Organic Pest & Disease Control

Organic Pest & Disease Control

Prevention is the foundation of organic pest and disease control. By implementing proactive measures, you can reduce the risk of infestations and keep your plants healthy. 

Healthy soil is the backbone of a thriving garden. By maintaining fertile soil, you create an environment that promotes plant vigour and resistance to pests and diseases. Incorporate organic matter (compost, leaf mulch, or well-rotted manure) and soil conditioners into your soil to improve its structure and nutrient content. This promotes strong root development and overall plant health. Healthy plants are better equipped to withstand attacks from pests and diseases.

Companion planting is a time-honoured technique that involves growing certain plants together to enhance the overall health and repel unwanted pests. Some plants release natural chemicals that act as insect repellents. For example, the strong aroma of marigolds repels nematodes, while planting aromatic herbs like basil or mint near tomatoes can repel aphids and other harmful insects.

Encouraging beneficial insects is an effective way to keep pest populations in check. Ladybirds, lacewings, and predatory wasps are just a few examples of beneficial insects that prey on common garden pests such as aphids, caterpillars, and mites. To attract these helpers, provide them with suitable habitats such as flower beds, native plants, wild areas and insect hotels.

Crop rotation is also important, many pests and diseases are plant family specific. By rotating crops between sites these pests tend to decline in the period when their host plants are absent which helps reduce build-up of damaging populations of spores, eggs and pests. Common diseases that can be avoided by a good rotation include clubroot in brassicas and onion white rot.

Using netting as a protective measure for crops has proven to be a valuable strategy in pest management. The netting creates a formidable defence against insects, preventing them from feasting and laying eggs on crops. It can also protect crops from birds and rabbits and acts as a shield against extreme weather events like hail. We have a variety of different mesh sizes and strengths available to protect your crops from pests such as; carrot root fly, flea beetle, cabbage butterfly, birds etc.

Applying plant biostimulants to increase resistance to pest and disease. A plant biostimulant is any substance or microorganism applied to plants with the aim to enhance nutrition efficiency, abiotic stress tolerance and/or crop quality traits. Biostimulants promote plant growth without being a fertiliser. Biostimulants are available in many formulations and with varying ingredients. The most popular ingredients are seaweed extracts, beneficial bacteria, and beneficial fungi and humic substances (humic and fulvic acids). 

Pireco Plant Strengtheners can be applied as a preventative measure, where there has been issues with pests or diseases in the past:

• Mucofol - Can be helpful with the control of fungal and mould diseases on woody plants - Leaf Spot Disease, Powdery mildew, Downy mildew, Black Spot, Rust and Scab. 
• Herfosec - Can be used on herbaceous plants. It strengthens the plants and makes them less prone to attack from harmful insects and their larvae, such as: Aphids, Whitefly, Caterpillars, Diamondback Moth, Vine weevil, Spider Mites, Gall Midge, LeafMiner, Thrips, Scale insects, Pear's Psylla, Mealybugs, Strawberry blossom weevil, Lily Beetle
• Herfomyc -Can be used on herbaceous crops where there has been a problem with moulds or fungi in the past, such as: Blight (Phytophthora), Leaf Spot Disease, Powdery mildew, Downy mildew, Black Spot, Rust, Dollarspot, Snowmold, Red Board. Due to the root stimulating and nutritional ingredients roots, leaves and soil develop an increased resistance.
• Folisec - Can be used on woody plants. It strengthens the plants and makes them less prone to attack from harmful insects and their larvae, such as: Whitefly, Caterpillars, Pear's Psylla, Spider Mites, Gall Midge, Leaf Miner, Thrips, Scale insects, Aphids, Mealybugs, Raspberry beetle, Ermine Moth, Lily Beetle.
• Tercol - Can be used to prevent harmful soil insects such as: leather-jackets, carrot root fly, weevils, cutworms, wireworms, flea beetle, copper worm, onion fly, white grubs etc.

