Practicing Safe Pest Control In Your Garden

by E-NewsCast Team
May 3rd, 2010

Pests are a problem in many gardens and can ruin your flowerbed or a good crop of vegetables. When dealing with pests, andespecially in vegetable gardens, you want to use methods thatare safe for both plants and humans. Since avoiding the use ofharsh chemicals for pest control is a good idea all around,here’s some tips on some gentler methods of getting rid ofgarden pests.Physical Pest ControlTime consuming but very natural, this method consists of manythings you can physically do to control bugs and other pests.Picking grubs off by hand, creating barriers and traps andplugging holes. If snails are a problem, look for them hiding indamp places under rocks and near the base of those plants withstraplike foliage.Biological Pest ControlGet rid of pests by inviting insects in that eat them!Encouraging predatory insects such as dragonflies and greenlacewings into your garden can help in your pest control effortsas they eat aphids and other pests that attack your plants. Sohow do you attract them? Try simply placing a shallow bowl ofwater in the garden. Dragonflies especially love water and willhover around it. Bacterial insecticides such as B. thuringiensiscan also be used against caterpillars.Safer Pest Control RecipesYou can mix up some solutions for pest control that are safe -and you probably have the ingredients right in your kitchen! Toget rid of green aphids and mites – Mix 1 tablespoon of liquidsoap and 1 cup vegetable oil. Dilute a teaspoon of this solutionin a cup of water and spray on aphids and mites.Organic pest control methods can be successful and are muchbetter for both you and the environment. Sometimes, however youcannot get rid of pests organically and must turn to chemicalsas a last resort. If chemical sprays are really necessary youmust use the least-toxic. Some of the least toxic pest controlincludes horticultural oils, insecticidal soaps, horticulturaloils and dehydrating dusts. Make sure that the chemical spraysand solutions you use are made specifically for the pests youare targeting.

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