Captain Jack’s Dead Bug Brew
Captain Jack's Deadbug Brew is approved for organic gardening to control a wide range of insect pests including bagworms, leaf borers, beetles, and caterpillars along with leaf miners, spider mites, and thrips. Use on listed vegetables, citrus, fruits, annuals, and perennials.

The active ingredient, Spinosad is a substance made by soil bacterium that can be toxic to insects. Spinosad works to kill insects that eat treated plants or that contact treated plants. Spinosad is soft on bees and beneficial insects especially after it has dried.

Active Ingredient: Spinosad
Suitable for Organic Gardening: Yes

Horticultural Oil
Monterey’ Horticultural Oil contains mineral oil and functions as both an insecticide, fungicide, and miticide.

As an insecticide and miticide, horticultural oil covers the insect and causes suffocation. This mode of action is effective on the egg, larval, and nymph stages. Total coverage of the pest must be made for the oil to be effective.

As a fungicide, this product will work in two ways: It reduces the population of vector insects (a vector insect transmits disease to plant tissue while feeding) like psyllids and leafhoppers, and it will interfere with the fungal pathogens ability to attach to plant surfaces

Horticultural oil can be used year-round, in both the dormant and growing seasons. Use on ornamentals, roses, indoor plants, vegetables, and herbs up to the day of harvest.

Active Ingredient: Mineral Oil
Suitable for Organic Gardening: Yes

Sluggo & Sluggo Plus
Sluggo is our go to solution for slugs which are the bane of the hosta garden. Sluggo takes care of slugs and snails and can be safely used around pets and wildlife.

Sluggo contains iron phosphate, which occurs naturally in soil, along with snail and slug bait attractants in the form of wheat gluten. The bait not ingested by snails and slugs will degrade and become a part of the soil. Sluggo remains effective even after rain.

Sluggo Plus combines iron phosphate and Spinosad (the active ingredient in Captain Jacks Dead Bug Brew) that is toxic to a variety of garden pests including slugs, snails, pillbugs, cutworms, sowbugs, and earwigs.

Sluggo is most effective if used in early spring when the baby slugs first appear from eggs that have over wintered over in the soil. When you see the first leaves popping up in the garden it’s time to treat the area. Make a second application 1 month later, and then again in early August. With this approach you will short circuit the three to five generations of slugs that appear every season while. Sluggo works best when soil is moist but with little or no standing water.

Active Ingredient: Iron Phosphate (Sluggo), Iron Phosphate plus Spinosad (Sluggo Plus)
Suitable for Organic Gardening: Yes

Diatomaceous Earth
Diatomaceous Earth is made from the fossilized remains of tiny, aquatic organisms called diatoms. Used as a dust, diatomaceous earth is an affective and safe insecticide if applied in areas where pets and humans may be present.

When applied as a barrier either indoors or out, it is an effective treatment for ants, earwigs, millepedes, centipedes, silverfish, fleas, ticks, and other crawling insects.

Suitable for Organic Gardening: Yes

Insecticidal Super Soap
Insecticidal Super Soap is a fast acting insecticide that is effective in controlling over 30 types of insect pests and mites on vegetables, fruits, herbs, annuals, perennials, and foliage plants. This product kills insects and mites through direct contact and ingestion. Direct contact with piercing and sucking insects such as aphids is most effective while leaf eaters like worms and caterpillars make contact through ingestion.

A little-known fact, insecticidal soap can also be used a fungicide and is an effective treatment for powdery mildew.

Approved only for outdoor use. Insecticidal Soap, without the super is a great tool for use on indoor plants!

Active Ingredient: Potassium Salts of Fatty Acids, Spinosad
Suitable for Organic Gardening: Yes

Neem Oil
Neem oil is kind of the cure all as an all-purpose insecticide, miticide, and fungicide that can be used for organic gardening. Derived from the Neem seed, use on roses, flowers, vegetables, herbs, annuals, perennials, indoor plants, trees, and shrubs. Neem oil kills all life stages of insects including hard to target eggs and larvae. Also effective in treating fungal infections such as black spot, powdery mildew, and ruts.

Neem oil can also be applied as a dormant spray early in the spring. Spray on fruit trees and magnolia trees before buds begin to swell in early spring.

Active Ingredient: Clarified Hydrophobic Extract of Neem Oil
Suitable for Organic Gardening: Yes

Copper Fungicide
Copper fungicide is our go to fungicide for all things not fun including powdery mildew, downy mildew, black spot, rust, blight and more. Copper Fungicide can be used on ornamental and edible plants and also turf grass. It can even be used up to the day of harvest in the veggie garden.

Spray on all plant surfaces for best results. Powdery mildew lives on the top of leaves while downy mildew dwells on the bottom. Rust infections can move through tissue so ample coverage is important. Preventative treatment is best, and we recommend that you begin treatment before disease symptoms typically appear. Repeat applications every 7-10 days and after a rain event.

Active Ingredient: Copper Octanoate (Copper Soap)
Suitable for Organic Gardening: Yes

Revitalize
Revitalize is a newer product that serves as both a biofungicide and bactericide to control blight, molds, rots, and mildews on vegetables, fruits, ornamentals, turf grass, indoor plants, and tropicals. This product triggers an immune response in the plant that limits the ability of pathogens to invade.

Revitalize can be applied as a foliar spray or drench. When used as a drench, Revitalize colonies root hairs which aids in the prevention of root rot.

For best results, treat plants at the first signs of disease. Repeat at weekly intervals until disease issue has been resolved.

Active Ingredient: Bacillus amyloliquefaciens strain D747
Suitable for Organic Gardening: Yes

Horticultural Oil - See information above

Neem Oil - See information above

Weed Beater Ultra
Weed Beater Ultra is effective on over 200 broadleaf weeds and gets right to the roots. Broadleaf weeds are basically any undesirable plant that is not grass, had a wide leaf with mid-leaf venation. The most common broadleaf weeds Minnesota gardeners like to eliminate in their lawns include clover, dandelions, and creeping Charlie. With an application of WBU, you will see visible results within 24 hours.

One of the advantages of WBU is its cool weather performance. You can apply when the temperatures are as low as 45°F which extends the application window. And WBU won’t wash away in the rain.

Active Ingredient: MCPA, Mecoprop-p acid, Dicamba acid, Carfentrazone-ethyl
Suitable for Organic Gardening: No

Captain Jack’s Dead Weed Brew
Captain Jack’s Dead Weed Brew is a fast-acting herbicide derived from iron for control of broadleaf weeds, moss, and algae. Use for visible weeds within vegetable & flower gardens, landscaped areas, and lawns. Injury to weeds can be noticed within hours.

This herbicide will damage and eventually kill ornamental plants so be careful with spot applications. Does not affect turf grass. Rainfast within 3 hours. Can be used at temperatures as low as 50°F

Active Ingredient: Iron HEDTA
Suitable for Organic Gardening: Yes

If you have gotten to the bottom of this blog and you are more confused than when you started, just ask the experts at Tonkadale. We are happy to help. Photos are always appreciated as they aid in quick identification of your pesky plant problem.