When infestations exceed your garden's natural balances, organic pest & disease control products can be used as a targeted solution:

Soft Soap - Soft soaps have been used to control insects for more than 200 years. Soft soap consists of salts of potassium fatty acids and is biodegradable. It is readily broken down by bacteria and therefore not considered a pollutant. The mechanism by which soap kills insects is in fact not well understood. It appears that soap washes away the insect's cuticle, and then blocks its spiracles preventing oxygen transfer. In other words, the soap washes off the insect's protective waxy covering, and stops it breathing. Useful for insects such as Aphids, Greenfly and Whitefly.

Slug Pellets - An organically approved slug and snail killer, contains the active ingredient ferric phosphate which naturally occurs in the environment. Highly efficacious against all relevant slug species. Following consumption of the bait, feeding ceases immediately. It should be noted that no excessive slime secretions will be evident either on or around the crop. As slugs usually retreat underground to die, there will not be any evidence of dead slugs. Safe for pets and children and harmless to birds, earthworms, hedgehogs, bees and other common garden creatures.

Wool Slug Barrier - Thick roll of matted wool that you place around your beds or attach to your raised bed. Wool fibres have very fine scales on them with tiny barbs which irritate the slugs preventing them going across the wool strip. Harmless to children, cats, dogs, birds and other wildlife. 100% biodegradable.

Diatomaceous Earth - To insects, DE is a lethal dust with microscopic sharp edges that cut through their protective covering and dries them out. One of the benefits of diatomaceous earth for insect control is that the insects are not able to build up a resistance to it. Diatomaceous earth will not harm the worms or any of the beneficial microorganisms in the soil. Can be used against slugs, aphids, flies, maggots and caterpillars, ticks, vine weevils, flea beetles, ants etc. Apply with a dust applicator and always wear a dust mask.

Pyrethrum - An extract from the flowers of the white marguerite Chrysanthemum cinerariaefolium. It is an excellent natural insecticide which can be used against aphids and other sucking insects in fruit, vegetable and ornamental flower production. Suitable against biting insects in outdoor fruit and ornamental flower production. Pyrethrum's natural instability - light and the oxygen degrade pyrethrins quickly - works as well in its favour: there are no residues left after a few hours. It works on contact killing insects currently on the plant. For this reason it should be sprayed only when beneficial insects (such as bees) are not active. We recommend spraying in the evening when bees are unlikely to be in or around the plants.

Fruit Tree Grease - Fruit Tree Grease stops pests such as the Winter Moth and the Mottled Umber Moth which invade fruit trees from late October to early December. It also protects against the March Moth which invades early spring. A simple and effective means of monitoring pest activity by trapping and stopping pests from walking up the tree. Simply brush-on your apple, pear, plum or cherry trees. Apply in Autumn and keep on until early Spring. You can also use Tree Bands.

Delumbri - Very effective repellant of nuisance birds and animals such as rabbits and pigeons. Delumbri is a highly concentrated composition of specific herbal concentrates, based on water and rape seed oil.

AMN Biovit - 100% natural herb extract made from Garlic, contains significant amounts of iron, organic Selenium and other important micronutrients. It is absorbed by the plant and changes the chemistry of the foliage. This changes the 'smell' of the plant, and insects which are genetically coded to find their food by scent are no longer attracted to the plant.

Horsetail Liquid - Has powerful antifungal properties that are effective on blight and other fungal infections. It naturally contains many trace elements plus Potash and Silicic Acid - which helps to form strong plant cell walls. Often used to strengthen plants which are in danger of attracting fungal infections like Blight or Blackspot. 

Biological Controls - We are able to obtain natural predators for Aphids, Red Spider Mite, Thrips, Vine Weevil and Whitefly. As these predators are living creatures, they need to be sent directly to you from the supplier. Please contact us on 027-50710 for more information and availability.

Browse our full range of Plant Care & Protection products here.