Creepy-crawlies of all shapes and sizes are par for the course when it comes to gardening. Many are friendly, but some seem set to destroy your hard work in their quest for a tasty snack.
Fortunately, there are some inexpensive and natural ways to help prevent unwanted visitors to your garden and infesting your plants.
Stodels Garden Centre in the Western Cape (www.stodels.com) offers guidelines for keeping your garden pest-free with minimal chemical intervention.
The most significant disadvantage of using broad-spectrum chemical insecticides is that they kill off the good insects in your garden along with the bad. They also harm natural predators, like birds and small animals, which feed off the bugs.
Up to 95% of insects in your garden are either harmless or help your plants. For example, butterflies and bees are essential for fertilising flowers and fruit, ants clear away insect eggs and weed seeds, and dragonflies eat aphids and mosquitoes.
Before you resort to insecticides – even organic varieties– make sure you follow these guidelines:
Companion planting is when you plant flowers, vegetables, and herbs close together that benefit each other.
For example, marigolds and parsley are good companion plants for asparagus because they repel asparagus beetles. Dill is a suitable companion plant for broccoli as it attracts beneficial wasps, which prey on insect pests.
To discourage flies or mosquitoes, you can add these plants to areas surrounding your outdoor entertaining areas:
Snails don’t like walking over uneven, coarse surfaces; therefore, one of the easiest ways to keep snails from attacking your precious seedlings is to surround the plants with crushed eggshells or pine needles.
These snail deterrents have the added benefit of boosting the level of beneficial nutrients in the soil.
Make your own natural insect repellents:
Neem extract is extracted from the kernel of the fruit of the neem tree. It is a natural insecticide that interferes with the insect’s hormonal life cycle.
If you have reached the end of your bug-busting rope and need to get for the spray bottle, then rather consider one of these non-toxic, organic insecticides:
Your garden must be kept bug free, and applying the measures highlighted above is a sure way to do it.
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Tips for you and for world by mygreengrowers.com