Mixing Plants for Pest Control
Grow plants together that help each other. It does help onions grow better if you plant a petunia in with them, and petunias help bean plants. Plants like these and rich vegetable oils have much of the same benefits as krill oil, so do plant a variety of healthy veggies.
Planting carrots and onions in alternate rows will discourage the pests of both.
Marigolds, onions, chives, petunias, lavender, or chrysanthemums will keep aphids away so they are great to plant with your roses.
Onions and marigolds will keep away snails and slugs.
Peppermint keeps away ants, white cabbage moths, aphids, and flea beetles.
Garlic repels aphids, flea and Japanese beetles, and spider mites.
Nasturtium keeps away Colorado potato bugs, squash bugs, and whiteflies.
Chives repel aphids and spider mites.
Thyme planted with cabbage helps control flea beetles, cabbage worm and white cabbage butterflies.
Borage repels tomato hornworms.
Rosemary and sage repel cabbage moths, bean beetles, and carrot flies.
Basil shoos away flies and mosquitoes and tomato hornworms.
Marigolds can be used to keep away Mexican bean beetles, squash bugs, thrips, tomato hornworms, whiteflies, cabbage pests, and nematodes that attack tomatoes, potatoes, roses, and strawberries.
Keep Cats Out of the Garden
Plant "Scardy Cat" or "Dog’s Gone" coleus plants in the garden. Plant them no more than 3 feet apart, and at least one in each bed. The scent of these pretty plants keeps away cats, dogs and rabbits. You won't want to too close either.
To discourage cats from digging in your plants, put a little oil of cloves on a cotton ball and bury the cotton ball under a little soil. It won't hurt cats or plants, but will prevent cats from digging.
Lay chicken wire on top of the soil and plant in the holes. You can put this down around existing plants.
Spread the peels from oranges, lemons or grapefruit through the garden. Cats don't like the smell at all.
Cats don't like the smell of Marigolds so plant plenty of them.
Spread garlic cloves around plants. Cats hate the smell of garlic.
Surround plants with rocks. Cats don't like to dig through little rocks and can't dig through big ones. The rocks also look nice, and you can remove some as needed to plant new flowers.
Deer in the Garden
The normal deer repellents include things like coyote urine, which stinks, or things that electrify, which unnecessarily hurt the animals. Plantskydd® Deer Repellent doesn't hurt the deer or plants - it is for made for organic production.
Or, you could just plant flowers that deer don't like to eat. There are many pretty plants to choose from.
Annuals: Ageratum, begonias, cleome, foxglove, snapdragons, vincas and four o’clocks, along with Baby’s breath, Straw Flower, Lantana, phlox, salvia, marigolds, Sweet Alyssum, scented geraniums, Love-in-a-mist, verbena, and zinnias.
Perennials: Yarrow, Lily of the Valley, Bleeding heart, Japanese and Siberian Iris, Evening Primrose, Peonies, Obedient plant, and Veronica.
Shrubs: Serviceberry, Butterfly Bush, English Hawthorne, Mountain Laurel, Boxwood, Blue Spruce, Spirea, Snowberry and Wisteria.
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Natural Pest Control
Slugs and Snails
If you already have snails or slugs, place pie pans full of beer around your plants. Bury these enough so that only the tops show. The snails will go in for a drink and get too drunk to get back out.
Slugs won't cross crushed eggshells, so spread them thickly around your plants (at least three inches wide).
Toads love to eat insects, snails and slugs -- but only use them if you do not have dogs in the same yard (many kinds of toads are toxic to dogs).
Ducks and geese will love eating your snails and slugs.
Rodents
If you love bulbs, but the squirrels and chipmunks love them more, plant daffodils. They won't eat those.
Or, surround the bulbs with lots of small sharp stones.
If you hang a big, fake snake from a tree, squirrels and chipmunks will stay away. The Motion Sensor Owl can be used for chipmunks and squirrels in trees and gardens.
Spice up your bulb planting. In each bulb hole, sprinkle some chili powder. Sprinkle more on top of the covered bulb, and even more around the top layer of dirt. This should discourage squirrels, moles, rabbits, cats and dogs from digging up or eating your bulbs.
A cat will keep away gophers, moles, squirrels, chipmunks and rabbits.
Keep rabbits away from your plants with a garlic and pepper spray. Add a clove of garlic and a hot pepper to a pint of water, strain it, and add a drop of vegetable oil and a drop of dishwashing liquid (or horticultural oil and insecticidal soap). Shake the mixture, then spray the plants.
Birds
To keep bird droppings off your patio and furniture, buy a big plastic owl. Some even move their heads. Put the owl anywhere on or near the patio, and birds will stay far away.
Birds hate coming near the Prowler Owl will keep them far away! The Dalen Owl with rotating head is another great harmless deterrent.
Flying Insects
Spray mosquitoes, chiggers, midges, ticks and gnats with garlic spray to kill them. The garlicy area will continue to repel them for two to six weeks, even though you will no longer smell it after an hour or so.
Bees in the Garden
When you add plants to your garden because butterflies love them, you will also be attracting bees. It's up to you to decide if you love having butterflies around more than you hate living with bees around.
If bees have made their home in your favorite tree, do not call an exterminator. There is a real shortage of bees, and they are necessary not only for pollenating flowers but also our food crops. In addition, a bee relocator will costs much less than an exterminator.
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