Natural Pest Control for Garden 

Natural Pest Control 

Many of you are reaching the height of your garden season.  Your plants are growing beautifully and you may have been able to start harvesting food.  However, I also know that you are down in the trenches trying to fight off all the garden pests whilst maintaining your sanity.  

One of the reasons we grow food is because we want to know what goes in it right?  This is why I only employ organic methods of pest control in my garden. Let’s take a look at some different options to regain control over the army of bugs in your garden.

Natural Pest Control for Slugs

I truly thought for a moment that slugs were going to be the demise of my garden this season.  Sure, I had seen a few last year and plucked them out for the birds to eat.  But this time, they riddled my pepper plants with holes to the point that I didn’t think I would have any left. They also munched their way through my cucumber and melon leaves.  Something had to be done before I lost all my precious varieties that cannot be bought in the store. 

My weaponry for slugs involves a combination of Pyrethrum, Diatomaceous earth, Slug Magic, and beer.  Yes, you read that correctly, it is time to get those suckers drunk.  Slugs are attracted to the yeast in beer.  Therefore, they crawl in beer traps and drown.  Diatomaceous earth works on pests with exoskeletons, causing them to dry up.  Slug Magic is a bait and kill, attracting the slugs away from your plants and ensuring their timely demise.  Pyrethrum is sourced from Chrysanthemums. It is really an end all be all to most insects. 

The downside of any of these choices is what makes slugs a problem, moisture.  Slugs love a damp environment, so when it rains, that is their time to shine.  However, that means every application you add to the garden gets washed away.  To help with this, I made sure to apply my different combinations to the garden right before bed.  This is typically when slugs come out, the nighttime to wee morning hours.  I finally got the situation under control and my peppers have set fruit! 

Dealing With Aphids

Aphids were my second worst pest in the garden.  They plotted to take over my lovely lime basil plants, mint, and other herbs.  They also joined the slug party on my peppers.  

Thankfully, aphids are easier to get rid of.  First and foremost, if you have the time, take a wet paper towel and just wipe them off the plant.  You might miss some doing this and others will just have too many plants to employ this method. 

So next up is neem oil, sourced from neem trees.  It is my go-to for aphid control.  

A nightly application of spray all over your plants every night for a week or two will easily take care of your problem.  Following that, I like to do a weekly maintenance spray.   The reason you want to spray at night is to avoid burning your plants.  This is a very common mistake when applying any type of spray-on organic pest control.

Natural Pest Control for Ants 

Ants are pretty simple in my experience.  Spread some cinnamon powder where they are congregating and over their ant hills. They will be gone within 24 hours.  You may have to reapply every now and then, but it is a rather cheap and effective solution. 

Did you know you can buy 5 pound bags of cinnamon on Amazon?  Did you also know that it can keep algae from growing on the soil of your seedling trays?  I love things that are dual use.

Keep Your Garden Tick-Free 

Who isn’t terrified of finding a tick attached to them or their kids or their pets?  I keep my property tick free with Pyrethrum.  So not only do I employ this on plants for other pests, but my entire property gets sprayed every season.  My first application is sprayed at the end of April.  Then it gets repeated once a month until fall.  

I can say with confidence that neither myself or my dog have ever had a tick from the garden.  However, that doesn’t mean it can’t happen.  So I do make sure my dog is treated monthly, but it does give me more peace of mind. I never worry about her hanging out in the grass.

What About the Beneficial Insects?

Always remember that natural pest control does not discriminate.  While some insects may be more resistant to certain organic methods than others, there is a chance of you killing beneficial insects.  It is a balance you have to keep based on how severe the bad pests are in your garden.  

You do have some control, though.  If you are spraying at night, as one should to avoid burning plants, there is less risk of harming bees.  Usually, the spray will have dried overnight and be of little consequence.   

I also only utilize powders such as the diatomaceous earth at the base of plants. Never on the plants leaves or flowers themselves. That isn’t to say that bees never hang out on the soil, but it is less likely to find them there.

Final Bugging Thoughts