Organic Pest Control – A Better Way
Insect-Eating Birds In The Garden
Larry Hansford is an avid reader of this blog and he recently asked me if I’ve written anything about attracting insect-eating birds into the garden.
I said not much, would you like to write a little something?
And so he wrote about his garden and he filmed the video below.
Read MoreHow To Keep Squirrels Out Of The Garden
Although you may enjoy watching the antics of these little aerial acrobats, you probably don’t want squirrels snacking in your backyard.
Here is my big list of strategies you can use to keep squirrels out of the garden.
Grey-Squirrel-On-Garden-Fence-UK-Side-View by Ibonzer is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0
How To Keep Rabbits Out Of The Garden
Rabbits love tender new veggie seedlings and can cause no end of aggravation for a home food gardener.
And once they have a reliable food source with shelter nearby, rabbits will start breeding like… rabbits!
There are a number of techniques for keeping rabbits out of the garden, some more effective than others.
Rabbit ! / Kaninchen! by Robobobobo is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
How To Keep Deer Out Of The Garden
As much as we all might love the sight of a little Bambi in our yards, deer can pose a serious challenge for urban gardeners.
Starting with the most effective techniques, I’m going to give you a variety of ideas for keeping deer out of the garden.
Ideally, you will probably want to adopt a combination of these strategies.
deer-ree-mammal-fauna-garden-food by MrsBrown is licensed under CC0 1.0
How To Get Rid Of Slugs And Snails In The Garden
Not all snails and slugs are pests, so if they’re not eating your plants, you don’t need to get rid of them in your organic garden.
Slugs and snails are closely related.
The main difference is that snails have a shell, while slugs don’t.
Most molluscs live in the water, but slugs and snails are the two that can live on land as well.
In fact, there’s your most important clue right there for how to get rid of slugs and snails in the garden – they like it wet.
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How To Get Rid Of Moles And Voles (And Gophers)
Close-up of mole by Michael David Hill is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0
So, you want to know how to get rid of moles and voles (and gophers)?
First of all, moles are great!
They plow the soil and eat insects such as grubs.
Of course, they do leave behind some tunnels.
And while they don’t eat your plants, they can disturb them.
We may not mind a few tunnels, but when it gets to be too many, it can leave an unsightly mess of molehills, uneven soil and brown ridges in the lawn. Read More
How NOT To Control Pests In An Organic Garden
About 1 out of 2.5 people in North America will get cancer at some point in their lives.
I notice an interesting parallel between how we treat cancer and how we treat pests in our gardens.
The main ways our medical system tries to get rid of cancer are to cut it out (surgery), burn it out (radiation) and poison it out (chemotherapy).
I’m not here to discuss the merit of these practices, but I think most of my readers would agree that there are at least some additional strategies that would be nice to consider if we’re interested in taking more of a holistic approach.
Certainly the cut/burn/poison methods don’t do anything to address the root cause of disease, nor do they leave our bodies in a healthier state, so it’s pretty clear that also incorporating some methods of improving our health could play a tremendous role in treating many types of disease. Read More
Organic Weed Control – Kill Weeds Naturally And Forever
For many of us, organic weed control means many hours crouched in the garden pulling weeds.
And after a while, it’s easy for an organic gardener to begin to think of the buttercups or bindweed as the enemy.
So I’ll give some tips on how to kill weeds naturally in this article.
But at the same time, many of us may have an inkling that weeds aren’t simply the enemy, that it’s more complicated than that.
After all, many weeds are edible or have medicinal properties.
Read MoreOrganic Garden Pest Control – Without Toxins
Update: I now recommend neem oil instead of horticultural oil.
As I’ve discussed in other posts, the best organic garden pest control method is a healthy ecosystem.
This means creating the right conditions for thriving, healthy plants by doing things like caring for the soil, watering properly, and having the right plant in the right place.
Then our plants won’t attract diseases or plant-feeding insects. Read More
Benefits of Weeds – 6 Reasons To Keep Some Around
Yes, weeds can be a bummer, but many gardeners don’t know there are many more benefits of weeds than downsides.
Besides, they’re fairly easily controlled in the garden with a thick mulch.
The lawn is definitely trickier.
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