden in the morning to reduce moisture at night.
Encourage natural predators like birds, lizards and predatory beetles to snack on slaters and keep their population balanced. Another organic pesticides idea to keep slaters at bay is to sprinkle Diatomaceous earth (natural white rock powder) around vulnerable plants.
Keen for another organic pesticides solution? Trap slaters in orange peel halves or fill an empty cardboard tube with fruit and veggie scraps and leave in the garden overnight. In the morning, you should find all the slaters having a good feast and you can either relocate them to nearby bushland or to be rid of them permanently, drop them into soapy water.
How to stop grasshoppers eating plants
Surely one of the most annoying garden pests has to be the grasshopper. They can absolutely devastate your plants, especially vegetable plants and seedlings.
Keep them at bay by encouraging birds to pick them off for you. You can also use neem oil, or plant deterrents like coriander, dill, and calendula. Looks like grasshoppers are on team no coriander 😉 .
Try this… A great grasshopper control solution is to spritz your plants with a DIY garlic spray. You’ll find our fave recipe below.
Treatment and management for snails and slugs
Snails might be slow, but they can still cause a lot of damage in the home veggie patch. Here are a few garden pest control solutions to try to keep snails and slugs away.
Try a beer trap (yes, really!). Snails can’t resist the yeasty smell of beer (perhaps some humans are part snail 😉 ). Pour 2 or 3 inches of beer into a shallow container and bury so its lip is level with the soil. Once your snail-mates have had their beer-y treat, they’re unable to get out of the trap.
Not keen on intoxicated snails? Try copper tape around your pots instead. The serrated edge of the tape increases the electrical charge, meaning snails can’t cross the line.
Sprinkle Diatomaceous earth (natural white rock powder) around the plants copping the most snail-love.
Simply pick them off. It’s best to do this at night so have a torch and gardening gloves at the ready.
Cabbage moth and cabbage white butterly control in your garden
If you’re growing brassicas (think cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kale) chances are you’ve encountered the cabbage moth, cabbage white butterfly and their nasty little larvae.
To keep these pests out of your veg, use fine netting to form a physical barrier around your plants. You can also grow some companion plants such as nasturtiums, dill or mustard. The egg-laying culprits aren’t big fans of these decoy plants.
Around the edges of your veggie patch, try planting strong-smelling herbs. Such as lavender, sage and rosemary. These seem to deter cabbage moths from settling and laying their eggs.
Keep an eye on your plants, particularly the underside of the leaves and into the plant hearts. Pick off any larvae you find and repeat daily to get on top of the larvae population. If touching them gives you the ick, use a light hose or garden sprayer to knock them onto the ground. You’ve just provided lunch for a bird, beetle or other predator so they should be able to help you out.
An organic pesticides spray is another solution. Find our fave homemade cabbage moth spray recipe below.
How to deter possums from eating plants
If given the chance, those cute, furry little friends (or pests, if you’re a gardener!) will gobble up your veggies in one chomping swoop. You’ve got a few options in the garden to avoid them inviting themselves in for a midnight snack.
A great way to help keep possums at bay is placing nets over your precious plants. It’s simple yet effective. You could also try using homemade garlic or chilli spray as a deterrent for possums. Motion-activated lights or sprinklers can work too.
Lawn pests
From curl grubs to armyworms, our lawns face their fair share of pests. A few organic pesticides you can try include applying neem oil or beneficial nematodes.
If you encourage them into your garden, birds, parasitic wasps, ground beetles and other organisms can snack on your lawn grubs. And the best prevention for lawn pests, is keeping your lawn healthy. The healthier it is, the less appealing it is for grubs.
Pro tip: To keep lawn pests at bay, regular, deep watering and aeration is key.
DIY your own organic pest control and natural pesticides
For outdoor pest control, natural pesticides are always our first choice. Here are a few of our favourite organic pesticides treatments you can make at home.
Horticultural oil
Who is it for?
Horticultural oil works on most insect pests including scale, aphids, white fly, leaf miner, mealy bugs and mites.
What you’ll need…
- 2 cups x vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup x dish soap
How it’s done…
- Shake together in a jar until the mixture looks milky in colour.
- Add 2 tablespoons of your horticultural oil together with 1L of water and then it’s ready to spray.
This recipe originates from Gardening Australia.
Tip: Do not spray horticultural oil in hot weather as it can burn some plants.
DIY garlic spray
Who is it for?
Garlic spray is an organic pesticides treatment for aphids, grasshoppers, slugs, ants and caterpillars.
What you’ll need…
- 4 x garlic cloves
- 1/2 cup x water
- 2 tbsp x dish soap
- 500ml x water
How it’s done…
- Blend the garlic together with 1/2 cup of water. Mix in the dish soap and water and pour into a spray bottle.
- Shake well and allow to sit for 24 hours then spray directly onto foliage.
Tips: Shake well before use. Keep in the fridge between uses.
Chilli garlic spray
Who is it for?
Turns out cabbage moths don’t like spicy food…
What you’ll need…
- 500ml x boiled water
- 4 x garlic cloves
- 1 x birdeye chilli, sliced
- A few drops of non-toxic dish soap
How it’s done…
- Place the boiled water, garlic and chilli in a glass jug and allow to steep.
- Leave until cooled then add the dish soap and decant into a spray bottle.
Coffee spray
Who is it for?
Coffee spray is ideal for killing slugs and snails.
What you’ll need…
- 1 part espresso (not instant, looks like slugs and snails are coffee snobs too!)
- 10 parts water
How it’s done…
- Combine the coffee and water in a spray bottle
- Spray over the surfaces of leaves and soil where snails and slugs may crawl.
Tip: Reapply after heavy rain.
Soap spray
Who is it for?
A soap spray is a great, natural deterrent for aphids and caterpillars.
What you’ll need…
- 2 tbsp x soap flakes
- 1 L x water
How it’s done…
- This one is pretty straightforward. Add the soap flakes to the water and stir until completely dissolved.
- Decant into a spray bottle and use directly onto affected plants.
Tip: No need to dilute this one, it’s good to go once you’ve made it up.
Natural fly sprays
Who is it for?
The bane of our life, especially in the warmer month… the pesky house fly. We are NOT fans! If you’re interested in a chemical free solution to keeping them out of the house, try one of these DIY fly spray recipes.
Natural fly spray using citronella
What you’ll need…
- 150ml x witch hazel
- 5 drops x citronella essential oil
- 5 drops x eucalyptus essential oil
- 5 x drops x lavender essential oil
How it’s done…
Simply mix together the ingredients into a spray bottle and give it a go (see note below).
Fly repellant using hydrogen peroxide
What you’ll need…
- 1/3 cup x hydrogen peroxide
- 2/3 cup x water
How it’s done…
- Mix together in a spray bottle and shake to combine.
- Spray on surfaces where flies tend to hang out.
Note: These two recipes are more of a fly repellant, rather than ones that kill flies.
We hope these tips on how to get rid of common plant pests and garden bugs helps you grow a thriving and healthy garden. Do you have more organic pest control or DIY pest control tips? We’d love you to share them in the comments below!
More gardening tips and inspo
