Garden Pest Control

Finding ecologically and organically efficient garden pest control is an aim most gardeners would like to achieve, and for the most part is achievable, though some garden pests may have to be contained by chemicals.

Whatever method is your practice, pest control is an important part of managing your garden.

Generally, garden pest control focuses on eradicating weeds and bugs that destroy or affect the growth and progress of your plants in the garden.

As with weeds, animal pests can be removed using manual, chemical, or organic methods. The use of these methods is covered under the term IPM (Integrated Pest Management), and is the current term for Garden Pest Control.

IPM covers the general management of garden pest using the most cost effective and environmentally friendly methods possible. It aims to keep nature in balance while being proactive in maintaining a pest free garden.

Preventing Pests
One way to do this is to choose plants that do not attract pests in your area, or are resilient to them. You will save money and time. However, this limits your choice of plants and style of garden. Bad luck if you are a rose lover.

Rather go the route of learning how to effectively control the pests which are a part of any garden.

Mulch is a good way to maintain healthy plants which in turn makes them more resilient to the depredations of pests.

Prevention is the key to safer solutions
The two best defences against diseases and pests are healthy soil and healthy plants that are suited to your climate and growing conditions. Plants from outside your zone may be more susceptible to disease because they have no natural resistance.

A good example of this are roses – when grown in humid semi tropical areas, they may do well, yet will also acquire far more fungal diseases, which will then have to be constantly treated.

It may take longer but a healthy garden can happen without the use of chemicals. More than half of the common gardening problems found can be reduced by developing healthy, compost-rich, well-nourished soil and by growing the right plants in the right spot. Even things like dieback, can be managed by adding good compost to soil.

An ounce of prevention saves pounds of work.
Two keys to preventing insects, wildlife, or disease from destroying your crops are timing and vigilance.
• Always check plants and seedlings before purchasing to make sure they’re free of pests and disease.
• Dispose of diseased garden plants by putting them in the trash; don’t add them to the compost pile or you may add the disease into that as well.
• Proper hygiene is also important to prevent disease.
• Disinfect tools and pots with hot water and detergent at the end of each gardening season. Other important preventative measures: water-wise irrigation, getting disease-resistant varieties, rotating crops, and regular weeding.

The use of chemical pesticides and manufactured fertilizers is a relatively recent phenomenon in the long history of gardening. While convenient and seemingly effective for managing pests and boosting growth, the downsides are becoming increasingly apparent.

Good gardeners today believe that pests and diseases should be kept firmly in their place, but without the use of harmful chemicals. While there are many quick and easy remedies to most garden problems, the key focus for more eco-friendly gardening is preventing these problems from arising in the first place.

No-body planned for pesticide contamination in our waterways or residues in our food, yet these are realities if we continue to use non-organic means for weed and pest control.

Popular chemicals now banned from home use, were acceptable not so long ago – so it is advisable to update and to check with your local nursery to find what is ‘safe’ or not.

A pesticide we may regard as ‘safe’ today could be off the market tomorrow because it poses dangers to children or has long-term environmental impacts.. Many commonly used pesticide products in gardens are being reviewed because of unintended side effects. Will they be the DDT of the future?

Make It A Habit To Stroll Around Your Garden Regularly

This way you will catch problems in the early stages and you act quickly to remedy them. Check for signs of insects or disease, and don’t water the garden too late in the day, as this encourages fungal disease.

An exception is if the plants are suffering due to heat stress during a heatwave – try to keep the foliage water-free

Hand Picking Up Those Creepy Crawlies
Picking up by hand is a simple solution for getting rid of snails, beetles, caterpillars, slugs and insect larvae,. Just squash them or drop them into a can of soapy water.

Repellents
One effective repellent is spraying with a hot pepper solution. Keeps away aphids, whiteflies, many different beetles and even deer!

While commercial sprays are available, there are plenty of homemade recipes around.
One easy recipe:
• Quart of water
• Teaspoon of dishwashing detergent
• Two tablespoons of red hot pepper sauce (or from chillis)
• Mix it all together and spray away – not when plants are in flower or you will lose pollinating bugs, and re-apply after a rain or overhead watering

Insecticidal soaps are a good option for a severe insect infestation. Pyrethrum is effective against aphids and flea beetles. You make this up by crushing garlic cloves and then mixing with water and a wee bit of detergent (to help it adhere).

Wood ash will help deter snails, but it may also raise your soil ph. It is also toxic to toads.

Add a water feature such as a garden pond or birdbath to attract birds and other garden-friendly wildlife, which can then feast on your bugs.

Try a combination of methods and keep track of which ones work best in your garden.

It is good to reassess what you want from your garden – try to be realistic and accept that plants, like life elsewhere, is rarely perfect, then your gardening life will be less stressful. Just be practical, use safer and more organic solutions to achieve that healthy garden!

Removing unwanted plants or ‘Plant Control’ is also a pest control issue. here though we discuss flying, crawling, sucking, eating pests that always find a way to live on your favourite rose bush or devastate your veggie patch.

Try companion planting