10 Tips for Natural Pest Control
The last thing you want is weeds, pests, and plant diseases taking over your garden. Especially if you have put in a lot of effort to make your garden look green, happy, and healthy. Luckily there’s no need to reach for any pesticides. There are a lot of natural resources for pest control. Not spraying your soil and plants with poisonous substances will keep your garden healthy!
Lice
Lice are no good sign. After all, they can seriously damage your plants. Therefore, it’s of major importance to combat them as soon as you see them. There are tips and tricks to fight lice. One of them is digging a banana peel into the soil near a rose bush or other plants that are prone to lice. Some people swear by hanging one or more cloves in the plant, depending on the size of your plant. Lice don’t like the smell of cloves. You can also plant these so-called African Marigolds near to other plants that are prone to lice. These plants attract insects that combat lice.
Snails
Another not-so-great thing: snails. Luckily you can also combat snails in an animal-friendly way. One trick is to strategically mix some plants with a strong scent, such as thyme, coneflower, and spurge, with plants that are sensitive to snail damage. Snails don’t like the smell and stay away from it. Tricks that help you catch snails in order to set them free somewhere else involve leaving a saucer with beer, a wet newspaper or leek leaves in your garden. The snails will gather here making it easy to remove them.
Worms, flies, and caterpillars
Bothered by worms, flies, or caterpillars? Then you can use specific vegetables and herbs from your own kitchen (or garden). Did you know that carrots next to leek keep worms away? Or that leeks next to cabbage keep flies away? And have you ever heard about the golden combination of mint and cabbage? Mint next to cabbage keeps the caterpillars away. Amazing right!
And did you know that you can also use insects to deter other unwanted insects, for instance by using nematodes (Dutch: aaltjes)? These multicellular insects are a natural remedy that deters pesky pests. You can buy nematodes at almost any gardening center. Just don’t forget your mask and disinfectant (Dutch: ontsmettingsmiddelen) if you go there. Corona is not yet a thing of the past.
What natural sources do you use for pest control?