The Organic Pest Free Garden - Part 1: Bugs

I admit it: The title of this post is misleading. There will never be an entirely pest free garden. Don't let anyone ever tell you otherwise. But there is such as thing as having a healthy, organic garden that you eat entirely more from than the critters do. That is what this post is really about.

"Good" Pests vs. "Bad" Pests
Back in the days when I had time to peruse gardening forums, I noticed that at least once a week a new member would post a query about how to eliminate bugs from her garden - never realizing gardens need bugs.

Yes, there are bugs that kill, weaken, and eat up plants; clearly we don't want those. But there are also bugs that do good things in the garden. These we want to encourage.

Good bugs include worms (who enrich the soil), ladybugs (who eat pests that can maim or kill plants), bees (who pollinate plants, making fruits and veggies grow), dragonflies (who eat "bad" bugs), spiders (ditto), lacewigs (ditto again), ground beetles (who eat pesky snails and slugs), millipedes and centipedes (who improve the soil), and praying mantis (who eat the bad guys).

"Bad" bugs, who damage vegetables and fruits, include aphids, caterpillars, grasshoppers, aphids, borers, slugs and snails, and several types of beetles.



These lists are by no means all-inclusive.

If you see an insect in your garden, before you squash it (or worse, get out the bug spray) look it up online to see if it harms or helps your garden. The Garden Pest Detective is a good place to begin this search.

Search & Destroy

The best way to get rid of "bad" bugs in the garden is to be watchful for them in the first place. Ideally, you should walk through the garden every day, keeping an eye out for pests. (This is actually a relaxing beginning or end of the day activity.) At the very least, you should eyeball your garden every other day, even if only for a minute or two.

If you discover "bad" pests, try removing them mechanically first. Just pick them off and crush them. (This is a good job for kids, but be sure you do a sweep of the garden afterward, to make sure they got all the nasty critters.) If you catch the infestation early, this will usually do the trick.

If the pests are getting out of control and starting to do some serious damage to your garden, the next step is to try an organic method of pest control. Below, you'll find some homemade treatments - but store bought organic treatments are worth trying, too.

If organic methods don't work, you'll have to resort to non-organic insecticides.

However, it is imperative - especially when you use non-organic insecticides, but even when you use organic ones - that you know exactly what critter you are trying to kill. The last thing you want to do is spray unnecessary (and potentially harmful) chemicals on food - and still have a pest problem. You could end up killing the "good" bugs in your garden, too.

The good news is, with some exceptions, the home gardener working on a small scale can almost always control "bad" bugs without the use of chemicals.

Common Garden Pests & How to Kill 'Em

It's beyond the scope of this blog to create a directory of garden pests and how to deal with them. But I will offer advice on bugs I've had personal experience with. I'll also recommend resources to provide information on pests that aren't mentioned here.
Cabbageworms
These are pretty easily taken care of by picking them off and squashing them. You can also use lightweight row covers in the early spring to prevent the little white butterflies cabbageworms turn into from laying eggs. (Image courtesy of the University of Arkansas.)

Slugs & Snails

These slow pokes might not seem like they could do much damage in the garden, but they can literally eaten some things to the ground, destroying your harvest. To hand pick them, go outside the morning after a rain. In the heat of the day, check favorite hiding spots, like under logs, rocks, and pots. Some gardeners lay lumber in the paths of their garden, then go out early in the morning and turn the wood over, crushing every slug or snail they see. (You can also give slugs to your chickens; hens will also develop a taste for snails, shells and all.)

Other gardeners like to use beer traps; they fill tuna cans with stale beer and leave them in the garden. Slugs and snails are attracted to the beer, fall in, and die. Another good option is Sluggo; it's made with iron phosphate, is safe to have around animals and kids, and is quite effective. Other gardeners recommend using crushed eggshells around plants, but I haven't found this effective.

Tomato Hornworms
Handpick and crush 'em.

Aphids
Some folks claim that if your garden soil is healthy, aphids will keep away. But I have decent garden soil and every year I battle aphids.

A tried and true trick is to spray them with a cold burst of water. This kills some and displaces others - but it may be difficult to get into the crevices of some edibles, like corn and broccoli. Other gardeners crush them with their hands. I've read that the smell of crushed aphids then attracts insects and birds who like to eat them. I've also been known to remove whole stems off plants, bag them tightly, and toss them in the trash.

I've also tried bringing in ladybugs, who love to chow on aphids. They flew away. Then I tried spraying the ladybugs with Pepsi so their wings would stick together and they couldn't fly away. The aphids still stuck around and as soon as the Pepsi washed off, away flew the ladybugs.
Plantings for ladybugs or praying mantis may help by encouraging these "good" insects to lay eggs nearby; it's the babies who are really ravenous for aphids. Ladybugs like yarrow, dill, butterfly weed, fennel, and marigold, among other things. Praying mantis like maples, pine trees, and flowering shrubs, among other things. (Read more about attracting beneficial insects to the garden over at Mother Earth News.)

Garlic chives are said to repel aphids; you could try planting them around things the aphids typically attack. I've done this with marigolds, which are said to repel aphids, with no luck.

Insecticidal spray may work against aphids. Make your own aphid/whitefly/spider mite spray by combining 1 cup vegetable or white mineral oil, 2 cups water, and 2 teaspoons liquid dish soap (without bleach). Spray this on the plants (including under leaves) every couple of days. Garlic oil spray also may work: Mince 15 garlic cloves; add to 2 teaspoons mineral oil, 3 cups water, and 1 teaspoon liquid dish soap (without bleach). Allow the mixture to sit for 24 hours. Strain by placing cheesecloth in a colander, putting a large bowl underneath the colander, and pouring through the cheesecloth-colander. Add 3 more cups of water and 1 teaspoon liquid dish soap to the remaining liquid. Spray every couple of days, including under leaves.

Japanese Beetles
Handpicking works best. Chicken and ducks like to eat them, too.

Grasshoppers
If grasshoppers are a real problem, your best bet is row covers.




For more information on ridding your garden of "bad" pests, see the National Gardening Association website and "Organic Pest Control" at Mother Earth News.

In part II, I'll discuss dealing with furry and feathered pests.


1 comment

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