Garden Pests – Keep Your Guard Up!

The subject of garden pests is extensive and the information available could easily fill a large and comprehensive website.

Obviously as this is a gardening website, I want to include at least some information on the more common pest issues.

I decided the best way to start off this page was to include articles about the pests I encounter during my growing season. As I take steps to deal with each problem, I can report any steps taken here.

As it’s early in the season right now, I’m happy to say that pests have not been a major issue so this page is currently not that big! However, I will be adding new articles to this page throughout the year.

I really don’t want to resort to putting chemicals on my plants as a method of Gardening Pest Control, after all I’m going to be eating them and one of the points of this whole project was to get away from the “chemically grown” produce of the supermarkets. So I’ve recently researched and written an article about organic pest control that discusses the the benefits of it.

Also, using diatomaceous earth in your garden can discourage such insects as aphids, beetles ants, and slugs and can also be used as a slug repellant.

Critter or insect ‘Hotels’
One of the non toxic pest control methods you can use as a preventative measure to help protect you from the wrong kind of garden pests is to try attracting the “right” kind of creatures in to your garden.

One of the most effective ways to do this is by putting up “critter hotels”.

Depending on the type and size, these can be used to attract anything from hedgehogs, frogs, ground beetles and other carnivorous predators to take care of things like slugs, snails and aphids. Critter hotels can be made simply by leaving piles of untreated wood, small tree branches and tree bark in ‘quiet’ areas of the garden that will go undisturbed. Drilling small holes in the wood will also help to attract lacewings, ladybirds etc that will hibernate there during the winter months and thrive during the growing season.

My thanks go to Andrew from Cambridge (a regular blogger to this website) for helping provide me with some of this valuable information.

Slugs
So my first garden pests this year have been slugs. We’ve suffered with them ever since we’ve lived at the house. They love the moist temperate climate here and seem to thrive. They have especially taken a liking to my butternut squash and cucumber plants and are a constant source of annoyance.
This article and video tells how I am trying to deal with them without the use of pesticides and chemicals.

Spider Pest Control in the Garden
Most home gardeners will not consider spiders as a common threat, however, spiders ‘mites’ can be fatally damaging…

Organic Pest Control: The Safe Alternative to Harmful Chemicals
Ever wondered how to get rid of pests without having to use dangerous and harmful pesticides? Organic pest control is the answer.

It’s important to understand that keeping these critters under control doesn’t have to be expensive and you don’t need to employ outside help; Do it yourself pest control is straight forward, can be far better for your garden and your bank balance than buying pesticides.

I hope to be adding more garden pest control advice and tips articles to this page as the growing season progresses. As each issue arises (not that I’m hoping for more problems!) I hope to be able to report on how I deal with it.

Tell me your problems!
I’d love to hear about your critter and other gardening problems, and any steps you may have taken to remedy the situation.
If you’ve done it without the use of chemicals and pesticides then I’d especially love to hear what you have to say.

Feel free to add a comment in the “Have Your Say” form below!