Easy Ways To Prevent Garden Pests This Year

Garden pests become more prevalent as temperatures warm and plants start to sprout and flower. But not all insects are bad for your garden. Many eat other bugs that destroy plants, and your vegetables and fruits need pollinators to prosper.

We do pest control for your home, which helps keeps pests out of your yard. We don’t directly treat gardens. The following natural garden pest control tips will help supplement our work when we treat your home!

Natural Repellents for Garden Pests

Plan a garden that includes natural pest repellents. Many types of insects don’t like them – often because of their smell. Mother Nature Network recommends adding these flowers and herbs to your garden to help protect your flowers and crops:

–Ornamental flowers in the allium family: Repels slugs and aphids
-Chrysanthemums: Repel roaches, ants, Japanese beetles, ticks, silverfish, bedbugs and more
-Marigolds: Repel aphids, mosquitoes and rabbits
-Nasturiums: Repel many beetles, squash bugs, aphids and more
-Petunias: Repel aphids, tomato hornworms, squash bugs and more
-Rosemary: Repels a variety of insects harmful to plants
-Oregano: Repels a variety of insects harmful to plants
-Chives: Repel carrot flies, Japanese beetles and aphids
-Dill: Repels aphids, squash bugs, spider mites, cabbage loopers and tomato hornworms
-Fennel: Repels aphids, slugs and snails
-Parsley: Repels asparagus beetles
-Thyme: Repels whiteflies, cabbage loopers, cabbage maggots, corn earworms, tomato hornworms and small whites

Preventing Garden Pests on Already Growing Plants

You can these easy, organic control ideas to protect already-growing gardens from insects and other pests. Netting and row covers help keep out bugs, birds, rabbits and squirrels without smothering young plants. Fencing prevents pets and deer from trampling or eating your garden.

If just one plant needs protection, the gardeners at Better Homes and Gardens suggest trying a cloche. These are temporary covers sized to fit a single plant. You can make one by cutting off the bottom of a plastic milk jug and setting it over the plant. Be attentive if you decide to use a cloche in your garden. Heat can build up and fry your plants if you don’t remove or vent it.

Keep your garden clean to also ward off unwanted insects. Remove infested plants and destroy them. Then pests won’t migrate to your healthy plants. Clean up dead leaves, fallen fruit and other debris, which serve as homes for insects. You can also physically remove larger insects from your plants.

Many retailers and garden supply stores sell natural and chemical pesticides and repellents you can use on your garden if you can’t find relief from plant pests.

Remember to stay vigilant when protecting your garden from pests. The longer you wait to address the problem, the harder it will be to solve it. If you have insects like ants and Asian beetles moving from your garden to your home, contact us at (920) 582-9000 for a free estimate.