Pests can be a problem for people, even if they aren’t inside the walls of your home. One of the most significant issues that people face with pests is their effect on plants and gardens that some homeowners work so hard on! The traditional solution for keeping pests away from your garden is to spray your plants with pesticides; however, exposing crops that you plan on eating to synthetic chemicals isn’t always a great idea. In this article, we’ll go over some alternatives to pesticides that people can use to protect their gardens from pests!
Plant Variety
One of the best ways to stop pests from attacking your garden is to grow plants that are resistant to pests and diseases. For example, Butternut squash is far more resistant to pests and diseases than other forms of squash are. This same idea applies to any vegetable you may consider growing, so before you decide on what to plant, do some quick research into which varieties of that vegetable are pest and disease resistant.
Intercropping
Intercropping is the process of diversifying the varieties of plants in your garden. For reasons that aren’t fully understood, pests are less likely to affect them when different crops are mixed together rather than in their own sections or rows. So, the next time you plant your garden, think about intercropping your plants instead of assigning one specific type of plant to a particular section or row.
Physical Barriers
Perhaps the best way to prevent pests from ruining your garden is by putting up physical barriers around your plants. Fences and chicken wire that are implanted into the ground are a great way to prevent rodents and other larger pests from attacking your garden. As for insects, plant covers work well on crops that are susceptible to being eaten by beetles and other bugs. If you use plant covers, be sure to remove them when the crops flower so they can be accessed by pollinators.
Contact Pied Piper Pest Control!
If you’re in need of pest control services in the greater New Orleans area, please get in touch with us! Our licensed pest control specialists have extensive experience dealing with a wide variety of pests, including rodents, insects, birds, bats, spiders, and more! Give us a call at (504) 366-1333 or fill out the contact form on our website, and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible!