If your garden was taken over by pests last year, you may be worried about a repeat performance. As the gardening season approaches, it is important to have tips in line to keep yourself and your garden rid of pests.
Mix signals
A confusing mix of sights and scents can help deter certain insects pests. Try to increase biodiversity in your garden and avoid monoculture by mixing plants from different families. Instead of planting long rows of a single crop, plant onions along side broccoli, tomatoes with basil and chives, and peas with carrots. This will create a problem with your pests, but will rid your garden of pest problems.
Attract an airborne defense squad
One of the best ways to get rid of an onslaught of pests is to attract an airborne calvary of beneficial insects. Many of these – including the small wasps that prey on pest caterpillars – will gratefully take advantage of flat-topped floral landing platforms offered by members of the pest family. Be sure to allow parsley and carrots to overwinter and grow into their second year to get umbrella shaped flowers. Other plants beloved by beneficial include mints and chamomile.
Get rid of nematodes
Marigolds can greatly reduce the damage that is caused by root-attacking nematodes.This can only be done if you do this correctly. For the best effect, grow a thick stand of marigolds as a cover crop for a season, then turn them under the soil. The next year, plant what you like in that area. The nematodes won’t be around to cause trouble in the ground.
Grow a decoy
Try allowing a single weed to grow as a decoy among your cultivated crops. Decoy crops may attract pests and help keep the bad ones away from the crops you wish to preserve. Striped blister beetles prefer redroot pigweed over tomato plants that grow nearby. To keep the insects from moving to your tomatoes, check the decoy plant every morning and shake the beetles into a bucket of soapy water.
Set up traps
Sow bugs, earwigs, pill bugs, snails, and slugs all have one thing in common: they like to hide out in damp, shady places during the heat of the day. To take advantage of this trait, lure them in with attractive “trap nests” which consist of boards, pieces of paper, seashells, broken crockery, and etc. Get out early every morning to check each lure, then dump the trapped pests into a bucket of soapy water.
Doing each of these things will keep pests away from your garden and you will be happy with the results. If your home or garden is overrun with pests, call Las Vegas Pest Control. We can help you with these problems and rid your home of pests before you know it. If you have any problems, don’t worry. We can handle them for you. Our professionals will help you on your way to having a great pest-free home. Talk to us today!