The 2020 Home & Garden Guide is sponsored by Weather Tight. You can read the entire guide here.
Warmer temperatures invite all sorts of unwelcome critters to backyards. Pests such as aphids, slugs and rodents can create a major headache for gardeners and damage a well-maintained yard and garden, and flies and mosquitos are a general nuisance to anyone wanting to spend some quality time outdoors. Commercial pesticides and synthetic sprays can easily kill and deter these creatures; however, these products often contain chemicals poisonous to humans and pets and harmful to the environment.
Luckily, there are a number of green and inexpensive strategies for keeping unwanted critters out of your yard and garden.
Besides being environmentally-friendly and pest deterrents, planting herbs and flowers such as rosemary, lavender, mint and marigolds also help yield an attractive garden. Some of these plants may also be beneficial for human health.
“One tip for encouraging a healthy garden free of pests and disease is both encouraging healthy soil and interplanting with native wildflowers or aromatic herbs,” says Katherine (Kata) Young, an experienced landscape consultant and Riverwest resident. “The flowers attract beneficial pest predators and pollinators, and the aromatic herbs (such as chives, thyme and oregano) dissuade pests from getting too close to the more vulnerable plants you are trying to nurture.”
Lavender and Lemongrass
According to www.farmersalmanac.com, lavender, basil, thyme and mint will help repel bugs like moths, fleas and mosquitos. Rubbing a small amount of lemongrass, which contains citronella, also helps keep pesky mosquitos away and is an earth-friendly alternative to chemically-laden mosquito sprays.
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Marigolds and alliums can also prevent unwelcome guests such as cabbage worms and slugs from helping themselves to vegetables and other plants.
“Marigolds are excellent deterrents for nematodes (root borers) that wreak havoc on root systems,” Young explains. “Their pungent leaves and flowers also deter airborne pests from getting too close to tender stems. Marigolds are great interplanted with food crops like tomatoes, zucchinis, squashes, and cucumbers.”
Both Young and Milwaukee gardening enthusiast Brian Zarling recommend spraying neem oil on plants. “Neem oil is a natural pesticide found in seeds from the neem tree. It can be found at hardware stores,” Zarling says. “Mix (with water) in a spray bottle, and use it when the sun is going down.”
In a pinch, common household items can provide ingenious tools for pest removal. Harambee resident Jen Beignet has used masking tape “wrapped sticky side out (on) my fingers to remove a type of leaf miner bug from my beet leaves.”
The 2020 Home & Garden Guide is sponsored by Weather Tight. You can read the entire guide here.
