Landscaping
& Garden Pest Control Tips
Pest
control must be done with utmost consideration
to safety; safety in terms of the plants, animals
and humans. This holds especially true for those
with vegetable and organic gardens.
The
main purpose of growing vegetables organically
will be defeated if they become tainted with
pest control chemicals.
Here
are a few long-term maintenance tips to make
pest control less damaging and more environmentally
friendly.
1.
Use the physical pest control process.
This
may be accomplished through picking grubs off
by hand, creating barriers and traps and plugging
holes. Snails can be found hiding in damp places
under rocks and towrds the base of those plants
with straplike foliage.
2.
Apply biological pest control.
Encourage
predatory insects such as green lacewings and
dragonflies to feed on aphids and other pests
that attack your plants. You can do this by
placing a shallow bowl of water in the garden.
Dragonflies especially will hover around water.
Bacterial insecticides such as B. thuringiensis
could also be used against caterpillars.
3.
Only as a last resort should we turn to chemical
pest control.
Organic
pest control methods can be successful and the
ingredients for many of the recipes can be found
in the kitchen cupboards. If chemical sprays
are really necessary, try and find the least-toxic.
These include insecticidal soaps, horticultural
oils, dehydrating dusts, etc.
4.
Consider the use of safer pest control substitutes.
Recipes
for alternative pest control include the following:
Against
Green Aphids and Mites - Mix 1 tablespoon of
liquid soap and a cup of vegetable oil. Dilute
a teaspoon of this solution in a cup of water
and spray on aphids and mites.
Against
Cockroaches - Dusts of boric acid can be applied
to cracks or entry points of these insects.
Bay leaves on pantry shelves could also help
in warding off these critters.
Make
sure that the chemicals you use are made specifically
for the insects you are targeting.
More
Landscaping & Gardening Articles |
xml