I do not consider myself an expert by any means when it comes to gardening and dealing with pests, but I have had my share of dealing with them. Remember when I had ants move into my garden bed? That was not pretty!
Suffice it to say, I had gotten a little smarter by the time I found these bad little guys on my broccoli and chollards:
See all those little balls on my plant? They’re aphid eggs, and we had a swarm of little aphids all over my plants. They just decided to have themselves a little party and enjoy the garden plenty that I toiled over.
Well to be a true organic gardener (as best I can be anyway), I use a powder called Diatomaceous Earth. I picked up a gallon of this powder from a local farmer for $8 last fall, but have not been using it consistently. This resulted in what you see in the photo above.
Diatomaceous Earth is organic, food-grade and does not harm humans. Although it can irritate the lungs and eyes, so it’s best to just be careful with it when spreading it around in the garden. It works, because it is “the fossilized remains of microscopic shells created by one celled plants called DIATOMS. Diatomaceous Earth kills by physical action, not chemical, by puncturing the insect’s exoskeleton and absorbing its body fluids, thus posing no harm to warm-blooded life.”
It also repels insects, so I use this as a natural flea control for my pets, and at the entry ways in my house to keep out ants. You know those tiny black ants that try to get into the kitchen when the weather warms up? Yes it works for these too, but won’t poison your family or the food in the kitchen.
The only thing about using this product is that you need to be consistent. It’s not like a chemical, but who wants that anyway? The rain and wind will wash and blow this away, so it’s best to consistently use it for at least a week if you have an infestation, and then maybe once every week or so to prevent further pests.
I recommend finding a local supplier of Diatomaceous Earth, as you will get it a lot cheaper than if you try buying it online. What form of natural and organic way have you discovered that works well in dealing with garden pests? You can leave a comment by clicking here.
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For aphids, I just use a spray bottle–mostly with water and a little very mild soap–and just saturate them. I’ve done this for years. For caterpillars, I just handpick them off. For slugs, I leave seashells or grapefruit halves so they congregate there and then collect them and toss them into the woods.
So, say my entire garden bed is over run with those little black ants… can I just spread a thin layer of DE on the whole bed? I haven’t planted anything in it yet, because the ants are freaking me out. :/ (And I don’t see any ant homes/hills IN the garden bed.)
Yes, but something else that works for ants is instant grits. It takes a while to finally kill the entire nest though.
You can find DE at Home Depot. I got some this year thinking it’d kill all the fire ants in my garden, though it didn’t work. I haven’t had too many problems this year except with corn ear worms and lubber grasshoppers. The only way to get rid of them is to smash them! Yuck. I actually just got in from gardening and had to kill one that was over 3 inches long! Did I mention my terror of these things? My love for my garden did triumph. We’ve also been plagued with nasty powdery mildew, and downy mildew which claimed two cucumber plants and many crook neck squash leaves (no plant casualties at this time) and my pumpkins pulled through unscathed. Nothing organic worked so we had to pull out the “real” fungicides, although the slim mold we had earlier this season (Wolf’s milk) was easily controlled with corn meal. Keeping our fingers crossed for no more gardening issues this year!! Now I need to start over with the cucumbers and hope I get at least a few while I still have tomatoes.
We plants flowers that attract bugs that go after the bad ones. Adding a water feature can also support their eco system keeping them around longer.
We just got infested with these. The article couldn’t be more timely.
A good strong spray with the garden hose is particularly effective against aphids. Just make sure to aim the spray away from other plants they could infest. Most aphids are incapable of flight and will not find their way back to your precious garden.
In the past, I have found doing this a few times always gets rid of them for me. Just make sure to wait until after you spray to add your diatomaceous earth because the water will wash it away. I hope you are able to take care of those rotten little buggers, they sure can be a pain! Good luck!
I’ve been reading a lot about companion planting, putting particular plants near each other so that they can mutually benefit each other. I’ve heard chives are good for repelling aphids, and radishes too…dill, anise, sage, are also supposed to be good…clover is supposed to repel cabbage aphids, which I guess may be what you have…and nasturtiums repel all kinds of things, including rabbits.
Whether all this works well remains to be seen–I’ve got radishes with the squash and broccoli, chives around the apple tree, nasturtiums and marigolds all over the place, and elderberries in the back of the garden. I’ll let you know after growing season if any of it worked!
–Jenn
I’ve read this too, and I’m hoping that it works! I’ve got chives planted all around my roses, and basil under my tomatoes. Supposedly this will help…now if only I could find a better way to get rid of the pill bugs in my strawberry bed!
You can also use essential oils to kill those pesky bugs!
ANTS – TerraShield, Peppermint, Rosemary
APHIDS – Peppermint
Check out my full list of bugs/insects and the oils that work best – http://rejuvenateyoursole.blogspot.com/2011/05/essential-oils-as-insecticides.html.
ty
Any tips to get rid of cockroaches naturally?
I do companion planting. I like to plant marigolds among my tomato plants as a pest deterrent.
You can use the Diamotomaceous Earth for roaches too.
You can use the Diamotomaceous Earth for roaches too.
Sameena, your welcome. Here is a helpful website that tells a little more about it.
http://www.gardenguides.com/113325-flowers-herbs-plant-tomatoes.html
How effective would you say the D Earth is for sprinkling around the outside of the house, to keep spiders and other bugs from getting in? Id much rather do that than use a pesticide.
You would have to use it regularly, because the elements move it.
I’m having issues with rose bushes that were at my house when I moved in. Last year, somthing ate them, and I’m surprised that they are making a comeback this year. But i’m noticing tht something is already eating the leafs. Anyone have expierience with rose bushes and how to keep them alive w/o using harsh pesticides?
It could be june beetles. If so you need to set an attractant trap.
Sorry meet Japanese bettles. Kristina comments that DE can be used also. Has anyone every tried mixing DE with an food grade oil to help it stick to the plants or does that make it less effective?
my grandma always set little bowls of beer for the slugs!
this works too, but my husband don’t like me wasting beer like that. lol jk
Mine too! Only I’m NOT kidding!
I use D.E. on everything. from bedding for farm animals. I also put in their food. its a nautural dewormer. D.E. is the BEST thing for ants also. anywho back on subject. lol yes i dust d.e. on Plants. It even keeps Japense beetles off plants. Must re apply after rain though. That is the only drawback to D.E. It works best in dry conditions. I also put it on my lawn instead of pesticides. I tried all the commercial stuff and for the last 2 years I have used D.E. instead of pesticides. It works better than any commercail stuff out there.
My Home Depot did not have it last year. Must be a regional thing. Anyone know where to get it in Chicago? I know urban chicken owners use it for their coops, but I’m not sure where.
DE is used in pool filters; I get mine in a HUGE bag at the pool supply store.
The diatomaceous earth used for pools is not the same, and should not be used for gardening, on pets, in the house, etc. The pool-grade is possibly carcinogenic because of the way it has been processed. For use around your family and home, be sure it’s food-grade!
I recently had a pill bug (roly poly) almost-infestation and DE is taking care of it now!
I’ve also used a Garlic Chile homemade spray (http://www.vegetable-gardening-made-simple.com/garlic-chili-spray.html) and it took care of all the aphids and whiteflies on my tomatoes and others too.
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