Avoiding Chemicals: How To Eliminate Pests From Your Garden Naturally
As a gardener, it can be easy to overreact once you realize that you have bugs in your work space. However, it is important to remember that some bugs can actually be helpful to your overall goals; for example, ladybugs eat aphids, a pest that can destroy your plants fairly quickly. Therefore, whenever possible, it is important not to use chemical pesticides in your garden. Chemicals have no way of knowing whether they are attacking a “good” bug or a “bad” bug. Everything is destroyed, and the chemicals could also adversely affect your family or your pets. There are other options available, and this article will review a few of the best ways to naturally control the pest population in your garden.
Remember that if pests can’t get at your plants, they will be unable to do them any harm. There are a few ways that you can set up barriers to help protect your plants. For example, save some of your empty paper towel rolls. Once you have accumulated a few of them, put them around your new plants. This will keep bugs away, and the rolls are safe for the environment as well; if left to their own devices, they will simply fall apart into the soil. You can also try putting pepper around your most vulnerable plants. While this tactic isn’t effective for all bugs, it will keep some away.
To make an effective “bug spray,” try combining baby shampoo with water. Your ratio should be approximately eight ounces of water per one teaspoon of soap. You can use this on just about all of your plants, but you do want to avoid things like cabbage, which may absorb the mixture and wind up tasting like soap. If you aren’t sure which plants to avoid, use the Internet as a tool; there are a number of gardening forums where you can ask questions of more experienced individuals.
Keep your eyes peeled for the harmful pests that you know you don’t want in your space. If you see one, get rid of it. Particularly if your garden isn’t very big, it won’t take you long to remove things like slugs. Keep a bucket of soapy water nearby and simply put the bug in it once you have removed it from your plants. Manual extraction is a great tactic that should not be overlooked.
Each day, do a sweep of your garden and look for anything that could provide protection for pests. For example, rocks and leaves both make great homes for these little creatures. If you get rid of them, you will discourage the bugs from ever setting down roots in your garden in the first place. While you will still probably see some, your numbers should be drastically less than they would have been.
Most gardeners aren’t excited at the thought of discovering bugs near their plants. However, it is important to remember that there are things you can do to handle an infestation that don’t involve pesticides. Take the tips in this article to heart and give them a try in your own space.