Natural Pest Control Ideas

Everytime I see someone buying a toxic bottle of weed-killer, I think back to when I was in third grade. Mrs. Smith somberly told us that DDT had leached into the water supply, and birds like the bald eagle ingested fish that were basically poison filled. The poison thinned out the egg shells, making them brittle, thereby fast-tracking the bald eagle to an endangered species. DDT had only been banned about 6 years before that time, so it was a 'progressive' move at the time. DDT, unfortunately, is STILL used in other parts of the world.

Today, nothing instills more fear in my soul, than seeing a neighbor spraying Round-up on a concrete sidewalk, that just had a few weeds poking through. That spray will inevitably end up in our oceans, and pollute our fish and waters. Sprays and toxins like Round-up even make it into our food system. Round-up contains glyphosate, which can now be used on GMO corn without killing the corn plant. Glyphosate has been shown to cause endocrinal disturbances. Not to go off on a tangent, but if you have an hour to surf, check out the relation of GE soybeans, Glyphosate, polyacrylamides (From Glyphosate) and autism.

Anyway, I digress. So I have a little garden, and I have some little pests. White flies, slugs, tomato slugs, you name it - they're out there.

I found that hand-picking every insect on my plants is not only time-consuming, but basically impossible.

Here's some useful info I have found online to help gardeners ward off pest, and enjoy an all-natural garden this spring/summer.

1. For garden pests, make a mixture of 1 tablespoon liquid dishwashing soap and 1 cup of cooking oil. Mix about 3 tablespoons of this concentrate with a quart of water in a pump bottle and spray on plants.

Another recipe for insect control: soak citrus rind (lemon, orange, grapefruit) in water for a few days. Pour the water into a pump bottle and spray on plants.

2. Sprinkle cayenne pepper around plants to keep cats away.

3. Plant peppermint around your house. It repels ants and mice.

4. Cinnamon sprinkled around your planter box will keep ants out.

5 Weeds are not really pests, but they can be really pesky! Hot water will kill most unwanted plants --just boil some water and pour it over the plant you want to kill.

Other links:

Natural Pest Control Solutions for the Garden

Non-Toxic Pet Control

100% All Natural Organic Pest Control