It is not an easy task to create a garden of your dreams. It takes a lot of effort, a lot of skill and a lot of perseverance. You need to organize everything, handpick perfect shrubs and plants and then when it is all over, the hardest part begins: the maintenance. Still, there is nothing worse than watching all this hard work of yours destroyed by ravenous pests. As always in life, once you have created something beautiful it will get some unwanted attention. So once again, it is time to defend what’s yours from the invaders.
Keep your garden clean
This is the first thing that you must do in order to keep your garden pest free. For all the obvious reasons, pests are drawn to garbage. All the scraps of food that are left there, serve as a beacon that constantly draws them in ever greater numbers. Additionally, messy backyard provides them with perfect places to hide in, since if there’s one thing that pests hate, it’s being in plain sight. Keep your garden as clean as possible and you will significantly reduce the risk of pest infestation in it.
Use natural repellents
This struggle against pests, is no less than a war. Like in any war, brute force is not always the best course of action. As in any battlefield, tactics and strategy are invaluable, so use all of your cunning to think of not easiest, but smartest ways to fend off pests. Some plants act as natural repellents and can help you fight pests without bringing a single downside to the table. Just plant some basil, lavender or lemongrass in your garden and watch them do miracle in solving your pest problem.
Natural pesticides
Commercial pesticides are often as effective as advertised. However, what they do not promote in their marketing campaigns are side effects. Yes, pesticides will get rid of pests in your garden, but the toxicity that they will cause will remain in the soil for years to come. In the long run, these chemicals can make more damage than the initial pest problem. This is why you need to make sure that you use only earth-friendly pest control supplies.
Homemade pesticides
We already spoke about both natural repellents and natural pesticides. Both of these notions come together in the idea of making your own organic pesticides. Aromatic natural ingredients such as peppers, garlic or cucumber peels, when processed, create a solution that is extremely effective in protecting your garden. This method however does not completely eliminate the pest threat, it only puts it under control by making your garden less desirable for them.
Make a fence
This idea is almost as brilliant as it is simple. What better way there is to protect your property from some of the larger invaders than to lift a fence? Creating a fence around a perimeter can be done in no time even as a DIY project and is one of the least expensive construction endeavors there are. Some would argue that this does not protect your garden from jumping pests such as squirrels. However if you play your cards right and prune surrounding branches that they can use to jump from, your fence will be effective even when faced against squirrels.
There is nothing worse than allowing all your hard work go to waste. Sooner or later, the pest menace will strike, have no doubt about that. When that happens, it is all up to you. Fight for your garden with all means necessary but always remember that this is not a race, it is a marathon. A solution that helps you now but will backfire in the future is not a solution at all.
