Botanical Insecticides

Many plants and minerals have insecticidal properties; that is, they are toxic to insects.  Botanical insecticides are naturally occurring chemicals (insect toxins) extracted or derived from plants or minerals.  They are also called natural insecticides. Organic gardeners will choose these insecticides, in some cases, over synthetic organic materials. In general, they act quickly, degrade rapidly and have, with a few exceptions, low mammalian toxicity. Products containing ingredients derived from plants (Table 1) are considered pesticides . However, products containing these active ingredients must be registered for use  by … Continue reading Botanical Insecticides