How to Prevent Pests from Invading Your Garden?

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Most gardeners face the problem of pest infestation in their garden once in a while. It is inevitable as far as the food chain is considered and you can expect this to happen. Some pests here and there can be managed and do not pose a great threat to the plantation but when the number starts increasing, it becomes a big threat to the garden. Pest infestation is more common in vegetable gardening where there is more availability of food. It is better to avoid the pest from chewing off their first bites to keep their motivation away. Pesticides and chemicals have already been proven unhealthy for the plants and hence that option has to be ruled out in the beginning. We can often resort to home remedied and some “Do It Yourself” tricks to get the job done. Though these are tried and tested, it is advisable to try the procedures on one plant initially, analyse the results and then move on to the others.

Bubble Splasher

When beginning the procedure, water itself can prove to be quite effective. Tune the nozzles to a fine spray and splash it at the leaves, not forgetting the underside of the leaf. This will directly knock off the pests from the plant. However, it is not always that water can be sprayed and if the pests do return eventually, an easy step to take is to make a bubble bath for them. Just mix a little amount of soap or preferably a tablespoon of a dishwasher and spray it evenly on the plant and specifically cover the areas which might be more prone to infestation. The fatty acids present in the soap are harmful to the pests and can dissolve their outer shell, hence killing them. This method takes care of a variety of insects.

Pepper’s Spray

The pepper spray is an extension to the soap spray and enhances the killing power of the soap spray. Not that we are dealing with weapons, but it can still be called an upgrade. Garlic and hot pepper, both do the job really well and deserve their parts of appreciation. Blend the chopped garlic and hot pepper and add some water to obtain a puree like paste. Let it settle down and refrigerate for about an hour. Mix the soap spray and you are good to go. You can also use a hot pepper sauce instead of the garlic and hot pepper mixture. An optional addition of marigold or other aromatic leaves can help too. The pests sure wouldn’t be too happy munching on the spiciest pepper.

Baking Soda Spray and Anti-Mildew Spray

Until now we have been looking for options to get rid of insect and pests, but those aren’t the only things you need to be worried about. There are all sorts of fungus that can affect different parts of your plant. A simple mixture of baking soda, vegetable oil, dishwashing soap and a little vinegar acts as a strong shield against fungus and other bacteria that might affect your plant. Studies have found that diluted milk is as strong as other fungicides when it comes to fighting powdery mildew on squash, grapes and other similar plants. All you need is a quarter cup of milk with a teaspoon of soap and water.

Encourage Beneficial Insect

Until now the prime focus was to get rid of the pests in some way. Preferably killing them. We all know that not all insects are bad for the plants and they are the root cause of pollination and the spread of grains that promote reproduction in plants. Some beneficial insects like ladybird, wasps etc help by eating up the smaller pests for lunch comprising of their daily protein intake diet. You need to have a few right plants in your garden to attract the beneficial insects to wipe out the ones which are not good. If you are anyhow looking for Pest Control in Scotland there is one great place you can approach. Attracting beneficial bugs is an art of gardening and requires an understanding of their behaviour to have mutual benefits.

Use Physical Barriers

Prevention is better than cure and that’s exactly what this method emphasizes on. Why take the pain of getting rid of the insects and having to spend time and hard work on killing them when you can avoid them from entering in the first place. Putting a physical barrier over all your plants will not allow pests from entering and hovering over your plants. All they can manage is to get delighted from a distance and carry on their way ahead. A light-weight spun bound fabric can be used to cover the plants and can, in fact, rest on the plants from the top. Make sure to have slacks in the cover and pin the sides to the ground to avoid any smart pest trying to find its way from the sides.

Deploy Intercropping

This term might sound very technical and professional but once you understand what it means it might not look very hard to perform. This refers to increasing the diversity of the plants in your garden. By planting different crops in between others and not having a row of a single crop makes it difficult for the pests to find their host plant and reduces pest infestation in the whole garden. In order to search for their host plant, the pest might confuse itself and the intensity of damage it can cause it reduced to a great extent. Though this topic is still under study, it still works to give the best of results naturally.

 Keep Your Garden Healthy

Last but not the least, some words that might look very obvious but are often neglected by most people trying to maintain a beautiful organic garden to fulfil their household supplies of eating healthy organic veggies. Plants have an immune just like the human beings, maybe not as effective of course, but they still do react to pest infestation in their own ways. A healthy plant is less prone to attracting pests and the health of the plant can be maintained by taking proper care. Feed your plant a healthy diet of organic manures in the soil and make sure their environmental conditions are suitable for it to prosper.

Bringing in use these few strategies of gardening you are sure to have a healthy and beautiful garden. Safety is important and hence the use of chemicals must be strictly avoided. Some home remedies also might affect if used in a wrong way. Be careful with pepper spray being near your eyes as it can get pretty dangerous for sensitive skin types.