How to attract beneficial critters into the garden
How to attract beneficial
critters into the garden
Mother Nature and some old-fashioned ideas
can often get the job done
The garden offers tremendous appeal to the taste buds of all kinds
of pests. Tender roots, shoots and leaves are found there that just
aren't available to pests in the "wilds". When you think about it,
you can't blame insects and other critters for viewing your garden
efforts as just so much meal preparation. But you can stop them.
Of course, there are many chemical controls available on the
market, most of them developed in the last 50 years in the interest
of increased agricultural production. But many gardeners prefer to
use these only as a last resort, or not at all. In fact, today most
farmers are using fewer chemicals than they did 10 years ago, and
are reverting back to more organic control methods, and a technique
called "Integrated Pest Management".
That's a technical-sounding name for a technique that has been used
by growers for more than a century. What it means is that the
farmer takes advantage of the presence of beneficial "predators" to
control harmful ones ... and avoids the use of pest-control
techniques which might harm the beneficial ones when they're
present.
A wide range of creatures, from birds to bats, snakes to spiders,
toads, insects and other wildlife can all play an important role in
reducing pest damage in the lawn or garden.
So the best place to start your pest control program is by
encouraging these predators (or at least as many as you can stand)
to take up residence in your garden. Here are a few tips on how to
do that:
Birds feed on a wide variety of insects and worms in the garden -
even in winter they reduce levels of over wintering insects and
their eggs found on the bark of trees and shrubs. Put up lots of
birdhouses to attract different species. Make sure you put out feed
all winter. You can also include favoured trees and shrubs in the
landscape to improve the habitat for birds.
Beneficial Insects such as spiders, ladybugs and bees are very
beneficial to the garden. Avoid using chemical pesticides to
control harmful insects when there are substantial populations of
these in the garden.
Physical Controls such as traps, guards and hand picking can work
well to reduce garden pest levels. A cardboard tube pushed into the
earth around the stem will foil cutworms. Snails, slugs and large
caterpillars can be removed by hand and dropped into a can of soap
and water. Diatomaceous earth, available at garden centers is
another natural pest preventer. Sprinkled on the soil around your
plants, its sharp grit cuts into the tender bodies of slugs or
insects, killing them or at least re-routing them away from the
garden. Sticky yellow paper traps are effective against white flies.
If any or all of the above fail to slow the spread of damage in
your garden, chemical sprays may be the only answer. Some of these
present relatively low risks to the user and the environment
compared to others. Ask your lawn and garden retailer for a
recommendation on these - (take along a sample of the damaged
plants) and don't forget to read the label before using any
pesticide. Pest Resistant Plants are another option to reduce
damage in the garden. And don't forget that the first line of
defense against pests or diseases is a healthy plant. You have
organic options here, too: Canagro All-Natural Organic Fertilizers
are guaranteed to give pure growing satisfaction.
Next Article
Previous Article
Back to Gardener's Report
Back to main page
Copyright 1996
Homepage Designed and Maintained by Adam Zimmer