Article: Controlling Pests Naturally

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Controlling Pests Naturally

by Jay North of <http://www.goingorganic.com> www.goingorganic.com

 

In many walks of society, many people expect nothing less than

perfection. This has led to an over-reliance on insecticides and other

chemicals such as sprayer stickers to prevent insect damage, as well as

optimizing growth and production of plants with the use of commercial

fertilizers.

 

As an organic grower, one needs to first realize that beauty and quality

are different sorts of things than perfection. By using natural methods

of pest control, you can produce plenty of beautiful crops or flowers,

without relying on non-organic sprays, powders or other insecticides.

 

The first two lines of defense against pests are water pressure and

handpicking harmful insects. A simple stroll through your garden each

day will ensure that any problems are noticed and can be addressed

immediately.

 

Pay attention to the color of leaves, stalks, and flowers. Look for

changes, inspect for bites or other damage. Many pests are visible only

from the underside of the leaves. Nighttime is the best time to catch

and remove sneaky pests (snails) from your plants. Be sure to take a

flashlight!

 

Hand pick any visible pests from plants and remove yellowed or damaged

leaves as soon as they appear. Be sure to dispose of the removed leaves

outside your garden to prevent the spread of pests or disease.

 

A strong stream of water from your garden hose will help kill or remove

many pests. Be careful not to damage the plants and direct the stream of

water carefully, where pests tend to hide out- inside creases and

crevices, the underside of leaves and around the flowers.

 

For your third line of defense, encourage beneficial insects, such as

ladybird beetles more commonly known as ladybugs, by planting dill,

fennel, carrots, and parsley. Allow these plants to bloom in order to

attract ladybugs. The ladybugs will rid your garden of a variety of

harmful pests. Some plants, such as carrots, don't bloom until the

second year, so keep these plants in place and plant others you intend

to harvest. One can purchase ladybugs and other helpful insects directly

off the Internet, as well as liquid garlic spray and French and African

Marigold root in liquid form.

 

Since many pests bed underground during winter, it is best to rotate the

placement of your plants each year. Not only will this discourage pests

that attack a specific plant year after year, it will yield healthier

plants because different plants take different nutrients from the soil.

Rotating will help ensure an area is not depleted of a specific nutrient

and will discourage pests who hide out in wait for next year's crop.

 

Another way to help prevent plant damage from insects is to plant both

French and African Marigolds as a rotation crop, turn the plants in just

as flowering is beginning to occur.

 

Many organic gardeners use insecticidal soaps. Hard water can reduce

their effectiveness. The easy, natural solution is to use rainwater to

mix with your insecticidal soaps. Keep a bucket or tray out to collect

rain, but be sure to empty it frequently so mosquitoes don't breed in

the standing water. Another option is to mix your insecticidal soaps

with water from a clean stream or pond if one is accessible.

 

If grasshoppers are a problem in your garden, leave an area around your

garden uncut and un-mowed to give them an option to hide in and munch on

other than your beloved plants. Conversely, if ticks are a problem for

you, be sure to keep yards mowed and brush trimmed because ticks need

these areas to reproduce.

 

For whiteflies, which attack many plants and spread disease, puree two

cloves of garlic, mix with one pint water, strain and spray on your

plants. Attracting ladybugs is also effective for whitefly problems.

 

After harvest, remove and destroy all your remaining plants so that next

year's crops will not inherit any looming problems.

 

Pest control is a natural problem in raising any plant-- and as with

weeds and other challenges can be kept at bay by natural means.

 

Jay North has been an organic grower for over thirty years. He works as

an organic farming consultant and organic produce marketing consultant.

Jay can be contacted through his web site. www.GoingOrganic.com

North, Jay. 2004. Controlling pests naturally. Organic Family Magazine

2:15.

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

What is a good deterrent for Ants in the house. My mother-in-law gets those big

black ants in the house this time of year. Is there something that she can

safely use to get rid of them and keep them from coming back.

 

Evelyn

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[Guest guest]

>

> What is a good deterrent for Ants in the house. >

> Evelyn

 

Try scattering Bay leaves or cayene pepper in the areas they are most

commonly. They can't stand either of these. HTH

Nikki

[Guest guest]

Thanks Nikki, I'll tell her.

 

Evelyn

-

Nikki<Nikkinak78

< >

Wednesday, April 27, 2005 8:50 AM

Re: Article: Controlling Pests Naturally

 

 

 

 

 

>

> What is a good deterrent for Ants in the house. >

> Evelyn

 

Try scattering Bay leaves or cayene pepper in the areas they are most

commonly. They can't stand either of these. HTH

Nikki

 

 

 

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