If you love gardening and care about the environment, then you’ll want to know how to control garden pests naturally. Sure, there are plenty of chemical pesticides that will help, but these can be toxic to you, your family and the planet. Luckily, there are many things the conscientious gardener can do to keep his garden truly green.
When it comes to natural pest control, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Dead plant debris, poor soil and bad planting habits can be attractors for pests and disease so you want to be sure that you keep your garden and plants healthy in order to minimize pest invasion.
One thing you want to do is be sure to pull out any weak or diseased plants – these will attract pests and the disease could spread to other plants. If you see any spotty leaves or stems get rid of them right away. Also, be sure to keep your garden clear of fallen leaves and other debris as this can be a breeding ground for insects.
Having healthy soil and rotating your crops (in your herb or vegetable garden) can help keep plants healthy and make them less attractive to pests. There are actually some herbs that repel certain pests, take some time to learn about these and plant them in strategic places in your garden.
Not all insects are bad, and inviting the “good” ones into your garden can help with natural pest control. Lady bugs, lacewings and praying mantis like to dine on aphids, mites and other garden pests so making sure you have plenty of them in your garden can really keep down the unfriendly insect population. You can actually buy ladybugs, praying mantis eggs and lace wings online to populate your garden with.
Three are also some home remedies that will help you control garden pests naturally. Spraying your plants with a mixture of 1 tbsp canola oil with a few drops ivory soap mixed in a quart of water will help keep down aphids, mealy bugs and mites.
If you have grubs in your garden, you might consider making your garden attractive to birds like robins which love to eat them. You can also buy something called milkyspore which is a natural substance that causes grubs to contract some sort of disease that kills them. Spread it on your lawn as this is where the grubs like to live.
For slugs and earwigs, you might consider spreading diatomaceuos earth on your garden. This is earth that is the fossilized remains of diatoms which is a hard shelled algae. The particles are very tiny but sharp – they won’t hurt you or your garden but will hurt slugs and earwigs making your garden an unpleasant place for them to be.
Your best weapon in natural garden pest control is your eyes. You need to keep a watchful eye on your plants and take action as soon as you see any type of infestation. Keeping a healthy garden and using natural techniques will ensure you are adding to nature, not taking away from it and you will be doing your part to make sure that gardens can be enjoyed for centuries to come.
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