We use various things to control insects etc. Here are few:
Soap Spray - for mites, aphids, whiteflies, most beetles and other leaf eaters - mix a small amount of washing up liquid with water and spray all the infected areas early morning or late evening, never when it is hot and sunny. It coats the blighters so suffocates them.
Neem Oil - 2 teaspoons neem oil, 1 teaspoon washing up liquid, 1 litre of water - Shake really well and spray everything and anything, non poisonous to pets in fact we use it neat on Max to prevent ticks and fleas etc. it also helps his skin. Really useful stuff. You can give your veg a preventative spray before anything starts eating them.
Tomato Leaf - chop up two cup fulls of tomato leaves, take them from the bottom of the plant as it does not damage to your tomato crop, add a litre of water and soak overnight, strain and spray. Being a member of the nightshade family it contains chemicals that kill a lot of insects.
Also rhubarb leaves boiled in water and then strained, the residue used at a mix of 1:10 makes a superb insecticide and kills any bugs crawling around the walls and outside of the house.
Anyone else use similar things???