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The Organic Garden Police: How To Get Rid Of Insects And Pests Without Chemicals

Get rid of insects and pests naturally.

Gardening is a wonderful way to relax. One of my favorite things to do at the end of a long summer day is to wander through the garden. I like doing this when the sun is so low in the sky it’s nearly gone. Long shadows blanket garden beds while spots of sunlight still dance here and there on leaves and flowers.

There’s an evening smell that’s intoxicating. It’s almost as if everything has been misted with “cool”.

Evening is the time I check closely on how my plants are doing. I look for holes in leaves and signs of insect infestation. If you do this on a daily basis, you’ll get to know how a plant is feeling just by the look and feel of it.

It’s tempting to use a chemical spray to get rid of insects and I’ve occasionally used them myself. But I try to find a way to take care of them without putting more pesticides in the air, ground or water before resorting to a chemical alternative.

Healthy Soil/Healthy Garden

The old adage is true: a healthy garden starts with healthy soil. Things like crop rotation, using a friendly fertilizer like fishmeal, compost and/or manure will help a lot. I know some gardeners who are on good terms with horse farmers. They regularly get deliveries of horse manure and then let it rot over the course of a season so it has aged and mellowed by the time they use it in the garden.

For those of you who live in cities or don't have access to horse farms, a good frugal alternative to fresh horse manure is composted cow manure. This comes in a plastic bag in dry form so there isn’t any smell. You can work into the soil (it works wonders in containers and raised beds too) just as you would peat moss or any other amendment without having to age it first.

Composting

One of my favorite ways of strengthening soil is by composting. There are various ways to do this from just having a compost pile sitting on the ground to an elaborate three bin system or even investing in a plastic tumbler. While I'm always the first one to find ways to save money, I invested in a plastic compost tumbler 12 years ago and it's still going strong. It's a terrific way to keep the compost contained (which means critters don't get into it) and it builds heat well during the summer -- which causes the contents to decay and create really nice compost in about two weeks.

For more information about composting including the kind of material you can use right from your kitchen, head over to http://www.money-saving-garden-tips.com/organic-gardening.html.

Cover Crops

Another tip for healthy soil is to use something called a cover crop. Now, admittedly, this method works best when you're gardening in a larger space and not in containers. You can use a cover crop like cowpeas or legumes to replace vital nutrients like nitrogen. Once the cover crop is up, you'll want to till it in to put those nutrients directly back into the soil.

What are some good cover crops? You could plant crimson clover, annual rye, buckwheat, Austrian field peas, and hairy vetch in early November and then, just before spring planting, till the crops into the garden.

A Great Way to Eliminate Greenhouse Pests

Here’s some terrific information from gardener Holly Masters about controlling pests in a greenhouse. Holly Masters loves to garden and takes pride in her greenhouse. She serves as a contributing writer for http://www.greenhousesandgazebos.com – a site that offers information about everything from sunrooms to greenhouse kits:
Greenhouses provide a warm, humid atmosphere and are home to a variety of different plants and flowers, which is why they are a perfect target for insects. There are numerous types of insects which will want to live in your greenhouse and feed off of the wonderful plants and flowers which you have put so much time and effort into maintaining. The information below will provide you with tips and guidelines to follow in order to ensure you are doing everything in your power to ward off any unwanted pests.

The first step in learning how to prevent and eliminate insects from entering into your greenhouse is to understand and become familiar with the types of insects, which are likely to reside there. The following is a list of the most common types of insects which you will likely find in your greenhouse:

● Aphids
● Fungus Gnats
● Flies (many forms)
● Bloodworms
● Thrips
● Caterpillars
● Mites
● Slugs and Snails

Now that you are aware of the different types of bugs and insects which may have taken up residence in your greenhouse, it’s time to learn how to prevent and/or eliminate them from remaining there.

Here are a number of things to keep in mind in order to ensure there are no bugs in your greenhouse:

1. Always keep all doors, screens and windows shut when not being used for specific purposes.

2. Inspect all new plants to ensure there are no bugs on them to begin with. Bugs have the ability to multiply quickly and can potentially cause a huge infestation in your greenhouse.

3. Make sure there is no water lying around whether it is in jugs, cups or in a puddle on the floor. Insects are attracted to wet areas.

4. Keep your greenhouse in good, clean condition. Not only do insects like water but they like to disguise themselves under areas of clutter. This also means keeping the lawn around your greenhouse mowed and neat at all times. Many pests reside in weeds, if you keep your lawn cut there will be no weeds for the insects to reside in.

5. Bright colors such as yellow and red attract insects. Try not to wear or display (other than on the flowers themselves) any bright colors, which may attract unwanted insects.

These guidelines will provide you with the basic knowledge you will need to ensure there are no unwanted insects in your greenhouse. Now you can relax and enjoy all the hard work, which went into creating such an amazing atmosphere.

