Are Pests Ruining Your Garden?

Pests are the bane of every gardener. There are countless ways to protect your plants from being savaged by creatures and critters. Here are some of the more creative and effective methods for those that struggling with pest control.

Lay traps for slugs and snails

These slippery pests can chew through your vegetable patch or eat away your pretty shrubs if you don’t take preventive action against them. The most effective method is to leave space between plants. An empty patch of soil between plants will prevent slugs and snails from being able to move from plant to plant as easy, controlling an outbreak and making it easy for birds to snatch them up if they do try to cross the empty patch of soil. Salt spray meanwhile can act as a natural pesticide against these creepy crawlies. You can also lay beer traps.  

Try companion planting

Companion planting is a way of using one plant to improve growth of another. Such a tactic can be used to ward off some pests. If you’re getting problems with aphids, growing chives and coriander next to your plant may ward these critters off. Basil and rue meanwhile is great against flies. You should note that all plants grow well together, something which is worth researching before trying out this method.

Keeping out the neighbour’s cat

Cats digging up your plants can be a problem and there’s much debate over tactics for deterring them (shooting them with a BB gun might get you into trouble). One effective measure might be to install a motion sensitive sprinkler that goes off every time a cat is in the area. Some people have found that ingredients such as chilli powder and baking soda are also effective.

Know when to call in the professionals

Some pests are best calling in a professional for. An obvious example is wasps – removing a nest oneself is generally not advised. Ants and termites can also prove troublesome and may have vast nests underground. Specialist termite control companies such as TermiteControlPlans.com might be required in such a situation – many may be able to assess the situation for free and then let you know if any further action is needed.

Protect healthy biodiversity

Not all critters are bad for your garden. Some bugs such as spiders, aphid midges, damsel bugs and ground beetles can help ward off other bugs such as ants, flies and aphids. Chemical pesticides can sometimes be damaging to these healthy insects. In some cases they can also be damaging to bigger animals such as small mammals and birds. This can then have a knock on effect on the food chain, deterring all animals from your garden – including the ones you may want there. When faced with an infestation, always look up the insect online or call someone to have a look.

Featured image by https://upload.wikimedia.org