Getting Rid of Pesky Pests

Garden pests come in all shapes and sizes, but no matter how slimy or voracious or cute and fuzzy they are, we all know they have to go! Of course, you can find a pesticide or deterrant in chemical form for any type of insect or critter. But it is possible to use more earth and plant friendly methods of killing or scaring away the animals that wish to eat your plants.

Many insects can be repelled from your garden by placing orange rinds or spraying orange or any citrus oil around your garden. Diatomaceous earth, a white powdery substance, will kill many crawling insects with no detriment to your garden. Slugs are drawn to shallow dishes of beer places around the garden, fall in and perish. Many infestations of mites, scale insects and the like can be effectively suffocated by a liberal spritz of a mild soapy water solution.

For larger pests, the goal is usually to scare them off rather than kill them. As well as you fence your vegetable garden, animals will still find a way in. And no one wants a 6 foot tall concrete bunker wall around their pansy patch, complete with steel reinforced underground mesh. Small animals like mice and tunnelling animals like moles may have to be gotten rid of physically. Make sure you do nothing to actively entice them into your yard or home, such as spill birdseed or leave piled newspaper around. Deer and birds may be scared away by mylar balloons, CDs, aluminum pie plates, or other moving shiny things tied to the fence or nearby tree branches. You can use the animals' senses to work against them. Spray your plants with a dilute red-pepper solution and they will leave after one bite. Human hair sprinkled around the garden can also repel animals, as can a dish of ammonia or an old cloth your dog slept on for a week or two unwashed.

I think the most important thing to realize is that there is no way to get rid of all garden pests no matter how hard you try. You must accept some as just a part of your gardening life and nature.