Bugs are a nuisance to your garden. They can put all your hard work to waste and ruin your harvest for good. As someone who values organic gardening principles, use of chemical herbicides is not an option. Moreover, they could harm both your family and the environment. So, how do you get rid of bugs naturally?
Use barriers and repellents
These act as a wall to deter any crawling insects from accessing your vegetable garden. For instance, instead of discarding those toilet paper rolls, plant carrots inside them to keep cutworms away.
Use plants to create a living barrier to most insects. Spearmint, pennyroyal and peppermint naturally deter ants and aphids. Plant them in your garden to keep such pests away.
Create traps with colours that attract certain insects. For example, use a rigid cardboard or wooden box to make a trap and then paint it with a colour you know will attract the target pests.
Coat your board with Tangle-Trap or a similar sticky substance specifically made to trap insects. To attract cucumber beetles, white flies and flea beetles, use white. To attract fruit flies, midges, leafhoppers and aphids, paint the traps yellow. Plan these traps before you decide about the paths for your garden kerbing design. This way, their addition does not ruin your garden’s design.
Insecticidal oils and soaps
An insecticidal soap contains fatty acids known to dissolve the skin of soft-bodied insects such as spider mites, mealy bugs, aphids and whitefly. Though they may not work effectively against the hard-shelled insects like beetles, you can use them to control the eggs of such insects.
Lure them with pheromones
Certain insects secrete aromatic substances known as pheromones to attract the opposite sex. Scientists have managed to replicate the substance in their natural form for use against harmful bugs. Even though pheromones don’t kill the bugs, they can help you find out which pests are in your garden so you can control them.
The next time bugs attack your precious garden, go through this list to save your plants.