Are you causing more harm than good in your garden by using pesticides? While pesticides may eliminate the pest, they most often cause more harm than good. The sad truth of the matter is that a lot home and commercial gardeners are unaware of the alternatives to pesticides. Unfortunately over the years pesticides have become a big part of our culture. However you must ask yourself is reaching for a quick fix-albeit a dangerous fix the right answer to your problem.
Go Organic In Your Garden With Beneficial Insects:
You may or may not be aware that not all insects are unwanted insects in your garden. We all know that bees can be beneficial to our garden and can help with pollination. But did you know that ladybugs are a highly helpful natural pesticide to have in your garden, feeding on a myriad of insect; particularly unwanted insects including aphids. If you ever see little alligator like insects around your garden, leave them be! These are the larval stage of ladybugs.
This is a much better alternative to pesticides which kill bugs, good ones as well as the bad ones on a wholesale level while upsetting ecosystems and ruining your plants as well as your soil.
Birds Eat Insects!:
You should encourage birds to come into your garden by placing a bird bath in the garden, by placing bird tables in the garden, by providing nuts and seeds and by planting plants that will attract birds such as sunflowers. Perennial sunflowers such as Helianthus Maximillani are great for attracting birds all year round.
It is important that you realise that natural pest control is rooted in a vigorous, balanced ecosystem. Years of pesticide use may be so disruptive to a local ecosystem that the land may become unusable after only a few years. Pesticides remain in the soil and become more concentrated with each year of use, eventually rendering the soil unable to produce vigorous plants.
Don't Despair You Can Repair The Damage :
There is no need to feel guilty or to despair, there is hope. You see the use of some products like methyl bromide can be rectified by simply adding organic matter to the infected soil. At the very least, you can add organic matter to a laden soil to simply dilute the concentration. Also there is lots of help and advice on the Internet that you can access in order to rectify any long term or over use of pesticides.
Organic Alternatives To Pesticides:
There are many natural, organic alternatives to pesticides that are more long lasting, safe, vigorous and generally effective.
One of the simplest pest control devices is a barrier. By covering a row of crop with a light netting (which allows the sunlight to come through) flying unwanted insects are effectively kept away from the plants. These are generally used for food crops. Cabbage can be protected from flea beetles and green beans from Mexican Bean Beetles.
Another simple method of pest control for a small garden is hand-picking. Many slugs and Horn worms can be hand-picked off of plants with great success. Drop unwanted insects into a dish of soapy water to kill them. Certain moths and bugs can be knocked out of trees with a stick; allow them to fall onto a large piece of cloth so that they can be gathered and, later, submerged in a soapy solution or incinerated.
