since I grow those anyway. But I've also heard vinegar has its uses, iirc, and other people suggest planting certain flowers like marigolds. That's called 'companion planting', I guess.

I will look into it, thanks.

Different things work on different types of pest. Also, just because something is "natural" doesn't mean it's harmless to humans, animals, and the soil. That said, some general things used include:

Capsicum- crushed peppers or pepper oil
Diatomaceous earth
Soapy water
Vinegar

Also, as others have noted, certain "companion plants" protect, and discourage pests. Anything in the allium family, nicotiana, marigolds and others.

Lots of info on the Web, DuckDuckGo is your friend!

helpfully,
Bright

What is the goal? Are we distracting ants or deer? Spraying vinegar kills some weeds. Red pepper can deter cats. Experiment.

Love, Peace and Shelter.

I was thinking about preventing whatever insects would go after my plants.

Carrots Love Tomatoes: Secrets of Companion Planting for Successful Gardening by Louise Riotte

http://www.amazon.com/Carrots-Love-Tomatoes-Companion-Successful/dp/1580170277/ref=la_B001H6IT68_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1402494505&sr=1-1

also by Louise Riotte

Roses Love Garlic: Companion Planting and Other Secrets of Flowers

http://www.amazon.com/Roses-Love-Garlic-Companion-Planting/dp/1580170285/ref=la_B001H6IT68_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1402494505&sr=1-2

I have a lot to learn.

One of the best tips in Riotte's book is how to keep cats out of your garden. They hate the smell of Rue. Rue can even be dried and hung on furniture in a sachet to keep your cats from scratching the furniture.

My favorites are diatomaeous earth and wood ash for crawling insects. Pyrethium or soap and water for leaf eaters.

Hand pick and crush tomato horn worms. For red spider mites, just a cold spray of water will make them move along

I am just starting a garden and want to be prepared and know what I should use for preventative measure. I am in Florida and they are mostly tomato plants. I already have diatomaeous earth that I use for my pool. So I guess I could just use that and keep any eye out for any problems and go from there.

The sharp cutting spikes have been polished off. Those spikes cut into the exoskeleton and dehydrate the pest.