Safe Homemade Pesticides

Enlarge Image Image Gallery A pennyroyal collar can keep your pet free of fleas and ticks. PHOTO: STAN DOWNS AND JOANNE PAVIA

Few experiences are more frustrating, more irritating, or more just plain maddening than dealing with creeping, crawling, or flying pests ... no matter if they're in your carefully planted garden, in your abode, on your pets or livestock, or on you.

And the situation can get even worse when you start looking for a way to solve your bug problems. Here, for instance, is a sample of the kind of "reassurance" you can find on a typical pesticide can, box, or bottle label: CAUTION! HARMFUL TO HUMANS, PETS, AND LIVESTOCK. DO NOT INHALE OR LET PRODUCT COME IN CONTACT WITH SKIN. DO NOT USE VEGETABLES TREATED WITH THIS PRODUCT FOR ONE WEEK AFTER APPLICATION . . . etc., etc., etc.

Fortunately, there is a way to have healthy crops and critters without handling poisons . . . grow your own pest repellents! Over the ages many pungent herbs have served man in that capacity. Such homegrown, homemade pesticides were used effectively long before the present chemical craze, and they still work.

In the Garden: Pyrethrum

One of the better-known organic pesticides is pyrethrum ( Chrysanthemum cinerariaefolium or Chrysanthemum coccineum ). Do plan on growing your supply rather than buying any, though . . . some commercial products labeled "pyrethrum dust" are simply a pyrethrum powder base that's laced with those toxic, residual poisons characteristic of today's overkill pest control philosophy.

The pyrethrum plants, also known as "painted daisies" or "painted ladies," provide pest-repellent action when grown either throughout your garden or as border plants.

On the other hand, if you want to treat a localized infested area, you can pick, dry, and crush the flowers' petals to make your own safe pyrethrum dust. Or, as an alternative, make a strong "tea" of the powder and spray it directly on the insects. Remember: Pyrethrum is not residual. . . but it is toxic to soft-bodied insects (aphids, etc.), and to some coldblooded vertebrates, on contact. The dust is nontoxic to you, your livestock, or your pets, however ... and can even be used as a safe flea powder.

Garlic Bulbs

Widely known for its aroma, garlic will turn away more than a few garden invaders. When interplanted throughout your plot, berry patch, or orchard, this ancient herb will scare off Japanese beetles, aphids, and other annoying insects. (If you fear that such widespread planting will produce too much garlic for one homestead, bear this in mind: As always, there's nothing like homegrown ... and the aromatic plant has innumerable applications for year-round culinary and medicinal use. For example, it can rebuff such beasties as mosquitoes, ticks, and intestinal worms. What's more, livestock fed with garlic have been shown to be disease resistant, relatively worm-free and — in general — healthier than most nongarlic-fed animals.)