Oct 11 2008
Natural Pest Control - Self-Sufficiency
Or How to Get Rid of Ants and Aphids
I’ve recently written about creating a community vegetable garden (Freedom Garden) and how to save your heirloom seeds at the end of the harvest. We all need to be prepared for the worst economically in this country. Yes, the optimists say we’ll be back in good form in a few years, but the pessimists say ten years. Who knows. All I know is that things aren’t looking good right now, at this moment.
I heard on the news the other day that one of the big companies we threw money at (from the bailout) went and had a party with employee bigwigs staying at a fancy hotel and getting spa treatments. Also, I’m hearing that plenty of other companies are getting in line with their hands out asking for their share of the bailout money. Our government officials don’t seem to be looking out for our (tax payers) best interest.
Although, it may not be the most interesting subject in the world, I’d like to discuss a few organic pest control issues. These will be good to know for the future when you might have a problem in your garden or home. We all know that organic is the best way to go both for ourselves and the earth, so learning a few tricks in this area will benefit all no matter how the economy goes. Today we’ll discuss ants and aphids as they are two of the most common plant pests.
Ants can be a problem both in the garden and in the house. I’ve read that ants won’t walk over cayenne pepper. This would be an easy fix in the garden to just sprinkle some around the planting area. In the home, just find their entrance and sprinkle some there. Sorry, you will have to find a way of disposing the ones already in the house. A good way to get rid of ants is to place a slice of sweet fruit near them. You will soon see it fill up with ants. You can then place it in someplace where birds frequent and they will soon take care of the ants and the fruit. Ants also hate cucumbers, spreading some cucumber peel around plants will also deter them.
Aphids can be eliminated by spraying your plants with a concoction of soapy water. Just put a teaspoon of dish soap with water in a spray bottle and go to town on your plants. This will also keep deer and rabbits out of your garden area as well as some other insect pests away. Yes, I know this is not exactly organic unless you are using an organic soap. You can also try a combination of coffee and water in your spray bottle. This works to rid your plants of some pests. If you grow tansy or yarrow near plants attracting aphids you will attract ladybugs which will eat your aphids.
Consider growing certain plants around your home or garden area that deter these two pests. It’s an easy and natural pest control. Peppermint, spearmint and pennyroyal are three plants that do a good job of keeping ants and aphids away. For an added tip, mint and basil will keep flies away. You can place the plants in planting areas around your front and back doors to keep them out. Also, you can cut stalks and tie them by the front and back doors.
If you are interested in learning more about community vegetable gardens (Freedom Gardens) or saving heirloom seeds, see my articles on hub pages.com under Karen Ellis.
