The Complete Guide to Managing and Getting Rid of Pests in Your Garden
Let’s dive into a complete guide to managing and getting rid of pests in your garden. I'll cover all the common pests associated with damaging and eating plants in the garden, and also organic ways to either get rid of them or repel them.
A lot of people use chemical pesticides to get rid of insects such as aphids, spider mites, whiteflies, earwigs, snails, slugs, and other insects that invade our gardens. However, we don't have to resort to chemical pesticides. These are some of the secrets I'm going to share with you that pesticide companies wish you didn't know because all of these secrets are organic and they work against every single one of these insects, and the best part is you don't hurt the beneficial insects such as ladybugs, lace wings, and honeybees. So let's get started.
The very first category of insects that I want to cover are soft body insects such as aphids, whiteflies, and spider mites. For that, neem oil with pure castor soap works wonders. Aphids are one of the most common pests in the garden. You can see if they are forming in groups on the stems of your plants. There are many different kinds of aphids such as black aphids and green aphids. If they like to hide under the leaves right near the stem of the plants, if left unchecked, aphids can really get hold of your plants and even end up killing them.
Ants also farm and protect aphids, just like humans farm cows and goats. Ants feed on the secretion or dew produced by aphids. So if you have an aphid problem and you see a lot of ants on your plants, you will also need to get rid of the ants. One of the natural ways to get rid of aphids is with the help of ladybugs and lacewings. Ladybugs and lacewings are natural predators of aphids and will eat them. Ladybugs live for one year, and one ladybug can get rid of 5,000 aphids in its lifetime. You can also buy ladybugs from your gardening or hardware store as well. I also made a video on 5 beneficial insects you must have in your garden. Check the video out if you are interested.
The best way to get rid of aphids is to use neem oil and soap spray. You can get neem oil from Amazon or your local gardening store. Make sure you use natural pure castor soap derived from natural oils. Mix one tablespoon of neem oil and one tablespoon of soap to one gallon of water, which is about 3.7 liters. If only using neem oil or soap, use two tablespoons to one gallon of water. I have lots of aphids on my radish plants. I'm letting these radish go to seeds so that I can collect the seeds to plant next year. I sprayed the flowers and stem of the radish plants with neem oil and soap spray. After three days, the spray gets rid of all the aphids. The plants are growing stronger and taller and producing lots of flowers.
Next, let's cover ants. Ants are not necessarily bad to have in your garden. Ants actually have a healthy population in a garden, and they can go about their own way without disturbing you. It's only when the population becomes too huge, or they start to farm aphids on your plants, or they create a lot more problems in your garden, that you have to take action against ants. Two things that work really well against ants are diatomaceous earth and cornmeal.
Remember, keeping your garden healthy and pest-free requires consistent effort and attention, but it's worth it to have a beautiful and thriving garden. By using natural methods to control pests and encourage beneficial insects, you can help to create a sustainable and healthy ecosystem in your own backyard. So get out there, observe your plants, and take action to keep them healthy and happy.
Happy gardening!
Below are some supplies we use at Daisy Creek Farms! If you click on the item you are interested in it will take you directly to purchase on Amazon.