Though some organic marketers would like you to believe that organic means “pesticide-free”; organic farmers can use pesticides as long as they meet the specifications for the USDA’s National Organic Program (NOP). The NOP primarily allows natural pesticides but some synthetic pesticides are permitted.
https://www.usda.gov/media/blog/2012/01/25/organic-101-allowed-and-prohibited-substances
Farmers who are part of the National Organic Program and wish to use the USDA organic label to market their productare also supposed to use other methods first like Integrative Pest Management (IPM) which involves proactive methods of handling insects that might be harmful to crops/orchards.
https://www.epa.gov/safepestcontrol/integrated-pest-management-ipm-principles
Use of IPM is not exclusive to organic farmers. Farmers and growers of all types and sizes typically use pest management techniques first and pesticides as a last resort due to the expense and time involved with spraying.
Leah McGrath, RDN, LDN
Ingles Markets Corporate Dietitian
facebook.com/LeahMcgrathDietitian
800-334-4936