While there are plenty of common garden bugs that can be found in your backyard, there’s no doubt that insects and other pests can be quite a nuisance. Whether it’s a slug or snail slime all over your wooden deck, your plants getting munched on, bugs crawling on you’re the second you go outside, or maybe even some unwelcomed bird poop, it all can really make an impact and deter you from wanting to entire the outdoors, especially in your own garden!
So it’s completely understandable why anyone would want to remove these pests. But, on top of that, some issues come up. Everyone knows the importance of these pests. These pests make up the ecosystem and the life system of wildlife. On top of that, it’s not very eco-friendly to just outkill these.
Also, harsh chemicals that can be found at your local garden or home improvement store can be very dangerous. Not just to these pests, but to you, your pets, and even your soil. So what can be done? How can you strike a balance between having a good garden that’s mainly pest-free, keeping the ecosystem safe, and not harming anything at the same time? Is it even possible? Well, you’re in for luck! You can eliminate garden insects and other pests without harming the environment at the same time. So here’s how to do it!
Take a look at your soil
While you’re trying to elevate your home style, you should also take a look at the soil in your garden. Whether you only have a deck with plants or a full-blown lawn, you’ll need to take a good look at the soil. Believe it or not but good soil tends to deter garden insect pests. Adding some compost to your soil as help. If you have a compost bin, whether it’s big or small, this is something that should be utilized. Keep those eggshells, weeds, leftovers, veggies/ fruit peelings, and anything else deemed compostable. Leave it in the bin closed for 6 months and then you’ll have clean soil.
Control the weeds
Weeds are not your friend, and they’re certainly not your plant’s friends either. Weeds tend to compete with all the other plants in the garden. They try to take the light, nutrients, water, and more. Weeds are usually one of the main pest-bringers. This includes parasites too. Make sure that you don’t cut weeds, but instead pull them out. You’ll want to try and get the whole root taken out.
Plant in the mornings
Whether you’re dealing with bugs, snails, or even little rodents, this is one of the most valuable tips you can’t neglect. Plants need water to help with photosynthesis. Wet leaves and cold nights not only create fungus and diseases, but this is the ideal client for bugs and snails. Instead, look into only watering your plants in the morning. A sprinkler system could make things so much easier if you have a sprinkler system. You can set a timer on these so they can go off in the morning. Around sunrise is the optimal time. It’s a good investment and it’s a great way to get rid of those pests.
Choose your seeds and plants wisely
Some plants can become riddled with diseases that can create a pest within itself (a harmful one that could disrupt wildlife like birds). One way to completely avoid this is by choosing your plants wisely. Make sure you’re choosing plants that will less likely have any diseases. If you’re starting through seeds then you could look for letters like T, N, F, and V on the seedling packets. These letters will indicate the diseases that the seedlings will be resistant towards.
Check your garden for diseases
As stated above plants with diseases will cause pests but it also damages your soil. So you’re going to want to look through your greenhouse, planter, and garden for any small or weak seedlings. These weaklings are far more at risk of getting diseases. Diseased plants will cause more diseases plants and this can spiral downhill fast. So you’ll need to make sure to prune any dead shoots, branches, weak seedlings, saplings, and more. Plants need good air circulation and if they don’t have that then this is only going to make having good soil or a good garden more difficult.
Release the ladybugs!
Fight fire with fire! Ladybugs are one of the best insects that you can get. They’re often sold in boxes (hundreds of them) on websites such as Amazon or maybe even your local garden store. These beneficial garden bugs eat wasps, mites, eggs, and other destructive bugs. It’s one of the best ways to completely cut back on chemicals as these little guys and do it all.
Clean up the garden
This doesn’t just include potential trash that blew into your lawn, but this also includes removing and deadheading dying flowers, fallen leaves, weeds, and basically any decaying plant matter. This decaying plant matter is the perfect breeding ground for more garden bugs, diseases, and fungi. Plus, it just smells really bad too. So why not collect these and put them into your compost bin?
Try insect traps
Since it’s so important to try to go a more humane route for removing pests, insect traps could be ab option. Though this should mostly be aimed toward flies or gnats, or other flying pests. These yellow sticky cards are usually available at most garden centers. You can put them on branches, by doorways, and even in your flower pots. They’ll catch those pesky gnats that are trying to travel into your garden or home.
Remove dead or infested leaves
Once you see dead, soon to be dying, or infested leaves on your plants, including trees, make sure to remove them ASAP. As they are at risk of killing off the entire plant
Choose plants that pests hate
There are plants that bugs hate, but you’ll need to do some extensive research to figure out what exactly it is that the pests hate. Some bugs hate canola oil, pepper plants, and even cinnamon trees. Just see what the most annoying pests are in your garden and go from there.