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Oh No! Snakes!
When you think of garden pests, you probably think small like insects, slugs or snails. Things that fly ar

e typically associated with gardens.
But there’s another pest that scares the pants off lots of people and that’s snakes. Take a look at the following article from Marilyn Pokorney on how to control snakes in the garden:

To have a snake or two in the garden is good. Non-poisonous snakes, such as the common garter snakes, are beneficial creatures because they eat pest insects, mosquito larvae, slugs, snails, crickets, rats, mice, voles and even other snakes, which may be poisonous.

But if you really don't want snakes in your yard and garden here are a few tips to eliminate them without hurting or killing them:

Keep the lawn neatly cut and clean. Be careful using weed eaters because the sting from the fast moving string can kill them. Snakes need cover for protection. Don’t leave wood or brush piles sit in one spot for more than a month.

Keep leaves and other debris picked up.

Don't keep piles of rocks.

Stack firewood on a rack 12" off the ground.

Remove old lumber or junk piles.

Remove their source of food. Keep the insect and rodent population under control.

Place garbage bags in sealed trashcans away from the house.

Repair cracks along the foundation and fill holes around pipes. Snakes only need about a ¼-inch crack to get inside.

Sprinkle mothballs around the perimeter of your yard or garden. But beware that these can be dangerous to pets and children.

Sulfur from a garden center is said to keep snakes away.

Don't plant bushes and other plants too close to the foundation of the house.

Use mulch in the garden beds but not too thickly.

Trim the lowest limbs on shrubs and bushes so they are at least 12 inches from the ground.

Construct a fence around your garden with heavy galvanized screening. Make it three feet wide with quarter-inch mesh. Be sure to bury the bottom of it six inches below the soil surface.

For more help on controlling snakes: http://www.apluswriting.net/garden/snakecontrol.htm.

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Other forms of garden pests include dogs, cats, rabbits, deer, raccoons and skunks. There are a couple of good organic remedies for these critters.

For deer, you can invest in expensive fencing (it’ll need to be about 8 feet tall) or get the kind of repellent sold by Not Tonight Deer. Visit the web site for Not Tonight Deer to get more information about their products.

Rabbits are a problem that can be difficult to tame. As you know, rabbits like to eat anything in the vegetable garden and if you don't have your garden fenced or sitting in an area where rabbits won't frequent (like a deck or porch), it'll be tough to keep them out. However, one of the things you can do is fence your vegetable garden with either chicken wire or relatively inexpensive plastic construction fence.

Now, I'll admit to you the plastic construction fence is ugly as all get out. It's bright orange but really does a good job. It weathers well, is nearly indestructible, and is available at most home centers.

When you're getting ready to fence in your vegetable garden, make sure you bury about six to 10 inches of the fencing. When you dig your trench, make sure that the fencing comes down and then out from the perimeter of your garden about six inches. This will prevent rabbits -- and other burrowing pests -- from being able to dig under the fence and get into the garden.

For cats and dogs, skunks, raccoons and even groundhogs, try a product from Havahart -- the same folks who produce humane traps -- called Critter Ridder. Active ingredients include oil of black pepper and capsaicin, which is found in hot sauce. Both the smell and taste are repugnant to these animals and it’s stated that this product can be applied to lawns, garden paths and flowerbeds. I've used it myself and found that it, indeed, repelled by 10-month-old golden retriever, Brinkley, from ripping out all the flowers in my containers. It lasts up to 30 days and can be found at most home centers.

Other Repellants

A number of other repellents and treatments will help control insects and other pests. Did do know that more than 51 million households by products to control insects each year? True, says the National Gardening Association.

From soaps and oils to insect growth regulators to traps, there’s something for every gardener:

Soaps and oils -- Insecticidal soaps like Safer Soap are a terrific alternative to chemical pesticides. Some gardeners even fashion their own spray:

•2 1/2 tablespoons of liquid dish soap
•2 1/2 tablespoons of cooking oil
•1 gallon of water

Growth Regulators -- These products prevent immature insects from growing into destructive adults. Neem is one popular application.

Traps -- Some insects are attracted to specific colors. For instance, whiteflies like bright yellow, thrips like white or blue and fungus ants are attracted to the color white. You can make your own traps. Cut plastic plates in squares 3 to 4 inches in size, staple these squares to pieces of wood and then coat with a sticky substance like tanglefoot. It's the same trapping idea as flypaper.

Barriers -- Use row covers made of light and breathable fabric (you can find this in garden supply catalogs like Gardener's Supply Company) to keep flying insects from contaminating your plants.

Biopesticide/Natural Growth Inhibitor -- A product named Anti-Pest-O has been found to be effective in controlling a host of insects including Japanese beetles, ants, spider mites and more. A protective barrier is formed when Anti-Pest-O is used, which is repellent in taste or smell. This product is registered with the EPA, approved for both indoor and outdoor use and has been found to be safe around children and pets. Check out their web site at http://www.antipesto.biz.

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Conclusion

Well, there you have it. A few ideas for organic pest control. If you have a suggestion that hasn't been covered here, please feel free to e-mail me at Victoria@money-saving-garden-tips.com.

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