Natural pest control
for your flowers is a safe, and cheaper alternative to harsh chemical
insecticides. Most of the natural pest control tips for flowers that I
am going to share require little to no money, but they do require time
and diligence. It is also important that you continue to use each method
regularly through the growing season in order for any of them to work.
Here are ten natural pest control tips for flowers that I use in my
own garden to keep my flowers blooming and my garden healthy.
Watch For Signs
The biggest line of defense against pests is you. It is important that
you watch closely for signs of pests in your flowerbeds and on your
flowers because it is easier to identify what type of pest you have when
you actually see it. Being able to identify your specific pest reduces
the amount of time it takes to identify and determine the safest and
natural way to rid your flowers of their pest.
Mulch to Reduce Pests
Most pests are soft bodied so the best pest control tip for flowers is
to add mulch to your garden beds, around your flower plants. Hosta
plants are very susceptible to slugs, which love eating the leaves and
can strip your entire plant of its foliage. Slugs are entirely soft
bodied though, and when you apply mulch it is nearly impossible for
slugs to reach your plants.
Use Healthy Soil
Healthy soil produces healthy plants, and healthy plants are able to
deter and survive pest damage. I always use organic soil in my flower
beds and not just in my vegetable garden, and you can definitely see a
difference. When you are using soil from other gardens, or purchasing
your soil, make sure you look over everything to ensure that there are
no insects or pest problems that you will be adding to your garden.
Weed Regularly
By weeding and keeping your garden free of garden debris, you are
lowering the chance that you will have an infestation of pests and
insects because you reduce the places where they can breed and feed.
Keep a semi manicured garden at all times, which is one of the best pest
controls for flowers.
Attract Good Insects
One of
the most natural ways to control pests on your flowers is to attract
bugs that are good for your flowers, and that love the pests preying on
them. There is always something bigger out there that will eat whatever
you are having a problem with. So, when planting your garden, be sure to
learn about the different types of pests your garden can attracts and
what they do not like in terms of other plants and insects. Co-planting
to attract healthy bugs and deter pests all together is your best line
of defense.
Use Insecticidal Soap
Another reason
to watch for signs of pests is because most natural insecticides require
that you only spray them and spray them fast. Insecticidal soap is a
great pest control for flowers product, but it has its limitations and
most of them rely on you and your ability to identify pests on your
flowers. These soaps can kill the good insects that we talked about
earlier, so you do not want to use it universally, over your entire
flower bed. Instead locate the pests that are eating your flowers and
spray them directly. This is also important because the soaps are only
effective when you spray them and not when they are left on foliage or
any other part of the plant.
Remove Pests Manually
It might not be the best garden chore out there, but getting down and
dirty is often the quickest way to get pests off your plants. Even
though I hate it I have been known to chase down slugs, beetles and a
variety of other pests that are eating my plants now and need to be
removed as soon as possible. Make sure you research exactly what type of
pest you are dealing with so that you can determine the best way to
capture and kill them.
Trap Pests Naturally
There
are a lot of things that pests are naturally attracted to, you just need
to figure out what they are. When slugs attack my garden I am quick to
add beer traps for them to take care of themselves in. Just make sure
that you are not harming the beneficial insects that find their way to
your garden or that the traps you use are harmful to the soil or small
children and pets.
Make A Natural Insecticide Spray
There are several easy to make and natural insecticide sprays that you
can make. Most of them include vinegar, alcohol and/or hot pepper
sauce. I have made up several batches, in different varieties and find
that it reduces the problem considerably, but that I need to use the
spray along with most of the other pest control tips that I have
mentioned in order to get the best results.
Create a Barrier
For larger, non insect pests, an actual barrier is sometimes the only
way to keep pests away from your flowers. With deer there are several
plants and planting techniques that you can use to repel them from
eating your flowers. Netting and staking flowers up so that they are not
near the ground can deter smaller rodents and animals.
