Are you looking for an effective, natural, and chemical-free way to protect your plants from pests this summer? If so, you've got to try diatomaceous earth.

It may be a mouthful to say, but it's actually very simple. Diatomaceous earth (DE) is a naturally occurring powder made of fossilized microscopic aquatic organisms called diatoms, hence the name. To humans and pets, it feels like a soft, fine dust. But to any non-flying garden pest – cutworms, beetles, ants, slugs, aphids, and more – it acts like a razor field. The sharp particles coat the pest's exoskeleton, absorbing its waxy outer protective layer and causing it to dehydrate, killing it quickly. It's totally natural, and totally effective.

There are a few different diatomaceous earth products on the market, and getting the right one for the job is important if you want it to work. Let's take a look at the main ways you might want to use DE, and the product best suited to each.

The Best Starter Package

If you're new to the world of diatomaceous earth and want to protect your plants easily and effectively, this kit from Harris is where to start. This 10 lb bag is food grade diatomaceous earth, which means you can use it on edibles and around children and pets. It's also OMRI (Organic Materials Review Institute) listed, which means it's totally compliant with organic gardening practices. And at 10 pounds, it's going to last you a long, long time.

This kit comes with a bulb applicator, which lets you puff a fine, even layer of dust onto small, hard-to-reach spots like the undersides of leaves and branch nodes, where larvae tend to hide out.

For Precision Jobs

If you're growing in containers, hanging baskets, or window boxes, you don't really need a ten pound bag of diatomaceous earth. And if you're using it near windows or doors, you definitely don't want a big cloud of powder billowing around.

That's why this powder duster is perfect. It holds a small amount of DE, but it delivers it exactly where it needs to be – around container rims, along raised bed perimeters, even up high! It has extendible nozzle attachments that reach up to four feet (1.2 m), earning it its "ground to gutter" slogan.

For Indoor/Outdoor Use

It's true that we're focusing on garden pests, but what if you want to bring your garden indoors? After all, houseplants are just as prone to pests as their outdoor cousins. This diatomaceous earth is formulated, tested, and EPA-registered for both indoor and outdoor use. It's odorless, non-staining, and free of synthetic chemicals, so you can use it indoors without worrying. Whether you have aphids on your plants or ants in your kitchen, there's no need to go and buy a whole new product. This one has you covered inside and out.

For Large-Scale Coverage

If you're dealing with a widespread outbreak in your garden or lawn, or just have a lot of ground to cover, squeeze bottles and bulb applicators aren't going to cut it. This 10 lb bag will get the job done. Made by the folks at diatomaceousearth.com, who certainly seem to know their product. (They actually recommend mixing it into your food, but I'm only here to give gardening advice, so I'm not going to weigh in on that).