Pests are a problem – otherwise they wouldn’t be called pests. We’d call them “pets” or we’d look at them like we look at butterflies and lady bugs instead of slugs and potato bugs. The easiest thing to do is to go out and buy DDT and just start murdering everything by gleefully spraying the chemical all over our plants until all the bugs died.
But there are some insects and microorganisms that are beneficial. And besides, these chemicals often affect the taste and quality of the food. So what are you supposed to do instead?
Rotate Your Crops
Most bugs prefer a certain type of plant. They’ve got an appetite and the only thing that can cure it is your cucumbers or your tomatoes. Rotating your crops year after year can help prevent a large scale assault the following year. You can also intermix your plants to confuse the small predators.
Attract Beneficial Bugs
There are bugs that will eat the bugs that eat your food. To attract them, you’ll want to keep flowering plants around. For ladybugs, any sort of daisy will work. For caterpillar-munching-bugs, plant carrots or celery. Just be sure to let at least a few of them flower otherwise you won’t attract any of the insects.
If you just want to buy some praying mantis and ladybugs, that’ll work too. You can buy a kit from Hobby Lobby that’ll include a little bug pen and information on how to order your bugs. This’ll do double duty if you’ve got children. Kids love watching them hatch and then releasing them into the garden. Otherwise, you can just order them online.
Diatomaceous Earth (DE)
Lately there have been reports about superbugs – bugs that are somehow able to survive the pesticides we’re throwing at them. Bugs will never find a way to deal with DE because it works mechanically. Bugs with an exoskeleton (fleas, scorpions, beetles, etc) get cut up by it and die. Just make sure you buy food grade DE.
Beer
Cut the top off a plastic bottle and bury it in the ground. Just make sure you leave about 1” above ground though. Fill the container with beer. You’ll drown whatever decides to fall in it, but you’ll mostly be killing slugs. Slugs love beer, but can’t swim.
Soap & Oil Spray
Put 4 drops of Ivory soap and one tablespoon of canola oil in a quart of water. You can also use castile soap for any of the following sprays. Ivory soap and castile soap are both biodegradable.
Mix everything together and transfer to a spray bottle. Soap-based sprays will adhere to the leaves and the oil will smother soft-bodied insects. Be sure to spray both the top and the bottom of the leaves.
Cayenne Pepper Spray
Mix 4 drops of Ivory soap and two tablespoons of cayenne pepper in a quart of water. Let it sit for 8 hours, shake, and put into a spray bottle. When applying, be sure to shake the bottle before you spray a new plant. This spray will primarily attack mites and help deter ants.
You can add garlic to this spray to make it even more effective. Simply steep 6 cloves in a quart of water and add a tablespoon of cayenne pepper. Let it cool, strain it, and then pour it into your spray bottle.
Before you use either of the sprays above, be sure to test it on a small portion of each plant first. Neither of them should harm any of your plants, but it’s always good to be on the safe side. Let me know if you’ve got your own concoctions in the comments below.
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