~Eco-Friendly Living~

~Garden Pests~

One of the easiest ways to get rid of pests is to pick them off plants by hand (make sure you wear gloves).  Aphids can be removed by rubbing with a small soft brush or with your fingers, caterpillars can just be picked off.

      Lay planks or boards between rows of vegetables - snails will gather underneath them and can be picked off daily and disposed of in a bowl of salty water.

      Three is an enormous range of organic deterrents you can make yourself.  But remember, don't spray unless you have to.  Even safe, organic sprays are designed to kill the target, so do your homework and make sure you're killing the right insect.

• Barrier bands wrapped around the trunks of fruit trees will help prevent crawling insects from reaching the fruit and leaves.  Make the band from an old cotton sheet or piece of sacking.  The insects hibernate in the band.  Remove it regularly and dispose of the catch.

• Beer traps (slug tubs).  These are effective against slugs.  Mix one part beer to two parts water and add a little brown sugar.  Pour into a saucer nestled into the soil so the lip is level with the ground and remove the slugs daily.  Alternatively, fill an old bottle with the same mixture and sink to ground level, emptying occasionally.

• Chilli mix.  This works well on ants and caterpillars.  It is made from blending 2-3 fresh chillies with water and pure soap.  This mixture also acts as a repellent in the kitchen.  Also try blending 2-3 chilli peppers, half an onion and a clove of garlic in water, oil, steep for 2 days and strain.  This spray won't damage plants and freezes well for later use.

• Chives can be grown throughout the garden as an insect repellent and work particularly well planted at the base of fruit trees.  Make up a garden spray by steeping a handful of chives in boiling water for an hour.

• Cironella oil is an effective personal insect repellent when rubbed on the skin.  Unfortunately its strong odour is likely to repel  more than just insects!

• Garlic is renowned for its insecticidal properties.  Make up a good all-round spray by soaking 50g of chopped garlic with a tablespoon of mineral oil and 250ml of water.  Allow the mixture to stand for 48 hours then filter.  To make a spray, add 5 tablespoons of this concentrated solution to 1 litre of water.  Garlic is also effective planted throughout the garden.

• Rhubarb spray.  Never eat rhubarb leaves - they are highly poisonous.  Use them as a natural pesticide instead - to protect roses, fruit, vegetables and herbs.  Boil 1kg rhubarb leaves in 2 litres of water for 30 minutes.  Strain and add 125g of a biodegradable laundry powder.  Mix until powder is dissolved.  Leave to cool and spray on as desired using a pump-action spray bottle.  Wait 2 weeks before picking any garden produce that has been sprayed.  Wash food well before eating.

• Grease.  Ordinary axle grease smeared around the base of fruit trees will help prevent crawling pests like caterpillars and mites from reaching the fruit.

• Herbs.  Herbs act as natural insect repellents - plant them throughout your garden and use them in herbal sprays.

• Hot water has a fatal effect on many insects.  Soft-bellied insects can't survive temperatures over 45C and beetles will die at 54C.  These temperatures won't harm even the most delicate plant.

• Marigolds are excellent planted throughout the garden.  The pungent secretions of certain marigold species mask the odours that attract many harmful insects.

• Milk is a versatile garden spray.  Make up a simple solution of one part milk to two parts water.

• Onion is an effective repellent.  Pour 500ml of boiling water over 1kg of chopped onions and stand for 24 hours.  Strain and dilute with 20 litres of water.  This is particularly good for the control of sucking insects like aphids, thrips, mites and scale.  To use, pour about 600ml around each of the affected plants and repeat each 2 weeks until clear.

• White pepper dusted on vegetables will deter caterpillars.

• Salt can be sprinkled directly onto pests, or used as a spray.  Mix 50g of salt with 4 litres of water.  Particularly good for caterpillar control.  Overuse can cause salinity problems.

• Pure soap is an essential ingredient for many sprays.  Mix with 9 litres of water to make up a spray - effective for control of aphids, caterpillars and whitefly.

• Washing soda is effective against fungi and mildew.  Mix 250g of washing soda with 11 litres of water and 125g of soft soap.  Don't use this mixture in very hot weather.

• Safe commercial preparations.  These are also viable alternatives to homemade mixtures.  One of the most popular organic pesticides is Derris dust, made from the Derris vine.  Note that Derris dust comes in two forms: one synthetic, the other naturally-occurring.  Commercial preparations can be very effective but must be used carefully, and only on affected plants.

Companion Planting

Many plants have chemical defences against pests and diseases - they give off odours that either attract or repel certain insects.  An abundance of different plants in your garden creates such a confusion of odours that insects are not so able to hone in on the plants.