Bees are quite sensitive to insecticides and most importantly, subject to more exposure to insecticides based on  how they behave. Any insect which is mobile and typically likes to land on plants all day long is a prime candidate for some kind of toxin exposure. Compared to other insects like Cave Crickets which live and thrive in dark caverns away from the sun, people and other extreme influences, it's amazing bees, wasps and other social insects are able to live more than a day in our dangerous world. With this in mind, anyone that keeps or cares about bees should make an effort to decrease the liklihood of exposing them to undue levels of pesticide. And one way to do this is to use products which don't last long after they're applied.

The product you inquired about is in fact one such product. Certified for organic gardening, MP INSECT KILLER has a short life span. It has just 1 day to harvest which means it's pretty much gone in a day of being applied. Having a "1 day to harvest" means in one day, crops which have been sprayed with it are suitable for human consumption. Such labeling is only extended to products which break down rapidly. By dissipating rapidly, there is less chance of a toxic exposure to non-target insects like bees since the product isn't effectively hanging around killing everything that lands on it. The mindset here is you're spraying a target insect you see and know about; a good effort on your part should eliminate the real targeted insect and then afterward, within a day, the product used will be gone and the plant can go back to as it was prior to being sprayed. The big plus is that the targeted insect is now gone so that in theory, the plant should benefit (assuming the targeted insect was targeted because it was doing some kind of damage). Plants treated with long lasting residuals can in fact impact hundreds if not thousands of insects during their course of life and if you keep bees, you know exactly what I'm talking about. In general, it's best to avoid using such products unless the situation warrants such applications or the host plant is one bees, wasps and other beneficial insects avoid.

In summary, products like INSECTICIDAL SOAP and MP INSECT KILLER are two good choices if you need to spray around the home, out in the yard, on plants which bees like to frequent. Both products do an admirable job of controlling most any insect and though they won't last more than a day, they won't have a profound impact on non-target insects that aren't causing any damage in the first place.

We have several non toxic concentrates that can handle caterpillars and other other pests quite well. These are labeled for use on organic gardens and won't hurt the plants, fruits or vegetables you harvest.

If you prefer a dust, go with the BT GARDEN DUST. This product is simply sprinkled over the plants and as the caterpillars eat the treated leaves, they'll ingest the bacteria and die.

If you prefer to spray, go with the MULTI PURPOSE GARDEN CONCENTRATE or the ORGANIC  3 IN 1 SPRAY. The Multi Purpose is our strongest organic option and will handle most any insect. The 3 in 1 combines an insecticide, fungicide and miticide all in one so you get complete coverage of all the common ailments most gardens experience. It's kind of a "one shot treatment" that can make gardening – especially organic gardening – a lot easier.

Lastly, we also have a non organic option that will last longer and be the most effective overall. VEGETABLES PLUS uses permethrin as the active and is highly effective on caterpillars. Treatments can last 1-2 weeks so you won't have to apply it nearly as much as the organic options.

Mosquitoes will readily thrive in ground cover, grass and gardens where it is either shady, moist or both. If you aren't treating the garden with one of the Organic Sprays we have featured on NON TOXIC PEST CONTROL, we recommend that you reconsider. All it takes is one little "pocket" of mosquitoes to make a large area infested as explained in our MOSQUITO CONTROL article.

For the grass and ground cover, spraying some MOSQUITO KILLER RTS should work fine. It's Organic and won't pose a hazard to people or pets. Treatments should last a week or more and it can be applied as often as is needed. In the home, the ORGANIC FLYING INSECT KILLER can be used to get any that find their way inside.

There are a few non toxic slug control products that work pretty well. The old standby is DIATOMACEOUS EARTH. Just sprinkle it around the plants you want to protect and the slugs won't cross over the band. This will slow them up but it won't last that long so consider one of the other control options for better long term control.

SLUGGO SLUG BAIT is approved for organic gardening and is both very safe and effective for slugs and snails. Broadcast this in a large area around the garden so as foraging slugs come around they'll surely intercept the bait at some point. Distributing the bait over a large area will yield better results compared to making small specific applications. Remember, slugs don't do a good job of moving around compared to most any other pest. Slugs tend to travel in a straight line so if the bait is even just an inch or two away from their trail they may not venture away from where they were headed. Be sure to get it evenly distributed over a large area for best results.

Another good safe non toxic slug control option is the SLUGS AWAY ELECTRIC FENCE. This mechanical type of control mechanism is very simple to install and very effective. Once in place, slugs won't be able to access any of the plants the fence surrounds. It works off a battery pack that will remain active for most of the season and is completely safe to any large animal like people and pets. In fact, we can barely detect or feel the small amount of current being used so it's very safe.

Lastly, SLUG TRAPS are very effective at catching some and thinning down the population. Set these out in the garden beds and traveling slug will surely find their way inside and get trapped.

At this time the best non toxic garden sprays would be the ones that have been certified by the NOP. These products will bear the "organic gardening" logo as explained on the main page of NON TOXIC PEST CONTROL. In fact all the products we carry on this site are organic or exempt so for the most part, they're very safe to use in and around the home.

For the garden, we have many options available.  The most common non toxic sprays are concentrates you'll mix with water. For the garden, the more common sprays we sell include the 3 IN 1 FIM and the GARDEN DEFENSE WITH NEEM. For the yard, the GRUB KILLER RTS and the MOSQUITO AND TICK KILLER are popular. All of these products are certified for organic gardening so consider them to be the safest, non toxic options available for now.

We have a few products that are certified for organic gardening which are effective for a wide range of insects. MULTI PURPOSE INSECT KILLER is a good one. It can be applied with any good PUMP SPRAYER and should be applied once a month or as needed. You can also use this inside the home if needed but a better product for in the house would be the FLYING INSECT KILLER AEROSOL. It's nontoxic and works on any flying pest quickly.