When I first got started in the horticulture business more than 30 years ago, gardeners who had insect or disease problems in their garden would go to a garden center and ask for something to kill the problem organism. They wanted something out of a bottle that they could spray so that the bug or fungus would be dead in 20 minutes or less. The emphasis was on "dead."

Over the last few years, the buzzword has been organic. Many gardeners want a pesticide that is organic, not toxic, but kills the problem pest in their garden. I'm not sure how a pesticide can be nontoxic yet kill a problem pest. I'm pretty sure that if a pesticide is nontoxic, it won't kill anything.

Don't get me wrong, I am not trying to downplay people's concern about the use of pesticides. I just want them to be aware of what they are asking for.

The term "organic" in chemistry refers to chemicals that contain carbon compounds. Yet I doubt if an organic gardener would ever consider using the weed killer 2,4-D (an organic compound by definition) in his garden.

Perhaps we should use a new term that is being used in gardening circles: the natural gardener. This individual wants to use only natural controls for garden pest problems. This could include the use of elemental sulfur as a fungicide. Of course addition of lime, an inorganic natural compound, would also be OK.

More recently natural gardeners have resorted to some seemingly unorthodox methods of insect control. Many companies are now growing, harvesting and selling insects to be used as a control for other insects in a garden.

One of the insects on the market that has grabbed my attention is the ladybug. Perhaps I am more aware of the importance of this insect than most people. I spent many a summer day helping a graduate student buddy collect ladybugs as part of his master's research project.

Ladybugs are insects that eat other insects. A natural gardener wants to have as many ladybugs in his garden as possible.

Ladybugs are particularly devastating to aphid populations. I mention aphids because there seems to have been an outbreak of red aphids on tomatoes in recent weeks.

Several natural gardeners have purchased ladybugs and released them in their garden in order to eliminate or reduce the aphid population. The question is, "Do they really work?"

I have seen ladybugs congregate naturally on aphid infested tomato plants and almost eliminate the problem. I can say that they do really work. But what to do if the ladybugs in your ecological niche don't find the aphids on your tomatoes?

You, too, can purchase ladybugs through mail order houses or through local garden centers.

Just keep a few things in mind when using ladybugs to control aphids in your garden.

• Make sure that the ladybugs you purchase are alive and well. When the container they are in is opened and when the bugs have warmed up (they are usually stored in a refrigerator), make sure that they move around. Mist them with water to give them a drink.
• Next, wash off aphid-infested plants with water out of a garden hose. This spray will knock the aphids off of the infested plant and move the aphids into the soil at the base of the plant. In a sense you are congregating the aphids in one place.
• Release ladybugs at the base of the infested plants at dusk. Because there is a concentration of aphids at that location, the ladybugs will not want to leave the area. I know I never want to leave a smorgasbord.

Ladybugs are a natural way to control pests in your garden. I think we will find many more of these natural controls on the market in the near future.

Send your gardening and landscape questions to Paul Schnare at P.O. Box 699, Cape Girardeau, Mo. 63702-0699 or by e-mail to news@semissourian.com.<I>