Healthy Living

NATURAL REMEDIES FOR GARDEN PESTS

Rabbits and groundhogs and deer—oh my! Not to mention aphids, caterpillars and slugs. What's a home gardener to do?

Best not to get out the big guns of toxic pesticides or traps. Each time you point one, it's pointing back at you in the form of environmental damage and risk of harm to family and pets.

To ensure a more beautiful garden and bountiful home harvest, try these gentle but effective techniques.

• Begin with basics. A garden that has been planted with excellent soil, good drainage and in a place that offers adequate ventilation, as well as morning sunlight (unless you are planting a shade garden), is less prone to attack from insects and disease. Leave some air space between plants and don't install them too close to your home; they should be at least a foot away from your foundation.
  
  
• Remove dead leaves and winter litter as soon as weather becomes consistently above freezing. Ground up leaves and pine needles are good mulch, but leaf litter that is not shredded just becomes a dense, wet mat that welcomes slugs and other harmful pests.
  
  
• Don't overdo the mulch. More than three inches becomes a breeding ground for slugs and mold.
  
  
• A saucer of beer placed in the garden is said to attract slugs, upon which they become so intoxicated they sink to their watery deaths. Unfortunately, these small offerings of lager also appeal to dogs, which will not only render the beer useless for slug remedies, but render your dog useless and slug-like, as well.
  
  
• Use nontoxic soap solutions from your garden center to spray susceptible plants like roses for aphids and beetles. Reapply after rain. Some gardeners have had good luck with a combination of a quarter cup dish soap and half a cup Listerine mouthwash mixed in a quart of water, to which a tablespoon of vegetable oil has been added.
  
  
• If fencing is neither a practical or pleasing solution to critters that chew prized plants, try spraying the plants with the solution above to which a generous dash of cayenne pepper has been added. Some gardeners swear by spreading among their prized plants clumps of human hair they have begged from their local barber or stylist—apparently the human smell signals some kind of warning to the four-legged predators. The same has been said of hanging bars of strong-scented deodorant soap from limbs or strong stems. Several non-toxic products are also available at your local garden center, such as Deer-Away and Liquid Fence.
  
  
• Be vigilant. Any and all of these techniques can be effective for a time and then suddenly and unexpectedly, the critters they are meant to repel become unfazed by them. Check for damage often. If you go on vacation, it might be worthwhile to have a neighbor walk the landscape periodically. Deer and groundhogs, especially, seem to sense the absence of humans, and use the opportunity to invite their friends to a garden party.