For the avid gardener the fight to keep their produce free from garden pests is an eternal battle. Just as they think their fruits and vegetables are doing well they discover that there is an infestation of one type of bug or another. In order to be able to enjoy the fruits of your labours there needs to be a way to eliminate these pests that actually works, without having to fill your garden full of poisons and other harmful substances.
Using Beer and Predators to Control Your Pests
Beer traps are well known for putting pay to slugs and snails. They are lured by the smell of the beer and meet their end by drowning if the liquid is deep enough. Beer can be placed in partly submerged containers or left around the garden on plates or in bowls – they will go to the containers, drink their fill and be too drunk to get back out again. If your garden is one that attracts the occasional toad, place some mesh over the top of your beer traps as this will stop the toads getting in and reduce the risk of the pests getting out.
Having a bird feeding table is also a good idea as birds are excellent at keeping the pest count low. They will also enjoy the slugs and snails that you have so thoughtfully collected for them. If you have fruit plants that you are worried that the birds may take a liking to instead, simply cover them in bird netting to protect them. You could also grow some berry bushes in order to feed the birds, such as mulberry as this should be enough of a distraction to keep them from your fruit trees.
Large Four Legged Pests
A good garden fence can go a long way towards keeping out larger pests such as dogs, deer or anything else that roams free where you live. Buy the best fencing that you can afford and make sure that it is strong enough to do the job at hand while not stopping any animals that are beneficial to your garden from getting in, such as hedgehogs who just love a fat slug or snail for their suppers. If you want to keep some beneficial beasts in your garden be sure to set them up a suitable habitat, such as a pond for a toad or a nesting box for a hedgehog and make sure that they have plenty of foods and drink available to them to make them want to stay.
Rats on the other hand will need trapping. If you have a problem with rats coming into your garden you should call in the professionals and get some advice on how to deal with the problem. The last think you want if is for a garden past to make its way into your home.
Pest Resilient Plants and Helpful Insects
There are some plants that the bugs simply don’t like. Try scattering some marigold seeds around your garden – once the plants have grown they will keep the pesky bugs away but attract a whole range of beneficial insects into your garden such as butterflies and bees. Ladybirds are excellent for keeping down the aphid population but if no ladybirds are available, a strong water spray will also do the trick. Dowse the plants several days in a row and the aphids that haven’t drowned will be put off coming back.
It can take a bit of imagination to deal with all of your garden pests organically rather than reaching for the insecticide and pesticide option, but it can be done.
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Although as an experienced home and gardens blogger Jamie is aware of pest treatments like liquid pesticides supplied through liquid filling from Neatcrown, he believes that sometimes Neatcrown is best kept as a last resort with the natural pest control methods being the gardeners’ first choice for perfect home grown produce.
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