Those old days down in the memory lane was charming and beautiful. I enjoyed walking through the rows of our little vegetable garden. I was assigned to take care of the plants and um, I enjoyed every moment of it. But I hated when I found my loved plants and leaves being eaten by bugs. As I grew older, I found ways to control and protect bugs from eating my plants. So, I determined to share them with you.
You might be wondering, what’s so new here! Use a pesticide and kill the bug, done. Ah, if it was only that easy. Living in a time where the environment is deteriorating with each day, let’s take a step ahead to use natural remedies to stop bugs eating your plants. I nearly worked and researched upon this for a month and found the following ways-
Co-Operative Planting
Some plants cooperate with your main plants to fight against bugs efficiently. These plants are often identified as companion plants. If you plant these close enough to your main plants, they will deter bugs naturally. These are often flowering plants so will enhance your garden beauty too. These are-
- Lavender is known for keeping fleas out
- Chrysanthemums plants produce organic pesticide. It deters the pests and bugs if grown close to your plants.
- Marigold roots produce a highly toxic chemical. It works great against the roundworms.
If you are thinking about making a profit and protecting bugs from eating plants with the same shot, then you might choose-
- Garlic, onions, and shallots produce natural deterrents. It is extremely effective against Japanese beetles, fleas, and aphids. Besides, these plants are easy to grow and will benefit you economically too.
- Basil plants are known to keep mosquito and flies away.
- Rosemary and sage repel bug from carrot and cabbages.
Tips: While you apply these natural remedies, it’s not impossible to get attacked by bugs bite. In such cases, I strongly advise you to apply natural anti-itch cream for bug bites such as applying ice layer or coating with oatmeal on the itchy area. Or you may buy an anti-itch cream from the nearby medical store and apply it on the area.
Natural Pesticides
However, if you feel that these companion plants are falling weak against the bugs and your plants are serving as favorite lunch and dinner items of the bugs, go for these natural and DIY pesticides-
Soapy Water
Soapy water solution dehydrates spider mites and aphids. You can easily make the solution by mixing 4 cups of water and 5 tablespoons of dish soap in a bottle, and they spray it to see the result.
Neem Oil
Neem plants, the native Indian plants is known as a natural insecticide for centuries. The neem oil plant is an organic anti-fungicide which repels scales, mites, aphids, and other small insects with great effect.
Hot Pepper
Most gardeners love growing peppers in their garden. Besides using them in your food, you might use them as bug repellent too. First, chop a handful of hot peppers and then boil them in the water pot. Then use a spray bottle to use it against the villainous bugs. Be cautious to protect your eyes while spraying as hot pepper are infamous for their scars making ability.
Coffee Ground and Oatmeal
It so happens that hot pepper plants themselves become the victim of bugs. In such cases, Organic Gardening advice to spray coffee ground or oatmeal around the plant’s soil.
Spraying Pyrethrum
Already have chrysanthemum plants in your garden? Then use the flowers of it. At first, make a powder of the dried flowers. Then mix the powder with soap and water to spray on the plants. This spray is known as Pyrethrum, instead of killing bugs, paralyzes the flying insects that live on the leaves of the plant.
Turmeric
We people use turmeric as smoothies, and it tastes delicious with food. However, most insects and bugs hate this natural bug repellent. To get a better result, sprinkle turmeric powder around the soil of the plants and leaves.
Orange And Banana Peel
We throw away the banana and orange peel as soon as we finish eating the fruits. However, banana and orange peels work excellently against bugs. So, next time you eat a banana or an orange, instead of throwing their peels, bury them near the bug infested plants.
Diatomaceous Earth
If you feel too lazy to apply any of these DIY tricks, pick up diatomaceous earth form a nearby shop and apply it against the infested plants. It is a type of white powder made out of sedimentary rocks. You can sprinkle it on the soil to kill slugs and snails, fleas, cockroaches, ants, and other pests.
Garlic
If you are a fan of watching horror movies, you have most likely noticed vampires hate garlic. Like vampires, bugs hate garlic too. Just bury a clove of garlic near your houseplants and repel bugs with a guarantee.
Nicotine
Instead of consuming nicotine and inviting cancer, use it to repel bugs. Make a nicotine mixture with one gallon of hot water, 1 cup of crushed tobacco leaves and one-fourth teaspoon dish soap and spray it over the plants.
Before signing off, I would advise you to inspect your garden regularly to see if there is any bug infestation has taken place. And take immediate actions whenever you are confronted with bugs eating your plants.
