How to Choose Organic Pesticides

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By Cheryl Hinkson
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Gardeners everywhere are turning to organic pesticides for health and ecological reasons. Organic pesticides are beneficial because they break down rapidly in the environment and most organic pesticides have a low toxicity to people and animals. But some organic pesticides can be dangerous and many can kill beneficial insects like honeybees and lady bugs. Experts agree you need to choose organic pesticides with care.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Step 1

To Choose Organic Pesticides Wisely, Read The Label: Organic pesticides are labeled from lowest to highest toxicity, Caution, Warning, Danger and Danger/Poison. When selecting an organic pesticide you need to select the lowest toxicity available to meet your needs, for example if your pest issue is ants and there is one product labeled Caution and one labeled Danger you would do best to purchase the one labeled Caution.
Step 2

To Choose Organic Pesticides Wisely, Ask to Read The MSDS: All retailers are required to have and provide you a copy of the Material Data Safety Sheets (MSDS) for any pesticides they carry to sell. The MSDS will contain information regarding the product's LD50 value. The higher the LD50 number the lower the toxicity, the lower the LD50 number the higher the toxicity.
Step 3

To Choose Organic Pesticides Wisely, Consult an Expert: When choosing an organic pesticide you may want to consider asking a master gardener or etymologist at your State's University Extension Service. They will be able to help you choose the safest, most effective organic pesticide for your pest problem.

Comments

aprilq said

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on 6/24/2009 i'm so glad to have come across this--i'd rather not use any pesticides at all, but my backyard is very buggy and last year squash beetles ate my entire crop. Thanks for the info!