Fencing is always your best bet, and it can take many forms. I had a "deer proof" border (mostly deer resistant plants), that included some delicious roses. To protect the roses, I used a single strand electric fence around the bushes. I baited it with peanut butter smeared on aluminum foil. They never bothered the roses. I put it on a timer so it was off during the day and I wouldn't have to worry about getting shocked myself. I also put up a few isolated electric loops attached to a pole with the same bait (modeled after a similar product on the market). No deer tracks were seen in this border or in my yard. They even left the pansies alone. May not work in an area with heavier deer pressure or if they were starving.

RHIZO 1 Reasoning, there is the 'posse' which only seems to be a pest aphid, and not the beneficial insects. I didn't state that the person should release preditary insects BEFORE spraying an insecticide, but instead, place preditary insects out a week or more AFTER the spray. Aphids do respond well to pyrethrins, which is quite safe for edible plants, as is neem. The wasps mentioned are usually sent out on a postage stamp sized piece of stiff cardboard that looks like it has gray sand paper on one side. That's the wasp eggs. I have not had much luck with them, or green lacewings either. I do have early pollinators, orchard mason bees (only for very early apple blossoms), and when the cukes start showing up, a whole honey bee hive colony seems to flock to the cuke flowers every year. Had another preditor, the infamous praying mantis. They would sit at the tops of the basil plants where the flowers would emerge and wait for a honey bee to come by. A second later that pantis has his fast meal, and waits for more. I take the mantis off the basil, and the next day its back to its favorte basil spot chomping on another bee. Nope, mo mantis here anymore, even if they eat a lot! Simply hosing down the plants will remove all the aphids but just allow the aphids more clean places to chew more. Your logic is flawed, and organic gardening is something not everyone knows a lot about, unless they have been able to control an insect pests, diseases, and unknown causes to losing plants. Years ago, I tried putting out japanese beetle traps and barely would have a year go bay that the foliage on everything looked like swiss cheese. My poor raspberry leaves were nearly all chewed off as were the horsradish leaves. I tried natural sprays too, with no luck. After a 10 year battle that I was simply losing, I put down milky spore around the outer perimeters of my garden, watered in beneficial nematodes for both grubs and fungus gnats (cost me a FORTUNE!), and tried neraly every kind of pest deterrent there is, including some battery operated LEDs that light up at night and are supposed to attact moths that lay looper eggs. They caught one single beetle on a whole summer, out goes that trap! I also had a lot of striped cucumber beetles and there, I use scent lures and sticky traps nearby the cuke vines. The traps get loaded within a month and always need replecement. Same with coddling moths on my apples, and there I use scent lures and red spheres. I spend more on control of insects and disease than I do on what my produce iw worth, and I would NEVER use garden hose and spray water on my herbs, tomatoes, peppers, cukes, or any other plants. The plant only see rain water on their foliage and my soaker hoses at ground level. I even have a fig tree that does well in its 85lb pot, but is just too heavy to deal with, so in the ground it goes this fall, once the leaves drop off. You seem fixated on the words 'broad spectrum', when in fact an insect pest isn't a single entity, but is part of a BROAD SPECTRUM of insects and many are TRUE pests! A pollinator doesn't have to be a honey bee, there are a many other tiny wasps and bees that love tiny flowers like the ones on dill plants. If I were to spray my fruit trees with something like Imidan, that would kill all bees and most any other beneficials, whereas the beneficials are barely harmed, if at all by diatomatious earth and a pyrethrin. ollinators dont chew on leaves that have insect sprays applied to them.

Loretta, at the risk of being chastised for hijacking the thread ... If it is squirrels in there, they most likely will not go away until spring, when they and their babies (raised in your attic) will move back to their summer home. In the meantime, for their winter nest they'll make use of anything you have so thoughtfully placed up there for them: boxes, fabric (they seem to particularly like Barbie clothes), fiberglass insulation ... shavings from the electric wiring insulation (guess they like a little texture in their bedding). The babies, having been born and reared inside, will think that's their rightful place and, like salmon, will be determined to return every winter to your - or a neighbor's - attic. They will chew through walls to do so. They literally tore out our soffit vents and when we secured those they chewed through the cedar shakes, vapor barrier and sheathing to get into the house. I used to think squirrels were cute ... now I have to agree with my husband: they're tree rats. Please don't ignore them. Diane

Basil, feverfew, fennel, garlic, lavender, lemon balm, marigold, tea-tree, spearmint, pennyroyal, lemon scented geranium, neem, rosemary, southernwood or yarrow will all help repel mosquitoes. As will almost any strong-scented herb. The lemon-scented geranium (Pelargonium crispum minor) is often touted as the Mozzie Zapper plant and even sometimes as Citronella plant, though the real citronella plant is a close relative of lemongrass. To be really effective, however, the essential oils of the plants have to be released in some way, usually by crushing the leaves, rubbing the leaves onto the skin, brushing up against the plants, burning them (on a barbecue for instance) etc. If you grow such plants around your outdoor living areas in profusion, and encourage guests to keep touching them, some protection will be offered. Making personal skin repellent mixtures with the essential oils and a carrier oil is undoubtedly more effective. If you're going to burn citronella candles and the essential oils in special oil-burners, you need quite a lot of them, but they do work. Mosquitoes are attracted to the colours yellow and blue, and they prefer women and children over men, and go for those people who eat a lot of sweet things.