Home Remedies To Get Rid Of Bugs
There is a massive wave of public opinion going against the use of chemicals wherever possible. People are instead re-evaluating their grandmother's old home remedies and they are not being given much support from what I can see.
I guess that this is not unusual, given the enormous amount of money we spend every year on chemicals and the vested interests of the industry itself. A lot of the money we spend on chemicals is for cleaning and the killing of insects.
Most of us use our insecticides in the house, but gardeners use even more of the substance outside killing the insects that eat their flowers and their fruit. Would it not be wonderful if we could revive the way these things were done before the invention of chemical insecticides, some of which, like DEET, have admittedly been around for quite some time - more than 60 years in the case of DEET.
The first thing a first-rate gardener should endeavour to do is look after the environment while tending his or her garden. After all, if the environment is right for your plants, then they will have a better likelihood of flourishing.
One of the best methods of doing this is by getting rid of the pests that eat or destroy your plants and the best way of doing this is by helping the predators that eat the bad bugs. Easier said than done, you might say.
However, if you create the right environment, they will come. Two of the most common yet also two of the most insatiable predators are ladybirds and earwigs. if you can get those to live in your garden then most of your insect problems will solve themselves. You can encourage ladybirds by growing herbs such as fennel and dill, which they appear to prefer.
In order to encourage earwigs, grow dahlias. If you plant a dozen dahlias around your garden you will lure hundreds of earwigs, but sprinkle sharp sand around their base, because slugs and snails like them too.
Earwigs like to crawl under things, so leave a few potted plants about as well, but raise them off the ground a little by standing the pots on a handful of gravel. This will give the earwigs somewhere to live and will help with the drainage of the pot.
Depending on where you have your home, of course, the praying mantis is a good friend to have in the garden. These creatures look scary and they really are scary to other insects. They will eat any insect they can get hold of, but they are completely safe for humans.
Lizards and frogs and toads are good allies to have as well. They too need somewhere to crawl under and flower pots or large stones are ideal. Put a few stones the size of footballs under your bushes or make a rockery for them to live in. However, cats will kill them, so it is a good idea to discourage cats from your garden.
I guess that this is not unusual, given the enormous amount of money we spend every year on chemicals and the vested interests of the industry itself. A lot of the money we spend on chemicals is for cleaning and the killing of insects.
Most of us use our insecticides in the house, but gardeners use even more of the substance outside killing the insects that eat their flowers and their fruit. Would it not be wonderful if we could revive the way these things were done before the invention of chemical insecticides, some of which, like DEET, have admittedly been around for quite some time - more than 60 years in the case of DEET.
The first thing a first-rate gardener should endeavour to do is look after the environment while tending his or her garden. After all, if the environment is right for your plants, then they will have a better likelihood of flourishing.
One of the best methods of doing this is by getting rid of the pests that eat or destroy your plants and the best way of doing this is by helping the predators that eat the bad bugs. Easier said than done, you might say.
However, if you create the right environment, they will come. Two of the most common yet also two of the most insatiable predators are ladybirds and earwigs. if you can get those to live in your garden then most of your insect problems will solve themselves. You can encourage ladybirds by growing herbs such as fennel and dill, which they appear to prefer.
In order to encourage earwigs, grow dahlias. If you plant a dozen dahlias around your garden you will lure hundreds of earwigs, but sprinkle sharp sand around their base, because slugs and snails like them too.
Earwigs like to crawl under things, so leave a few potted plants about as well, but raise them off the ground a little by standing the pots on a handful of gravel. This will give the earwigs somewhere to live and will help with the drainage of the pot.
Depending on where you have your home, of course, the praying mantis is a good friend to have in the garden. These creatures look scary and they really are scary to other insects. They will eat any insect they can get hold of, but they are completely safe for humans.
Lizards and frogs and toads are good allies to have as well. They too need somewhere to crawl under and flower pots or large stones are ideal. Put a few stones the size of footballs under your bushes or make a rockery for them to live in. However, cats will kill them, so it is a good idea to discourage cats from your garden.
About the Author:
Owen Jones, the author of this article writes on quite a few topics, but is currently involved with natural mosquito repellant. If you would like to know more or check out some great offers, please go to our website at Mosquito Repellent For Dogs.