If you are trying to grow your own veggies and herbs at home, there can be nothing more down heartening and annoying than coming out to pick some goodies for a salad to find out all your lovingly tended vegetables have been eaten up by some garden pests. Slugs, caterpillars and snails will all happily help themselves to your vegetable garden and while some insects, such as bees, can be beneficial to your home-grown garden, others just leave a wake of destruction in their path.
If you are looking to get rid of these common garden pests, you’ll want to avoid toxic chemicals and substances as you do plan to eat the fruits of your garden in the end. Here are some non-toxic ways to keep pests out of your vegetable garden at home:
Attract Other Bugs
One of the best ways to keep pests out of your veggies is by attracting other insects. While this may sound counterintuitive, certain bugs like ladybeetles, bees, spiders, praying mantis, and centipedes actually eat other insects and help control pests. Planting certain things will help to attract these tiny predators to your garden. Try planting herbs such as parsley, basil, coriander, fennel and mint between your vegetables or opt for some pretty flowers like marigolds, nasturtiums, lavender, petunias and daisies.
Be Vigilant
Unfortunately, one of the only ways to ensure your vegetable garden doesn’t get devoured by bugs is to be vigilant. Check your veggies daily for pests and be sure to hand pluck off any unwanted visitors or egg sacks. Also carefully monitor your crops for any damage such as discoloured leaves, chewed leaves of flowers, abnormal growths or slime trails. Picking up problems early will help you to prevent pests before they take over and become a real problem.
Opt For A Non-Toxic Pesticide
High pressure water can help dislodge aphids or eggs, however not all plants can handle things. Thus, you may want to opt for a diluted natural soap solution which you can spray on your plants to deter pests. Be sure to look for a soap with no additives or detergents which can be harmful if digested. Some great non-toxic options include garlic, Kaolin clay and corn gluten. A variety of common kitchen items will also help to keep your garden pest free.
Cinnamon can also help to prevent fungus, while orange and banana peels keep ants and aphids at bay. Milk can control mildew on tomatoes and cucumbers while caterpillars don’t like chillies and ginger, and beer can act as a natural trap for snails and slugs if placed in a small shallow container. Also sprinkle some smashed eggshells around your vegetables if you want to protect them and have something tasty and healthy to snack on while you play at onlinebingonz.co/real-money/.
Raise Your Vegetable Garden
A raised vegetable garden will help to protect your fruits and vegetables from insects as well as other pests such as dogs, cats and invasive tree roots and moles which could up end your plants. Just be sure that whatever container you use to raise your vegetable garden off the ground is able to drain easily and the soil is deep enough for whatever it is you are trying to grow.
