Garden Pest Control

Prevention should be the focus of your garden pest control strategy. Start by selecting plants that are appropriate for your growing conditions. Keep your plants healthy, so they are able to withstand occasional outbreaks. If pests or diseases arise, you can take simple measures to keep them from getting out of hand.

Plant Selection

The first step in preventing pest and disease problems is to start with healthy, pest-free plants. Also choose plants that are well-adapted to your area. Native plants are excellent choices because they are naturally equipped to resist many problems.

Look for disease resistant cultivars when selecting plants. Catalog descriptions and tags for tomatoes and other plants contain disease-resistance information. For example, a tomato listed as “VFNT”, is resistant to verticillium, fusarium, nematodes, and tobacco mosaic virus. Many heirloom varieties also have excellent disease resistance.

Rotate Planting Areas

To discourage plant-specific pests from building up in the soil, plant your annual flowers and vegetables in different areas of the garden each year. There are many crop rotation schemes, but a basic rotation is to avoid growing the same crop or its relatives in the same place for at least 4 years.

Plant Maintenance

Try these tips for maintaining a healthy garden:

• Avoid over- or under-watering. Improper watering is a common cause of garden pest problems. Apply water directly to the soil; overhead watering leaves foliage wet and encourages fungal disease.
• Space plants adequately. Proper sunlight and air circulation helps discourage diseases such as powdery mildew.
• Mulch your garden. Mulch helps keeps soil cool and moist, inhibits weeds, and adds nutrients to the soil. It also helps discourage disease by keeping soil from splashing up onto plants’ leaves during rain or watering.
• Prune dead, broken, diseased, or infested plant parts. Always use sharp, clean tools. Disinfect pruners with hydrogen peroxide or bleach in between cuts. Put pest-infested or diseased materials in the trash.

Garden Pest Control

If pests strike, there are many simple solutions for controlling them. Before you reach for a chemical spray, consider safer alternatives. Not all of the insects in your garden are pests; most of the bugs in your yard are beneficial and prey on other insects. When you use an insecticidal spray, you kill the good bugs along with the bad. Chemical pesticides should always be your last resort.

Try these tips for controlling pests once they’ve arrived:

• Handpicking is an effective option for slow-moving pests like caterpillars, snails, and Colorado potato beetles. Squash bugs or drop them into a pail of soapy water.
• Knock off soft-bodied bugs—like aphids, leafhoppers, and spider mites—with a forceful hose spray.
• Capture nocturnal pests such as slugs in homemade traps. Sink containers into your garden near damaged plants, fill them with beer, and wait for the slugs to come.
• Traps baited with synthetic pheromones can control pests such as coddling moths and apple maggots. Many traps are commercially available.
• Attract or import into your garden beneficial insects such as ladybugs and praying mantis, which eat aphids and other pests.
• Use beneficial bacteria and nematodes to attack specific pests. You can purchase bacterial insecticides (BT) to target various insects such as caterpillar and Colorado potato beetle. Beneficial nematodes, which target problems in the soil, are also available.

When To Spray Insects

If all else fails and pests spread, you may decide to use an insecticidal spray.

Insecticidal Soaps

Insecticidal Soaps can effectively control aphids, leafhoppers, thrips, scales, mealy bugs, and other common garden pests. Insecticidal soaps are non-toxic to people and pets but will harm beneficial insects, so use them carefully. You can buy insecticidal soaps or make your own: mix 1 to 3 teaspoons liquid dish soap with one gallon of water.

Horticultural Oils

Oils are sometimes used to smother. Follow label instructions, because timing is important and some plants are sensitive to oil sprays.

Botanical Sprays

Botanical pesticides are derived from plants. Examples include pyrethrin, neem oil, rotenone, and citrus oils. Botanical pesticides break down quickly in the environment but are non-selective insect killers and can be harmful to people and animals. Use sparingly and always follow label directions.

Other Home Remedies

Homemade remedies using ingredients like garlic, hot pepper, soap, and oils prove useful pest controls for many gardeners. There are many recipes available.

• To make garlic oil, soak 3 ounces minced garlic in 2 tablespoons mineral oil for 24 hours; strain; add 1 pint water and 1 teaspoon liquid dish soap. Spray plants with 1 to 2 tablespoons of this mixture dissolved in 1 pint of water.
• A soap and oil spray can be made by mixing 1 tablespoon dish soap with 1 cup vegetable oil. Mix 1 to 2 ½ teaspoons of this mixture into one cup of water.

Controlling Animal Pests

Damage from animals can be a problem. Prevention is the best control.

• Try growing plants the critters don’t like to eat. For example, if you have bad luck with tulips, try daffodils, scilla, or fritillaria. Deer, rabbits, and other rodents tend to leave those bulbs alone.
• Install fences or barriers around your plants.
• Some gardeners have luck with products such as blood meal or sprays made of hot pepper, garlic, and other foul-smelling ingredients. Many are commercially available, but you’ll have to experiment to see what works for you.

Remember that some animals such as birds, bats, and toads help by eating harmful insects. If birds are eating your fruit before you can, drape netting around your fruit trees and bushes. You can also use netting to stop birds from eating new seedlings in your lawn or garden.

Is Garden Pest Control Necessary?

Learn to tolerate minor damage from pests and disease. Gardens are always changing. Weather changes or predation by birds and other insects often take care of pest problems before they get out of hand.

Related Topics

• Common Garden Pests
• Worm Compost
• Types of Mulch
• Garden Gnome
• Water Fountains