Anise Swallowtail with Alyssum flowers. Photo by Peter Alexander
Many pesticides can harm bees, birds, and butterflies. You probably don’t need pesticides to keep a garden healthy. If you do plan to use pesticides, use pollinator-safe products.
Do I need to use pesticides to solve this garden challenge?
No, not usually. To safely resolve your pest challenges, ask a Master Gardener by calling (650) 276-7430, Mondays and Thursdays 9am-4pm. Volunteer Master Gardeners who staff the telephone help line are certified community volunteers that provide free, one-on-one advice, assisting home gardeners with questions about gardening and pest management.
If you choose to use garden products, find nurseries and hardware stores selling pollinator-safe products. When you are at the store, check a product for the Our Water, Our World logo. Avoid combination fertilizer-pesticide products, which add chemicals to your garden that you may not need.
Where can I get professional landscaping support?
Bay-Friendly landscaping professionals use a sustainable approach to create healthy, drought-resistant landscapes. You can use the San Francisco Plant Finder and these nurseries as great resources for building pollinator habitat in the urban environment. Native plants require no pesticides to thrive in your garden.
Flowering Maple (Abutilon). Photo by Peter Alexander
Gardening Tips
Seeking Perfection?
Plants don’t need to be perfect. They can take some insect damage and be just fine.
Observe & Interact
Enjoy and observe your garden often, so you can catch problems early.
In Moderation
Water and fertilize just enough. Minimize impermeable surfaces.
Mulch! Compost!
To suppress weeds and reduce waste and your watering needs, apply 2”- 6” of coarse mulch. Keep your soil healthy by using compost in your garden.
Weeds or Dinner?
Not all weeds are invasive. Some of the plants that you call weeds, a pollinator calls dinner!
Related Content
General Resources
- Choose a Bee-Friendly Plant Nursery
- Where can I find free or low-cost compost or mulch in San Francisco?
- Urban Greening Areas Report (PDF)
- Bee City USA Designation (SF Board of Supervisors)
- Safer products - Safely manage ants, aphids, slugs, and other garden pests (Our Water, Our World).
- Sustainable planting resources (SF Plantfinder)
- Bay-friendly landscaping and gardening resources (ReScape)
- California Native Plant Society - Yerba Buena Chapter (San Francisco and Northern San Mateo County)
- Blue Greenway Restoration and Revegetation Guidelines
Pests & Pesticides
- Garden pests - find out how to deal with specific pests in your garden (Our Water, Our World).
- Pest control tips - PDF, San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC)
- Don’t plant a pest - more alternatives to invasive garden plants (California Invasive Plant Council)
- Invasive Plants - learn about the threat to the city's biodiversity.
- Plant Right can give you good alternatives to invasive plants.
- Pesticides used in plant production ("Gardeners Beware" from Friends of the Earth)
- Pest Management Resources
Gardening Tips
- Gardening with Natives (Yerba Buena CNPS)
- Gardening Tips (PDF, SFPUC)
- Control weeds with mulch (PDF) - Apply 2”- 6” of course mulch to suppress weeds and reduce your watering needs.
- Avoid planting invasives - alternatives to invasive garden plants (Plant Right)
- A guide to creating a drought-tolerant pollinator garden (Pam Pierce on SF Gate)
- Seasonal Bee Gardening (UC Berkeley Urban Bee Lab)
- Drought-tolerant plants native to San Francisco (California Native Plant Society)
- Selecting Plants for Pollinators (California Coastal Chaparral Forest and Shrub Province, Pollinator Partnership)
