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Do pests keep destroying your garden? Slugs, snails, aphids, birds and all kinds of other creatures can eat your plants if you’re not careful. To discourage these pests, here are just several tricks that you may want to try.
Get rid of weeds
Getting rid of weeds can also help to get rid of pests. Many pests such as aphids will start out by feeding on weeds in your flower bed and will then move onto your plants. You can get rid of weeds by pulling them out manually or by covering your soil with mulch (although this may attract other critters). There are also a number of natural weed-killer products that you can try out, as well as home-made weed-killer recipes.
Use deterrent sprays
Deterrent sprays can prevent pests from wanting to eat your plants by leaving a bad taste in their mouth. Whilst there are chemical pesticides that you can use, there are plenty of natural solutions that you can use that are kinder on the environment. Chilli powder spray and soapy water are just two examples of effective home-made pest repellents. Salt spray meanwhile could be an effective natural pesticide against slugs and snails. Simply fill an empty spray bottle and then regularly go over your plants with it.
Lay beer traps
Beer traps are a great way of getting rid of slugs and snails. Simply fill a plastic cup full of beer and half-bury it in the soil around your plants. Slugs and snails will be attracted to the smell and will crawl in and get trapped. Beer is the most effective liquid for attracting these critters, however water and yeast can also work.
Add bird netting
If your pest problem is birds nesting, you may have to try a different tactic. Bird netting is one of the most simple solutions to stop birds settling in your plants and you may benefit from looking into bird netting services. Not all birds will destroy your plants, so bear this in mind – some may in fact have a positive effect by helping to eat other pests like slugs and snails.
Try companion planting
Companion planting involves growing two plants together to help each plant’s growth. Companion planting can be useful for deterring pests – certain plants such as chives, rosemary and mint produce strong smells that can ward off many pests. Position these strong-smelling shrubs next to the plants that pests are attracted to and you could help to keep them away.
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