When applying sprays to your garden, just spray the plants that need it, don't blanket the whole garden or you'll kill beneficial insects. Bugs don't care for spicy, smelly things, so conjure up some hot pepper, onion, or garlic mixtures.
There are a number of recipies out there. One calls for 3 oz. of chopped garlic bulbs soaked in 2 tsp of mineral oil for 24 hrs. Add 1/4 oz. of pure soap (not detergent) to a pint of water and slowly add the garlic mixture and stir well. Strain through fine gauze and store in a glass container--it'll react with metal. Spray the plants with one part mixture to 20 parts water. You can water down the spray by adding one part mixture to 100 parts water, if you're buying garlic bulbs.
Another recipe calls for a clove of garlic, two or three red hot peppers, 1/2 mild green pepper and half an onion, blended in water. Let it sit for a day or two, then strain and spray.
To keep aphids off roses put shallots or green onions througha food processor and mix with an equal amount of water. Strain it through a cheesecloth and spray it on the bushes. You could also add feverfew to the mixture. You can also sprinkle wood ashes around the base of plants to get rid of crawling creatures.
Here are a few other ideas: Strong coffee deters red spider mites; set boric acid near blister beetle hiding spots; a sprinkling of salt will transform slugs into slime; powdered sugar or flour sprinkled on cabbage plants will goo up and bake the cabbage worms and moths nicely (bet the chickens would love this!) and then there's plain old water blasted out of those hoses to dislodge the pests.
