Tips on using natural pest control in your garden

Gardening is the favorite pastime of many people. Now that spring has arrived, it's important to brush up on a few handy pointers when it comes to garden pests. Find out what you need to know about natural pest control in the home garden.

Using natural pest control methods is an environmentally-friendly way to keep harmful bugs out of your garden. This strategy works best if you start out this early - when you first begin to garden. Using eco-friendly pest control to protect your plants is a simple task if you start early and follow a few simple tips.

Start with clean, healthy soil

Starting with clean, healthy soil is essential in using natural pest control methods to keep harmful insect populations to a minimum. Unhealthy soil can contain disease that continues to spread from year to year, producing unhealthy plants. In addition, it can set up the breeding ground for all sorts of undesirable inhabitants since pests thrive on the diseased plants that it produces.

Stick with healthy plants

Planting only healthy plants is another important aspect of natural pest control. If you start out with unhealthy plants, it probably won't be long before you also have an entourage of unwanted intruders. At the very least, you will slow down the intrusion by sticking with healthy plants.

Remove diseased plants immediately in order to prevent the spread of the disease. This will also help to discourage bugs from entering the garden. Quite often, insects prefer diseased plants over healthy ones, which is why you will find a greater number of insects on an unhealthy plant than on a healthy one.

Maintain a clean garden

Weeds and debris also attract bugs of many varieties, so try to keep your garden free of them. Dispose of these items on a weekly basis or more frequently if bugs have started to take up residence in your garden. Maintaining a clean garden goes a long way to keeping it healthy.

In order to prevent the spreading of disease, it is also important to thoroughly wash any garden tools that are used to deal with the removal or treatment of diseased soil and plants. In the same line of thought, it is also important to wash your hands thoroughly after gardening, especially after dealing with diseased plants or soil. Garden gloves should also be laundered to prevent the spread of disease - a task that is often overlooked.

Practice good watering habits

Water your garden in the early morning and/or late evening when it is less likely that you will cause damage to your plants. This is an essential aspect of maintaining healthy plants in the garden. Remember that wetting the foliage will attract more insects, and that keeping the foliage dry will help to prevent the start of fungal diseases.

Take the time to learn which types of insects are beneficial for your garden. This will allow you to target the undesirable bugs while allowing the good ones to help you keep the garden in order.

After all, the good bugs often like to eat the bad ones. Some of the beneficial insects that you should allow to live in your garden include the praying mantis, lacewings, ladybugs, nematodes, and ichneumon wasps.

Quick tips

• Use a small dish of beer to rid the garden of slugs. The beer attracts the slugs and drowns them once they climb into the dish.
  
  
• Use a homemade solution of mild dish detergent, water, and canola oil to treat plants that have become infested with bugs. The mixture is not harmful to your plants, but it can kill of bugs.
  
  
• If you grow strawberry plants, cover the plants with a few lacey curtains to prevent birds and other animals from eating the fruit. This will also cut down on the damage they can create while foraging for the strawberries.
  
  
• If you grow fruit of any kind, you can place it in a clean pail of water as you pick it to avoid an infestation of fruit flies. If you are too late and the bugs have already entered into the picture, soak the fruit in a special homemade solution to get rid of the bugs. Simply combine one full cup of white vinegar with one gallon of cold water.

Remember the healthy gardener's mantra: healthy soil, healthy plants, and a healthy routine. These are the three essential ingredients that will assist in providing natural pest control in your garden.