Take ten and think about garden pest management. Winter is the best time to think about garden pest management. Pesticides will poison all the little and big visitors to your garden, planning ahead with earth friendly products can avoid this.
We often attack pests when we first spot them in our flowers and this knee-jerk approach usually involves harsh chemicals. Take some time now to think about how you want to handle your pest management this summer so you don’t have to worry about it when you should be relaxing in your garden.
No garden wants to have slugs in it. Slugs are icky and sticky and make ugly ragged holes in all your hostas and other plants. Yuck. Before you break out the most deadly of slug pellets which will also kill all the snakes, toads and [little bird feeding| bird feeding]creatures you can try some other things. Turn terra cotta pots over as an easy slug trap-clean them out during the heat of the day. Throw bundles of newspaper in your garden and then pick them up during the day and throw them away. You can partially fill soda cans with a solution of beer, water and yeast and then let the slugs crawl in and drown. There is a lot of talk about coffee grinds making a good slug deterent. These alternatives are certainly better than sprinkling poisonous chemicals everywhere.
Japanese beetle, black vine weevil, fleas and cucumber beetles are some more unwelcome guests in your plants. Japanese beetles are unfortunately especially fond of yellow flowered plants…when choosing colors for your garden, keep this in mind. Blame Black Vine Weevil Beetle for jagged leaf cuts on your rhodos, and Cucumber Beetles make polka dots on your daisies.
Put mother nature to work fighting these garden pests by using beneficial nematodes instead of harsh toxic pesticides. Beneficial nematodes are wiry little microscopic worms that you add to water and spray on your garden. Nematodes need to be poured or sprayed on the garden on a cloudy day as exposure to sunlight will kill them. Beneficial Nematodes are like heat sensing missiles that will hunt down the offending beetle grubs and kill them from the inside out. Nemotodes are deadly to grubs but harmless to you, your family and your pets.Get those bad beetles with an application of nematodes in the early spring and late fall. Nematodes can be initially expensive but pay for themselves in the second year. Use beneficial nematodes on your lawnscape for the control of grub problems. Nematodes are healthy medicine for your garden.
Aphids will suck the life right out of your roses. Attack them with a jet of water spray once or twice a day for a few days in a row. You can spritz them with some soapy water and oil. You may try predatory lady bug larvae and praying mantis in combination with other benificial aphid control methods for optimal results.
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If you plan ahead you can put these safe pest control applications to work for you in your garden and feel good knowing you are not poisoning the planet’s already overstressed ecosystems. Rest easy knowing you are using safe pest management control and not hurting the planet. You are doing the world a favor when you think before you break out the toxic chemicals which kill everything including the honey bees and the butterflies which actually enhance and decorate your garden. Think about what your are doing to the landscape before you act rashly and purchase a pesticide.