Pests and insects in the garden can be harmful to many different types of plants. Identify how to keep them out and prevent issues in the first place.
They are not called bugs or pests for nothing. Harmful pests are plants’ worst enemy and a gardener’s nightmare.
Pest problems are disappointing when a garden ends up with a pest infestation. This guide will help prevent pests in your garden, grow the best plants and fight the most dangerous pests with pest control services.
Choose Your Plants
There are garden plants that can hold their own when creepy crawlers lurk. At the same time, they make your garden look beautiful and smell heavenly. Here are some plants that pest the pests and drive them away:
Marigold
Marigolds are a bane to mosquitoes they have a distinctive smell that drives these bloodsuckers away including squash bugs and tomato worms. Consider planting marigolds in your vegetable patch, near doorways, and windows where they tend to enter.
The natural compound in Marigold is used to manufacture insect repellants.
Lavender
The leaves of the lavender have a pleasant scent that insects hate except for the bees. Place some dried lavender leaves in your closet and you don’t have to worry about moths.
Lemongrass
Lemongrass is a multipurpose plant it is used to make food delicious, decorative grass, and a mosquito repellant. It contains citronella an ingredient that produces the scent in candles.
Petunias
The funnel-shaped blossoms add a bright splash of color to any landscape. The looks deceive, behind the beauty is a licorice-like fragrance that many insects hate such as aphids, tomato hornworms, and squash bugs.
Use Physical Barriers
Physical barriers keep pests away protecting plants from damage.
Floating row covers
Aside from protecting plants from creepy crawlers and birds, floating row covers lessen soil erosion, conserve soil moisture, protect against extreme weather conditions, and accelerate germination. It is light enough to be directly rested over plants.
Row tunnel
Protect plants from insects and animals. It is a mini greenhouse that speeds up the growth of young plants and acts as a shield against harsh climate.
Cloche
Cloches are bell-shaped covers usually made of plastic that are placed over an individual plant as protection from insects and cold temperatures.
Netting
If birds and insects are a big issue, protect your plants by covering them with a net. When you want to work on your plants just pull it off and put it back when you’re done.
Grow Healthy Plants
Healthy plants with a solid root foundation can withstand assaults from sickness and pests. Plants have physical defenses against attackers and when they’re healthy, these protectors are working. They have hard shells, thorns, and spines causing physical damage to attackers. If these don’t work, they have toxins and enzymes that emit noxious odors or repellant taste which discourages predators. Here are some tips to keep your plant healthy, budding, and thriving for years to come.
Right light
Leaves that are brightly colored need more light, tilt your plant to the south for more light. Light is more intense during the summer months, so consider moving sun-sensitive plants.
Water in the Morning
The best time to water the plants is before 10 am, it gets by with the plant’s biological growth cycle. The first order of the day for plants is to drink water before the sun gets hot. Wet foliage gets time to dry, plant diseases cannot hold onto dry leaves.
If it’s noon onwards the sun is very hot and the sun-heated water will be too hot for the stems and leaves causing damage.
Help pots hold water longer
If your potted plants dry quickly after watering, repot plants insert a wet sponge at the bottom before refilling with soil. This will avoid a gusher if you overwater and act as a reservoir.
Plant companion plants
Plant a few companion plants alongside plants that attract insects. The odors emitted by the companion plants fend off nasty crawlers and they lose their appetite.
Hire Pest Control Professionals
There are times when pest control needs to be handled by professionals. This is true if the problem is continuing, if the extent of the infestation becomes too large, or if only professionals are qualified to handle the products for pest control. Here are other reasons to hire the services of pest control professionals.
Smart treatment
No two infestations are alike. Pest control services providers probe and assess the condition and apply the proper treatment to address the situation.
Cost efficiency
They can identify the existence of any hidden pests and apply preventive measures to stop the problem before it gets full-blown. The cost of pest control will be a fraction compared to the high cost of repairs for the damage caused by pests.
Hazardous chemicals
Pest control professionals know how to handle the most dangerous chemicals to keep the plants safe.
Flexibility
They know how long treatments last and when to apply to prevent uninvited guests from crashing in.
Peace of mind
Spraying kills nasty pests but does not prevent them. It is only a matter of time before they multiply and carry on with their ways. Professional pest control services provide complete extermination and prevent these unwanted guests from stepping in your garden ever again.
Use Garden Software
Get all that you want in your garden by using a garden planning software. It is a great tool for staying organized. Set all the items placed precisely where you want them. You’ll have the option to indicate size, shape, and landscape, and to include any detail to make your garden beautiful. For instance, fences or physical barriers; a sprinkler framework; space for plants, trees, shrubs, and more.
After the layout, planners allow you to print or save your design including a rundown of provisions you need to purchase to realize your plan.
Garden planners permit the use of their software for a limited time or you might want to try their trial version before committing to their company’s edition
Be wary of giving personal information to unscrupulous websites. They will use the data for their illicit activities. Practice cybersecurity awareness, understand the threats and find ways to avoid them.
Identify Beneficial Insects
Not all pests are pesky, there are species that shoo away unwanted guests that are a nightmare to garden owners. Invite these beneficial insects to your garden with a habitat to lay eggs and grow an army to combat creepy crawlers. Don’t kill these beneficial insects when you see them near your plants:
- Ladybugs
- Ground beetles
- Minute pirate bugs
- Green lacewings
- Braconid wasps
- Praying mantis
- Aphid midges
- Damsel bugs
- Tachinid flies
- Hoverflies
- Mealybug destroyer
- Predatory mites
