Sooner or later, unwanted guests come to visit every garden and sooner or later every gardener has to consider some form of pest control. Thanks to both centuries of gardening knowledge and modern science, there are a host of options for how to implement pest control in your garden. These depend on the plants in question, the preferences of the gardener, and the type of pest in question, but there are generally multiple options for any pest situation. Here at Gardzen we’re big advocates of a natural approach to gardening wherever possible, including natural pest control. With many parts of the US and Canada having extremes of weather this summer, pests have become a real issue. So with that in mind we’d like to offer some suggestions for natural pest control options and some resources where you can find more information. Let’s dig in and learn a bit more about natural pest control for homes and gardens!
A big step in pest control is keeping our gardens clean. This doesn’t mean having every inch of garden space carefully manicured—we actually advocate for wild spaces and wildlife support—but it does mean keeping garden beds well mulched, well weeded, and clear of debris. It also means keeping our garden tools clean and using high quality mulch, soil, and plants from reputable sources. These steps taken together will help prevent the spread of unwanted pests and avoid introducing them into garden spaces. Prevention, as always, is worth more than cure.
Related to keeping things clean is a regular inspection of our plants and garden spaces both indoors and out. If you know the signs and are vigilant, many pest problems can be caught early—again, prevention vs. cure. Small eggs or egg clusters on leaves (check the undersides), missing or chewed on leaves and stems, disturbances in the soil, holes in stems . . . all of these can be signs of issues that may turn into a full-on pest infestation. Catching problems early and removing the offending bugs or eggs can save a lot of time and trouble later on.
Now we move on to some active deterrents, ways in which we can repel pests from our gardens and keep them from setting up shop in among our plants. We’ve discussed co-planting before, but it’s worth revisiting. Some plants attract unwanted insects, but some repel them. By planting a combination of the two, you can help keep your plants healthy in a way that doesn’t involve pesticides. Marigolds are an oft-cited option for natural pest repellent, but in our experience you need a fair number of them to make it work. A border of them around a vegetable bed has gotten good results at the Gardzen Test Gardens, and that’s the approach we’d recommend. Peppermint, garlic, and basil all repel pests in their own way, with peppermint having the added bonus of also repelling rodents; their sensitive noses don’t like the smell and they tend to steer clear. As with marigolds, a barrier of these around the outside perimeter of a vegetable bed gets good results, particularly when the beds aren’t too wide. We can’t find any research confirm the “zone of protection” provided by these bug-repelling plants, but we figure the closer together the barrier rows are, the better.
Physical barriers are another option that many gardeners use. A row cover, either floating or supported, can do a lot to prevent unwanted bugs and birds from reaching your plants. Supported row covers can also help shield plants from cold in winter if used with plastic sheeting, making them a potential year-round problem solver for some garden spaces.
Sometimes all the inspection and companion planting we do just isn’t enough, and it’s time for a more active approach to pest removal. Commercial pesticides are effective but many come with a host of environmental and biological problems that can last for years, so even if it’s time to spray we’re fans of a more organic and biorational approach. There are too many products for us to discuss, but the North Carolina State University cooperative extension maintains a great list here that we encourage you to check out. You can even make a good pest removal spray from soap and water, but that has some limitations and may not repel all pests or be healthy for all plants. As always, do your research and please reach out if you have any questions.
And that in a way brings us to our concluding point: natural pest control in homes and gardens general requires a combination of approaches. You can use peppermint and basil as indoor plants in a sunny window to help keep bugs out of your kitchen or garden while also spraying with an organic insect repellent. Likewise, co planting marigolds or garlic in your vegetable beds helps keep pests away but works especially well in conjunction with regular inspections of your garden space. In the end, every garden is unique and you’ll have to find the right combination of techniques and approaches that work for you.
There’s a lot more to be said and we’re happy to try to answer questions, so get in touch if you have any. Gardzen is all about community, and we love to hear from you!
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