Natural Pest Control

Spring is starting around here, and having had a very wet fall and winter, we were expecting the bugs to come out if full force. We weren’t wrong - unfortunately.

So we thought to share our experience with managing pests in the garden by using spices, species, and a little ingenuity! Let’s get started.

Cane Borers.

These little critters can severely damage or destroy your raspberries, blackberries, hydrangea, and rose plants fairly quickly if left untreated. To be honest, I had no idea what this was a few years ago!

Treat this problem by cutting well below the hole. If you make a cut and the hole continues, cut beneath again until there are no holes. You can swab the cut area with some warm beeswax mixed with Cayenne pepper (just a dash will do) to deter any new cane borers.

Hornworms.

Hornworms are predominantly attracted to tomato plants, but they’re also attracted to the leaves of others in the nightshade family such as Tomatillo, Eggplant, and Potato. Pick them off and toss them in the trash (or feed to your hens!) before they lay eggs.

If the above fails, take additional measures. Hornworms overwinter in the soil in a pupae stage before becoming spring moths that start the next season's egg laying. Tilling your garden soil after your harvest and again in early spring can kill 90% or more of the overwintering pests and reduce Hornworm problems for the coming year!

Aphids.

When I first planted my rose garden, I couldn’t believe how many lovely new rose buds I had in the first year. By the second year, the aphids had arrived just happy to suck dry my tender juicy buds.

My first method of combating these little suckers, was to spray them off with a strong burst of hose water every morning until I didn’t see them.

Second, the best way of keeping aphids at bay, is to use the natural borax Ant Traps so that you don’t have Ants accommodating the aphids - yes, that is a thing! Ants love to drink the sweet nectar that the Aphids produce from your darling plants. Oh the symbiotic relationship must come to an end! Therefore, the Ants around your plants must go.

Lastly, ladybugs love to eat aphids and other pests. The ladybug solution that many of us use, can be improved by placing the ladies on your plants in the evening, and follow by covering the plants with plastic. Leave the plastic on through the next morning, but remove it by midday so as not to overheat or kill the ladybugs.

Leaf Miners and Powdery Mildew

Years ago Leaf miners loved my squash plant leaves as well as my pie pumpkin leaves. They don’t hurt the fruit and are not harmful, per se. Like powdery mildew, which its spores are in many garden soils, Leaf Miners can block the photosynthesis and greatly reduce your plant’s ability to produce large or abundant fruit. Thankfully, there’s an easy solution to both leaf miners and powdery mildew!

As soon as you see anything resembling this design or a powdery substance, gently pick-off those leaves and throw them in the trash (not the compost bin!).

You can then spray a neem solution on the remaining healthy leaves to prevent any remaining eggs from hatching (or mildew spores from growing). Some gardeners prefer to use commercial Neem Oil, but I prefer to use a concentration of Neem Queen Tea (Product of USA). Not only is it great for your own health, it is great for your plants too! Just spray a little on plant leaves in early morning each day until problem is resolved, usually just 2-3 applications are needed.

For powdery mildew problems, be sure to only water plants when truly needed, and do not spray leaves, as splashing of soil on to the plant can cause additional powdery mildew spores to grow.

Snails & Slug Control

We don’t currently have a snail or slug problem, but when we did, we searched all over the Internet for a solution. We found many people creating beer traps and others using sticky traps. All those were too smelly, sticky, and messy for me. I wanted something that I didn’t have to “buy” or mess with.

My grandmother loved gardens and nature walks. She’d take trips to the mountains when her children were small. One thing she used from observation alone - was Cayenne Pepper! Ground Cayenne pepper would be sprinkled around plants to deter snails, slugs, and many other intruding pests. I tried it, and it worked! I have zero of these pests now.

I also use it for gopher control! Just sprinkle it down a gopher hole and they’ll head the other direction.

Mustard.

Mustard is useful in combating flea beetle larvae, invasive jumping worms, aphids, spider mites, and moth caterpillars.

Mustard powder may be used similarly to how we use Cayenne Pepper. You may sprinkle it around plants, but don’t do so on a windy day, or if you have kids or pets who may be in contact with it. It can burn the eyes and skin, and cause breathing issues if inhaled. It is toxic to pets if they eat it, and may become sick if they sniff it.

We found that the best way to use Mustard is to use it as a foliar spray, and to dilute it. We use 1/4 cup of mustard powder in a gallon of water. Then, we add one tablespoon of liquid organic non-toxic dish soap, and (optional) two tablespoons of apple cider vinegar. Caution: some apple cider vinegar contains fruit treated with the “Apeel” forever chemicals, so please do your research.

Stir all of this together and then spray it on your plants first thing in the morning, or last thing at night.

I hope these simple and easy methods for treating your garden help you keep the harmful pests at bay, and allow the healthy bugs to come to play. Next week, we’ll discuss the colored garden plans we’re working on. Until then, happy gardening!