I have been investigating biopesticides. As defined by the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, biopesticides include any pesticides derived from such natural materials as animals, plants, bacteria and certain minerals. Examples include such familiar materials as canola oil and baking soda whose application to infested plants may kill or suppress insect pests or their eggs, or disease pathogens. Neem oil, an extract from the seeds of a South Asian tree, is another example of a biopesticide.
It is fatal to a range of insect pests, interfering with their development and reproduction and also blocking their urge to feed. It also thwarts the germination of spores from a variety of plant disease fungi and prevents the spores from penetrating plant tissue. Most intriguing to me are the “microbial biopesticides,” a class of biopesticides that includes a variety of living, naturally derived microorganisms such as bacteria, fungi and viruses, that can attack plant pests and diseases, or in some cases simply prevent them from colonizing your plants.
Biopesticides offer many advantages over conventional chemical pesticides. In most cases, the biopesticides are less toxic, and often far more precise in their targeting. Chemical pesticides commonly attack a range of insects and often are toxic to other forms of wildlife as well as pets and humans.
Biopesticides tend to be more specific in their impact. For example, one of the most widely used microbial biopesticides, Bacillus thuring.