 |
 |
Rotation - It is wise to rotate the types of crops you grow in the vegetable garden, as many common garden pests burrow into the soil, only to emerge the next spring. If for example you grew eggplants in a plot one year, the next year you would not want to plant tomatoes there, since they are both members of the nightshade family, and prone to the same predators and diseases.
|
|
 |
Neem Oil – The juice derived from pressing seeds of the Azadirachta indica, a tree native to India, has become one of the primary ingredients in many garden pest repellants. It is used as a fungicide, pesticide, and miticide. Exam the label of any commercial products to make sure it is only neem seed oil. Your best bet may be to buy raw oil, and make your own spray.
|
|
 |
Companion Planting – Certain plants will repel particular pests. It’s easy to intermingle the beneficial with the fruits of your vegetable or flower gardens. Examples are catnip, rue, chives, garlic and tansy, which are all good for getting rid of Japanese beetles. Go a step further and plant Four o’ Clocks, or white geraniums which are poisonous when eaten by the beetle. Check with organic gardening sources for specific pest repellants, or just a general selection of plants that will benefit others.
|
|
 |
Sticky Traps – These are cards that are coated with an organic substance that will attract particular pests. Cards can be hung from a string that is run between stakes at each end of a vegetable row, or you can insert stakes in areas where pest are gathering, and mount a card on the end. There are commercial, non-chemical formula coatings, but many people also use home items such as honey and molasses. Make your own cards on which to apply the substances, according to the type of pest you are dealing with: white for flea beetles, yellow for aphids and whiteflies, blue for thrips and red for wasps.
|
|
 |
Bugs – Enriching your garden with compost and natural mulches will help attract natural enemies of other insects. Until then, you can get a head start by ordering bugs/insects with which to populate your garden, and reduce the population of pests. Among the favorites are green lacewing larvae, ladybugs, praying mantis, nematodes, and other flying predators. These will deal with a wide range of pests including aphids, thrips, leafhoppers, spider mites, whiteflies, moths, leafminers and more.
|
|
 |
Alkaloids – Gardeners who make their own pest control products, often use the alkaloids derived from the leaves of tomato, potato or tobacco plants. This is easily done by chopping and soaking leaves for a day, straining the results and adding more water so the spray is not too concentrated. Excellent for aphids, and is reputed to attract other beneficial insects with the smell.
|
|
 |
Garlic – Just as a meal of garlic-laden food could repel those standing closest to you, garlic in a pest spray also has repellant properties. For use as pesticide, most people prepare a solution derived from chopping and crushing cloves of garlic, soaking it in oil, then adding a bit of liquid dish soap and water to create a concentrate for spraying on plants.
|
|
 |
Dish Soap – Liquid soap is often added to many natural pest control sprays and mixes, as an added edge in combating certain pests. Diluted dish soap is one of the favored sprays to use in combating aphids, likely the most common garden pest that most homeowners will face. However, federal law does not allow any “chemical” used for pest control, to be recommended or sold as such, unless it is EPA approved and labeled for such use. Liquid soaps are generally petroleum based, and therefore, not considered natural. However, you can find organic soaps, and can even make your own blends that will work just as well. Beware the dilution level though, as sprays that are too strong can cause foliage damage.
|
|
 |
Pyrethrins – The active ingredient in many pest control products is pyrethrin, a natural derivative of a species of the Chrysanthemum flower. It is considered a natural product that is less toxic than others, and safer than chemicals. Pyrethrins are safe to use on edible crops, as the ingredient that destroys pests, breaks down and disappears when exposed to oxygen and sunlight. While safe for domestic and wild animals, it’s considered detrimental to fish, and should not be used near waterways or ponds. Those who grow the tanacetum cinerarifolium daisy mum, can make their own, pure pyrethrin spray.
|
|
 |
Diatomaceous earth – This is a white powder, derived from crushed, fossilized remains of single cell marine organisms known as diatoms. The resulting powder although very fine, is sharp, and has crystalline-type structures. It’s used to battle a variety of pests from slugs, to ants. Any soft shelled or bodied pest will be cut and injured by crawling on, or over the earth. For ants, spread around the hill to a width of a foot or more, and use the same width to border gardens where slugs gather.
|
|  |
|
