Naturally Control Garden Pests

GARDEN PESTS

We're at the time of year where everything is starting to come alive in the garden. New sprouts are delectable for garden bugs. As are established ones later too. Here you'll find some help with the most common bugs you might encounter

BUG SPRAY FOR PLANTS

Here's a 2 in 1 spray.

Bugs hate it but plants love it!

Organic molasses mixed with a few other ingredients sprayed on plants, will help drive off harmful insects while giving your plants a boost. Insects like a specific window of sugar content in plants.  If you raise it, they won't want to eat and if they do they die.  Insects cannot bloat or release gas, sugars create gas and it basically kills them from the inside out.  But be careful because this will kill beneficials too. So only use it on heavily infested plants.

Adding molasses to the soil in your garden helps to increase the microbial activity resulting in soil that holds moisture better and is also easier to plant in.  When soil microbes are exposed to simple sugars, they multiply quickly. As microbes go through their living cycle, they add important nutrients to the soil, making the more the merrier.

You can also rid your yard of FIRE ANTS by spraying this over your grass.  This is the most inexpensive way to add sugars and ward off harmful insects to your garden.

Simple Molasses Recipe for soil and plants
(spray bi-weekly directly onto the leaves)
You'll be able to find these ingredients at
 Walmart, Home Depot, Amazon, etc.

3 Tablespoons organic molasses
3 Tablespoons liquid organic garlic
1 Tablespoon liquid organic fertilizer
1 gallon water

SLUGS

BEER

These tips you probably all know already, but I'll mention them, just in case.
Slugs love feasting on your flowers and vegetables.

One of the simplest way to get rid of slugs is a beer trap.

The cheaper the beer the better. Why waste money on the good stuff?

Bury a clean tuna can/yogurt cup/whatever you have available in your garden, near plants that seem to be attracting the Slugs. The lip of the can will need to be level with the soil.  Fill the can with beer.

Come back in the morning and you'll probably find grossness.

  Look at all those nasty slugs!

 

They are attracted to the beer and ultimately drown in it.
A cheap and easy solution to Slug control.

The little buggers are kind of picky though.
They like their beer fresh.
So be sure to dump the dead ones every morning
and refill your can with fresh beer.

If you have a large garden you may want to have more than one of these depending on how bad your Slug problem is. When I have beer I use this method and it works amazingly.

EGG SHELLS

Another method I use quite often since we go through a lot of eggs.
This is also a double whammy.

After using the eggs, I rinse out the shells and let them dry thoroughly.
I then toss them in an old bowl until I've collected enough, to make it worth my while, to crush up.
I sprinkle them around my flowers, veggies, etc.
Slugs will not crawl across them due to the abrasiveness of the shells,
even when ground up.  This also works for Cutworms.
The eggshells provide the benefit of calcium to my garden.

CITRUS RINDS

Another type of Slug Trap are citrus rinds.
Cut your orange in half and eat it. Place the rinds out at night and you'll have Slugs up inside them in the morning.
You can pick them off and drop them into a coffee can filled with soapy water - Slugs can't swim!  Or if you have Chickens, feed these pesky critters to them.
Or just dispose of the rinds altogether.

LAVA ROCK

Slugs will avoid the abrasive surface of lava rock.

Lava Rock can be used a a barrier around plantings, but should be left mostly above soil level. Dirt or vegetation can soon form a bridge for Slugs to cross to get to your plants.

ANTS

Natural Ant control can be done with common household ingredients.
The most popular method is to use Talcum Powder around areas infested with Ants. Ant trails should be followed and talcum powder sprinkled on them to break the trial. When the trail is broken, ants will stop coming back.

Cinnamon and Black Pepper can be used like talcum powder. A further step is to carefully follow the trail to the source outside the house, sprinkle the spices at this point, so the ants remain outside and do not come in.

Vinegar is also ideal for ant control. While it can be used straight, it is best to dilute the vinegar before using it for natural ant control.

CORNMEAL

I like to buy the packaged Cornbread mix that says it is sweetened and put it where they are coming from. They love the stuff and take it back to the mound. Everyone in the mound will eat it and since they can not digest the cornmeal they die. They can't resist it because it is sweetened. A little goes a long way.

TOMATO HORNWORM

HANDPICKING

In the home garden handpicking is your best bet. Because they are so large and move so slow they are easy to pick. Once removed from the plant they can be destroyed by squishing them, sniping with scissors or dropping them into a bucket of soapy water.

If you feel squeamish about the above removal, you can always snip the branch of the plant the Hornworm is on and drop the whole thing in the soapy bucket.

APHIDS

WATER SPRAY

Believe it or not one of the easiest ways to control Aphids is to spray plants with a powerful stream of water. Aphids are pretty frail and water quickly knocks them off plants. A daily spraying can usually control an Aphid problem and keep damage to a minimum. When spraying be sure to get the underside of plants where Aphids like to congregate to hide from predators.

FLOUR

If you have a large Aphid infestation, dust them with flour. It constipates and kills them.

APPLE CIDER VINEGAR

Put a small amount of Apple Cider Vinegar in a jar next to plants. Aphids and Fruit Flies will be attracted, fall in, and drown.

ALL INSECTS

Here are a couple of recipes that work for a multitude of insects. Since one sometimes doesn't work for everyone, you can try to see which works for your pests the best.

GARLIC SPRAY

Make a Garlic plant spray by pureeing 2 bulbs of Garlic. Pour 1/2 cup of boiling water over the Garlic, cover, and let steep overnight.  Strain, put in a spray bottle. Spray the bottom of the leaves daily, every few days or once a week.

HOT PEPPER or GINGER SPRAY

Both contain capsaicin, which burns insects. Combine 1 quart of water,  one squirt of castile soap, and one Tablespoon of Cayenne Pepper or Ginger. Try on a small portion of the plant first. Dilute further is it causes leaf damage.

Hopefully with these in your arsenal, you'll be able to keep the pests at bay this season, and your plants will grow big and healthy producing lots of flowers and tons of veggies!

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