The Organic Garden – Natural Pest Control
The aim of organic pest control isn’t to eliminate all pests. In my mind, organic gardening is about balance, and insects play a vital part in the balance of your garden — so one shouldn’t get into Terminator mode when thinking of pesky bugs in the garden! So far I have gone into some of the things you can do to naturally encourage the balance of your garden, but sometimes further intervention is necessary if the balance is tipped!
There are plenty of ways to keep your garden pests under control without ever resorting to chemicals. Natural insecticides are relatively easy to make and many are made from items you will find in your kitchen on a daily basis. The most common kind of natural garden pesticides are made in very much the same way as herbal teas.
Simply boil up a decoction of one or a combination of the following to use as a spray on your plants:
- Garlic
- Sage
- Aniseed
- Rhubarb
- Cloves
- Onion
- Chives
- Chillies
Adding organic soap flakes to the mix can also help with your home made pesticide’s potency. Neem oil can also be used as a spray as well as pyrethrum, though keep in mind that these may also kill or drive away friendly bugs, so use with caution and as a last resort. It is also best not to spray plants in full sunlight.
Insects aren’t the only pests in a garden, so if your garden is being overrun by weeds, then there are also natural weed killers that can help your plight, though nothing can beat half an hours weeding every day or so!
There are a couple of preventative measures to take for weeds that will help stop them overtaking everything. The first is to try and not disturb too much of the soil when planting, as dormant weed seeds will be awakened! The second is of course mulching — either with wood chips or hay. In a flower garden, pebbles are nice too!
If you need some extra kick in your de-weeding program then some organic weed killer is in order! The most common homemade weed killer is vinegar. You can tailor it to your specific needs, so if you are looking for a weed killer in the veggie garden or for a lawn weed killer then mix up a squirt or two or biodegradable washing up liquid in 1 litre of white vinegar and spray directly on the weeds — do not spray indiscriminately as the vinegar solution will not care if it lands on a weed or your veggies — it will kill both. If you are trying to kill weeds in a patio or driveway or some other place where you don’t want anything to grow, then add a couple of tablespoons of salt to the vinegar — this will stop anything from growing there for a couple of years — a definite ‘no no’ for the veggie patch though!
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Cosima
June 21, 2009
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pest control
I have been reading your blog last couple of weeks and enjoy every bit. Thanks.pest control saint George
that's really a fantastic
that's really a fantastic post ! ! added to my favourite blogs list..
Thank you for sharing these
It is always a good idea to get a few quotes from different pest control companies and to make sure they have not had any complaints filed against them.
That is definitely a good
That is definitely a good idea!
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Thanks for nice post !
When it comes to household pests, cockroaches are at the top of my disgusting list. They are dirty and smelly, and they leave droppings, body parts, and shed skins lying around.
People everywhere, in every walk of life know that a satisfied customer is the best form of advertising. If your friend is happy with the product or service provided by a company, you are very likely to call upon that same company.
In my humble opinion, one spider is one spider too many. Spiders are right up there with mice: I see one and I want to run screaming out of the house.
haha, spiders are way less
haha, spiders are way less disgusting than cockroaches for me. They are pretty nice too since some of them are eating mosquito's in my house. But in general I can understand you. Especially after yesterday when my brother brought to my attention that the spider running next to us, was actually trying to attack us (and it was a big one!).
This is great information.
This is great information. I am currently battling a type of bug in my garden that takes little bites out of all the leaves of my plants. I think it might be spiders, but am not sure. Also weeds are abundant in my yard, and I feel like I could devote a whole hour every day and not be rid of them. Usually I try to weed once a week, but it usually takes a long time. I will have to try some of your tips. Thanks!
Also, these little guys,
Also, these little guys, which I really do not know what their name is, are so going to the details of my green leaves... They leave nothing behind! They went down on one of the plantsand left only the stem :-)
It's weird, they came for a day and left from some reason...
Can you post here a picture
Can you post here a picture of your garden Raechel?
How big is it?
I don't really have any
I don't really have any pictures. I will try to take some to post. I have two dogs, so my garden is not really all in one place, rather spread out between the front and side yards. The bugs that ate my leaves, ate all the way down to the stem in one of my gardens and I had to take the plants out. They were completely gone. I should have taken a picture before I took them out....
oh wow! it sounds like a
oh wow! it sounds like a massacare! Did you try the wonderful ideas to treat these bugs Cosima talked about inher Organic Gardening webinar?
I did not have the chance to use them since the bugs came once and not anymore.
My garden is on the roof, just next to my office, so I go out once in a while and check my little babies ;-). I find here and there bugs, but I wash them, put the plant away from the others for a day or two and all is good.
My neighbor though have so many bugs in her plants that I am very happy we have black asphalt between our gardens to kil all the bugs that wish to cross this black ocean.
This is a wonderful and so
This is a wonderful and so helpful list.
fortunately, I did not need to use any of these methods with my bugs since there are almost none and if they are a wash, in a distant pace, of the bugs is helpful.
Also, I find weeding for 5 minutes (not 30, which depends on your garden naturally) is a great exercise for my fingers and my brain, which is getting fried from the computer...
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