Tips to Fight Garden Insect Pests

Here are some old time tips that I use to fight insects in my garden. Some of these I have had great success with, others not so much. The best advice is to use a combination of techniques in order to limit bug damage.

Ants:

1. Sprinkle ashes from the fire place on top of their nest
2. Sprinkle used coffee grounds on their nest. (I have had great success with this and it also fertilizes the garden).
3. Pour Hot water over the ant hills
4. Place cucumber peelings in around the ant hills. The ants will a void them. (I guess the ants don't like the smell of cucumbers).

Bean Beatles:

1. Plant marigolds by the beans (this also helps to keep rabbits out of the garden)
2. Take a metal can and fill it ½ way with gasoline, then take half an apple and place it in the gas. The beetles will be attracted to the apple and die in the gasoline.

Cabbage Worms:

1. Dust cabbage with ashes and soot from the fire place
2. Pour warm water with a hot pepper tea on the cabbage
3. Lightly dust cabbage with dirt
4. Make a tea from chewing tobacco and spray on plants

Cut Worms:

1. Make a barrier around young plants. (I use old tuna cans or plastic yogurt cups. Cut the bottom out and cut the side, then place at the base of young plants about a half inch in the soil. The cut worms will not be able to climb over or under the barrier).

Flea Beatles:

1. Dust plants with soot

Potato Bugs:

1. Sprinkle plants with soot
2. The Tobacco tea works very good against potato bugs
3. Plant petunias in with the potatoes

Tomato Worms:

1. Tobacco tea
2. Soot from the fireplace
3. Pick them off the plant manually

Japanese Beetles:

1. Get a bag and place an apple at the bottom. The beetles will get caught in the bag (then take the whole bag with the beetles and freeze them they will work great for catching trout and catfish).
2. Use the metal can, gasoline and apple technique described earlier. This will catch allot of beetles, just don't use these for fishing!

These are the majority of problem pests I have had in my garden. Remember not to kills any of the good insects like mantis, spiders, and ladybugs. These insects will help you to control all of the bad guys that a re designed to eat your garden.