Organic Pest Control

What makes a pest control product organic

The active ingredient comes from a plant, a mineral or a living organism rather than a synthesised pesticide. On this page that means food-grade essential oils, colloidal micelles built from corn and soybean oil, plant extracts, and beneficial microbes. Some carry a formal certification — Ed Rosenthal's Zero Tolerance concentrate is OMRI listed, and PureCrop1 states it is FIFRA 25(b) exempt — while others are organic by ingredient. The product page says which.

Organic describes what is in the bottle, not how gentle it is on the pest — and it does not automatically mean a product is cleared for edible crops. Read the label.

Why growers choose organic

Residue and how close to harvest you can spray

This is the practical reason most people end up here. Conventional pesticides persist, which is what makes them effective and also what forces a withholding period. The products on this page mostly do not. Ed Rosenthal's Zero Tolerance uses cinnamon, clove, rosemary and thyme oils that evaporate completely, leaving no residue — explicitly unlike neem oil, which lingers on the leaf surface. PureCrop1 biodegrades, tests clean at parts per billion, and its maker rates it for use at every stage right up to the day of harvest.

Keeping your beneficial insects and microbes alive

A broad-spectrum pesticide does not distinguish between a spider mite and a predatory mite you paid for. Several products here are built around that distinction. PureCrop1's micelle is attracted to the gut bacteria of sap-sucking pests specifically, so its maker states it does not harm beneficial insects. CX Horticulture states T-Drops will not affect beneficial micro-organisms. The OMRI Zero Tolerance concentrate is sold as IPM-friendly and intended to run alongside predator insects. If you are running beneficial bacteria and mycorrhizae in the root zone, that compatibility matters as much as the kill rate.

Our range of organic pest control

Broad-spectrum botanical sprays

Zero Tolerance comes ready to use in a 699mL trigger bottle and as a 250mL OMRI concentrate making 12.5 litres, rated against spider mites, aphids, whiteflies, thrips, caterpillars, gnats, mealy bugs and scale. PureCrop1 spans 100mL to 4L and works as insecticide, fungicide and biostimulant in one. No More Bugs covers whitefly, scarid fly and spider mite, as a spray or a drench.

Organic fungicide

Nefarious Micro-Kill is the disease side of the page rather than the insect side: a plant-extract concentrate for fungus, bacteria, mould and mildew, in 1L and 5L. It dilutes one part to nine, so a litre makes ten, and it leaves a bio-film that its maker says keeps protecting treated surfaces for up to two weeks. Its label states it is safe on edible crops and through flowering.

Fungus gnat and root-zone treatments

Two thirds of this collection targets fungus gnats, which is a fair reflection of how often they turn up indoors. CX Horticulture T-Drops is extraordinarily concentrated — 1mL treats 100 litres — and is stated to be inert, safe with any nutrient regime and designed for consumable crops. G-Natural is a dry biological sprinkled over the medium and watered in, dosed by pot size from 10g for a 30L pot to 30g for 95L. Eradicator is a drench at 20mL per litre.

Getting the best out of an organic treatment

1. Treat preventatively. Zero Tolerance's own guidance is to use it before an outbreak establishes, because a set infestation is far harder to control.
2. Follow the repeat interval. Three Zero Tolerance treatments two days apart for mites and thrips, or a daily media spray for seven days for gnats. Eradicator asks for a second application seven days later to catch newly hatched eggs.
3. Hit the medium for gnats, not the air. The larvae live in the top of the substrate, so spraying the adults you can see changes very little.
4. Watch what you mix. Hydrogen peroxide greatly reduces the effectiveness of T-Drops, and a sterilant undoes a biological treatment generally.
5. Do not assume organic means edible-safe. That is a claim each maker makes individually, so check the product page.

This page is the organic subset. Systemics, diatomaceous barriers, traps and identification gear sit in plant pest control.