How To Kill Or Prevent Garden Pests

Eliminating Pests the Organic Way

We're all trying to discover ways to live in a more earth-friendly fashion. But when it comes to gardening, it's hard to discover how to kill or prevent garden pests in a safe fashion. Organic pest control has made lots of headway, and we're lucky to have many more effective options to solve this problem.

Create Natural Barriers

Pulling off grubs and other critters by hand is a simple way to remove your pesky problem. You can also build many types of barrier environments which entrap the insects. Plugging holes is also important. Snails can be located hiding in damp places under rocks and towards the base of plants with straplike foliage. Simply probing in your garden and adjacent areas for potential insect hideaways is one of the most effective forms of organic pest control.

Bring in Their Enemies

Assist predatory insects such as green lacewings and dragonflies to feed on aphids and other pests that attack your plants. You can do this by placing a shallow bowl of water in the garden. Beneficial insects such as dragonflies will hover around water. Bacterial insecticides such as B. thuringiensis may also be used against caterpillars.

Using Chemical Repellents

How to kill or prevent garden pests? Organic pest control techniques can be effective and the ingredients for many of the recipes can be found in your kitchen cupboard. If chemical repellents are really necessary, try to identify the least-toxic and apply using the manufacturers instructions. These include insecticide soaps, horticultural oils, dehydrating dust, etc.

Common Household Pesticide Recipes

Against Green Aphids and Mites - Mix 1 tablespoon of liquid soap and a cup of vegetable oil. Dilute a teaspoon of this mixture in a cup of water and spray on aphids and mites.

Against Cockroaches - Dusts of boric acid can be put in cracks or entry points around your home. Bay leaves on pantry shelves may also help in eliminating these critters.

Make sure that the chemicals you use are made specifically for the insects you are targeting.

When learning how to kill or prevent garden pests, there is plenty of information on the internet. Organic pest control may seem more challenging at first, but once you spend a little time creating a beneficial environment, you will be happier living in a safe, natural garden where you and your plants can flourish without the hazards of unsafe chemicals and pesticides.