Do It Naturally - Control Pest and Garden Insects Organically Articles | Garden Information Center

If there are flowers and vegetables in your garden, you can be
sure that there are pests as well. Especially if you will be
eating vegetables from the garden, you won't want to use
chemicals to kill the pests. Luckily, for every pest, you can
use a natural means of repellent. Natural pest control is not
only healthier for you, your family, your plants, and the
environment - it is cheaper too.

Approximately 136 million pounds of pesticides are used every
year in the home lawn and gardens of North Americans. This is
just for individuals, not even for farmers (who actually use 1/3
of the amount as the homeowners). Most contamination and
poisonings that occur originate from single family homes. It is
very important to use methods of pest control that are healthy to
surrounding life and the environment in general.

To avoid adding more harmful chemicals to our soil, you can take
the following natural pest control measures.

First, to keep insects from damaging your garden, you should
check to see if your garden is healthy in the first place. Is
the soil well prepared? Is the pH correctly adjusted? Is there
adequate drainage? Is the soil getting proper nutrients from
adding compost?

You should remove any weak plants as your garden matures.
Dispose of them, any weeds, and compost away from the garden to
help keep pests away that would otherwise be attracted to the
decaying matter.

Keeping mulch and compost on the top of the garden beds will help
plants to grow healthily.

A natural and healthy way to promote quick plant growth is to
spray the plants with seaweed fertilizer spray. The spray
contains iron, zinc, barium, calcium, sulfur, and magnesium--all
which strengthen the soil and aid growth.

You need to keep your garden clean and clear of any debris or
objects that can become a breeding ground for pests. Using clean
mulch is important as well.

To kill insects that attack specific plants, you should
interplant and rotate crops. This will keep insects from
spreading and re-infesting the same area again.

Watering the garden early in the morning will give the plants
plenty of time to dry. If the foliage is too wet for too long,
insects and fungi will take over.

If a plant is infected with a fungus or disease, you should
promptly remove the plant. Also, the problem is likely
contagious, so you should disinfect your gardening tools before
you use them on other plants.

Not all insects are pests. Some of them, like Brachonids,
Chalcids, Ichneumon Wasps, Ladybugs, Lacewings, Praying Mantises,
and Hover flies, are beneficial to your garden. They can be
attracted to your garden or bought in a store and brought to your
garden. They help to fight against the insects that are pests.

By using natural organic pest control, it is easy to keep your garden
healthy through the whole year while keeping the environment
healthy at the same time. Search the internet or ask for more
information at your local organic gardening store for information
specific to your garden.