ORGANIC PEST CONTROL IN THE VEGETABLE GARDEN
 Not just about replacing chemicals with organic mixtures
 It’s a whole system of good gardening habits, such as garden hygiene,
crop rotation, using fertile soil and resistant varieties, regular hoeing and
daily checks.
 Also about encouraging predators
 Deterring pests with diverse and companion planting.
 Instead of chemicals using physical barriers, traps, scarers
 As a last resort, use safe pesticides and biological controls
1. Good gardening habits
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Sow indoors and plant strong seedlings
Remove all rubbish
Cut off lower leaves
Hoe all beds every week
Trim grass and hedge edges
Keep the compost heap at a distance
Rotate crops
Keep soil fertile
Seek out resistant plants
Handpick, squash, pinch or rub pests off at night or early morning
Check under leaves, in buds, around roots daily
Look for slime tracks and bites
Deal with any pests straight away
2. Predators
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Aphids and caterpillars are food for: ladybirds lacewings, bees,
hoverflies, spiders, so keep an insect “hotel” over winter, grow
flowers, parsley and fennel nearby to attract insects.
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Slugs, snails, grubs and flies are food for: birds, frogs, hedgehogs,
bats, wasps and ground beetles, so feed birds in winter and provide
water and trees/shrubs; build a logpile; grow plants to attract birds;
know what beetles are good to keep.
3. Deterring pests
 Plant a variety of plants together, not in big blocks
 Use companion plants: Marigolds and geraniums for tomatoes,
potatoes, peppers; Nasturtiums, chives, mint and clover under
cabbages; Garlic, onions and leeks in between carrots; Rue for
beans and beas.
 Wire fences and thorny branches keep out rabbits and cats
 Scare them off with scarecrows, windchimes, humming wires,
strings of cds or cassette tapes, hair, even feathers!
GIY NEW ROSS
20/03/2012
4. Physical barriers, traps
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Lay down boards/ plastic/citrus skins to catch slugs and cut up or
stamp on them or drown them in a bucket of soapy water with a lid
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Use gritty barriers around roots: salty gravel/eggshells/shingle/pine
needles/soot/coffee grounds/vermiculite/wood ash.
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Beertraps/sugar traps/mousetraps/bran traps
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Copper tapes
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Fleece against fleas and flies
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Collars of greasy bands, sticky tape, foil or carpet
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Cover with cloches and cut-up plastic bottles
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Nets over maturing fruits and cabbages
5. Safe pesticides and biological controls
Chemical pesticides do work, but they kill everything – pets, wildlife, children.
For aphids, blackflies, whiteflies and caterpillars, try:
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Soapy water sprays
Oily sprays
Bleach and water sprays (1 to 6 mix)
Pure Pyrethrum powder (no piperonyl butoxide)
Derris dust - but not near ponds or streams
Garlic fire spray (see below for recipe)
Pheromones
Predatory mites/wasps for greenhouses (see
www.koppert.com)
For slugs and snails:
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Salt
Ferramol (iron/ferrous sulphate) NOT metaldehyde pellets
Nemaslug nematodes – programmed control available from
MrMiddleton.com and Greengardner.co.uk
For wireworms, vine weevils, carrot flies and more:
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GIY NEW ROSS
SuperNemos nematodes (see www.nemo.ie)
20/03/2012
Garlic fire spray is the stuff of legend.
This recipe is very effective and goes like this:
• 2-3 garlic bulbs (about 6-10 cloves per bulb)
• 6 large or 12 smaller hot chilli peppers (any variety will do, or if
unavailable try 1-2 tablespoon hot chilli powder)
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 3 squirts of liquid detergent (approximately 1 dessertspoonful)
• 7 cups water. (Use about 2-3 cups in the blender, and top up with the
rest later)
Put the whole lot into a blender and pulverize it well, then strain through
muslin, a coffee filter or similar. Pour what you need into a spray bottle
for use and keep the rest in jars with lids on in a cupboard or on a shelf
somewhere, well-labelled.
Experiment with it if necessary and check for results or any damage to
young plants. If it fixes the problem and your plants are happy, you've
got the perfect mix, but if there's still a few biggie pests, albeit struggling,
then lower the water dilution rate or change the ingredient quantities
slightly.
Lovely garlicky, pongy stuff, but the smell dissipates quickly once it's
been sprayed around. This garlic fire mixture needs to be re-sprayed
frequently, such as after rain and dew. It's best to spray every few days
until there's no sign of pests, then about every week to 10 days for any
eggs or larvae that may have hatched out.
Uses for this natural garden pest control are unlimited. Because it has oil
and dishwashing liquid in it, it sticks to plants as well as suffocating pests
such as scale and mealy bug. It will kill ants, aphids, caterpillars, grubs,
bugs and just about anything small. SO BE VERY SELECTIVE — MIND THE
LADYBUGS, LACEWINGS, BEES AND OTHER BENEFICIAL FRIENDS.
Spraying this mixture around the edge of your garden will deter pets.
Rabbits, gophers, woodchucks and other garden gate-crashers will also be
discouraged.
Here's another version, if you don't have a blender . Put a whole garlic
bulb through a garlic press and let it sit in a glass jar with several ounces
of mineral or salad oil. Mix a few spoonfuls with dishwashing liquid, hot
pepper sauce and water in a spray bottle.
GIY NEW ROSS
20/03/2012
GIY NEW ROSS
20/03/2012