Repel Pests

You have planned and planted, why do you need garden pest control? Pests can come in many sizes. If you have something large and furry eating your herbs then you have some fencing decisions to make. If you are concerned about the small flying and sucking or chewing variety of pests then there are things you can do to lessen the impact they have on your herb garden with a few tips.

As a rule, the aromatic herbs are not as bothered by pests as some vegetable gardens are. This does not mean that nothing bothers herbs, just that the quantity of pests you have to deal with is less. The first thing you must do is identify the pest. Once you know what sort of pest it is, there are some organic ways to deter them from eating your herbs. Companion planting is a natural way that helps keep some pests away. For instance, Garlic is useful against Japanese beetles and aphids. Plant garlic outside and mash garlic and mix with water to spray inside on your plants. It just may do the trick. Calendula deters many pests both above and below ground. Calendula is a wonderful herb with many uses so planting extra to deter insects is only more helpful to you. Mint deters pests like aphids and flea beetles. You can find mints in any local nursery. No matter what variety, they all have the same repellent quality to insects. Lavender is legendary for its ability to repel moths. Mint is lovely and fits in most any garden scheme so try it for your pest problem!

Daily maintenance is important in finding the pest problem and either picking the bugs off by hand or being able to treat the small area before it becomes a larger problem. A soapy spray is a good way to treat for sucking insects. combine some pure soap, grated, with some water until soap dissolves. Spray this on any herb that seems to be affected by insects. Be certain to spray both the tops and undersides of the foliage and make sure that the soap solution drips off. This is safe for edible herbs. The only caution is to rinse the herbs well before adding to a recipe.