Nontoxic Barriers

• There are a variety of non-poisonous barriers that you can use to protect your garden from pests. These traps do not use any chemicals and can be effective means of pest control. Collars are barriers that prevent larvae, such as cutworms and burrowing insects, from digging down into the soil around your plants. Collars can be made from a range of materials, including plastic, stiff paper and tar paper. Fit a piece of the material around the plant's stem and push it into the soil at a depth of about 1 inch, using a paperclip to secure it. In order to protect seedlings from the hungry jaws of insects or the digging claws of feral cats, you can cover them with netting. Flying insects will not be able to lay their eggs on the seedlings; birds will not be able to chomp on them either.
  
  

Traps

• Take a piece of thick, yellow paper or cardboard and coat it with a sticky, gooey material, such as honey or tanglefoot. Aphids and smaller flying insects will get caught up in the goo and conveniently remove themselves from the gene pool and your garden. A coffee can trap is another useful way to trap crawling insects without using chemicals. Simply bury a can in the soil of your garden bed; make sure that the top of the can is even with the surface of the soil. Unsuspecting bugs will fall into the can and won't be able to get out. If any beneficial insects fall in, learn to recognize them and replace them into the garden, where they can resume their helpful activities, such as munching on aphids.
  
  

Plant Deterrents

• There are certain plants that certain insects do not like and will seek to avoid. Using this knowledge in your war against pests is another effective and chemical-free way to control unwanted insects. The practice of companion planting involves placing plants that repel insects next to other plants that will benefit from this type of protection. Plant garlic amongst vegetable crops; aphids, vegetable weevils and spider mites will be less likely to attack. Cucumber beetles dislike marigolds, so plant these bright flowers in and around your zucchini and cucumber plants. Fend off the tomato horn worm by planting basil near your tomatoes.
  
  

Biodegradable Pesticides

• If you've tried all the non-chemical methods and your home or garden is still under attack by pests, you may have to resort to some type of chemical to get the initial infestation under control. The good news is that there are pesticides with low toxicity available, such as diatomaceous earth, that are specially formulated to be less toxic for mammals as well as biodegradable. Once the problem is under control, actively start to put the barriers in place that will prevent another infestation.