Monday, November 19, 2007

Do It Naturally - Control Pest and Garden Insects Organically

Do It Naturally - Control Pest and Garden Insects Organically
By Kent Higgins

If there are flowers and vegetables in your garden, you can be sure that there are pests as well. Especially if you will be eating vegetables from the garden, you won't want to use chemicals to kill the pests. Luckily, for every pest, you can use a natural means of repellent. Natural pest control is not only healthier for you, your family, your plants, and the environment - it is cheaper too.

Approximately 136 million pounds of pesticides are used every year in the home lawn and gardens of North Americans. This is just for individuals, not even for farmers (who actually use 1/3 of the amount as the homeowners). Most contamination and poisonings that occur originate from single family homes. It is very important to use methods of pest control that are healthy to surrounding life and the environment in general.

To avoid adding more harmful chemicals to our soil, you can take the following natural pest control measures.

First, to keep insects from damaging your garden, you should check to see if your garden is healthy in the first place. Is the soil well prepared? Is the pH correctly adjusted? Is there adequate drainage? Is the soil getting proper nutrients from adding compost?

You should remove any weak plants as your garden matures. Dispose of them, any weeds, and compost away from the garden to help keep pests away that would otherwise be attracted to the decaying matter.

Keeping mulch and compost on the top of the garden beds will help plants to grow healthily.

A natural and healthy way to promote quick plant growth is to spray the plants with seaweed fertilizer spray. The spray contains iron, zinc, barium, calcium, sulfur, and magnesium--all which strengthen the soil and aid growth.

You need to keep your garden clean and clear of any debris or objects that can become a breeding ground for pests. Using clean mulch is important as well.

To kill insects that attack specific plants, you should interplant and rotate crops. This will keep insects from spreading and re-infesting the same area again.

Watering the garden early in the morning will give the plants plenty of time to dry. If the foliage is too wet for too long, insects and fungi will take over.

If a plant is infected with a fungus or disease, you should promptly remove the plant. Also, the problem is likely contagious, so you should disinfect your gardening tools before you use them on other plants.

Not all insects are pests. Some of them, like Brachonids, Chalcids, Ichneumon Wasps, Ladybugs, Lacewings, Praying Mantises, and Hover flies, are beneficial to your garden. They can be attracted to your garden or bought in a store and brought to your garden. They help to fight against the insects that are pests.

By using natural organic pest control, it is easy to keep your garden healthy through the whole year while keeping the environment healthy at the same time. Search the internet or ask for more information at your local organic gardening store for information specific to your garden.

Many plant lovers take advantage of organic pest control solutions to battle the bugs in their gardens and landscape. Learn of a safe natural plant pest control option at http://www.plant-care.com/pest-control-without-pesticides.html

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kent_Higgins

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