Classic Organic chooses to rely on the balance of nature, rather than a sterile, insect-free environment which requires the continuous, cyclical application of insecticides. It's a choice between eating chemical residues, or having a few small holes in the leaves. It's your choice. In a field of organically grown vegetables, we find such wonderful insects as assassin bugs, aphid lions and minute pirate bugs. These insects, and many more, devour the bugs that eat plants. We encourage these beneficial insects to fly into our fields and destroy the leaf-eating bugs, so we don't have to spray our vegetables with insecticides. We will have a few small holes, and maybe a few bugs on our leaves, but we won't have cancer-causing chemical residues on our leaves. The best way to avoid addiction to insecticides is to never start using them. If we sprayed to kill the leaf-eating worms, we'd also kill the lady beetles and other beneficial insects that destroy aphids. Then we'd have to spray the aphids, and we'd kill the beneficial lacewings that destroy mites. Very soon, we'd be addicted to insecticides; suffering an endless routine of insect attacks. Chemical residues cannot always be washed off. Many are systemic; they become part of the plant tissue. Insects, however, can easily be washed off. In most cases, just rinsing the leaves under a faucet will suffice. Occasionally, you may find bugs that seem to stick to the leaves; just dip them in warm water containing a biodegradable soap and then rinse.