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Are the pests getting you down? I am not talking about your homeschooled kiddos. I am talking about them dirty bitches that are feasting on all your hard work in the garden. Pardon my French but, when I see all my hard work getting eaten up as soon as everything begins thriving, I am ready for a fight.
We have started our plants from SEED!
We spent weeks, maybe months, baby sitting them. Making sure they have enough light, water, circulation, our undivided attention and love, WHILE WE ARE HOMESCHOOLING OUR CHILDREN, MIND YOU!!
Holy smokes it is a long journey of wishing, waiting, and wondering if everything we have done will just go to shit at any point in time. But, we did everything on point. We never under watered. We never over watered. We adjusted our lights everyday according to the fluctuation of the height of the plants. Because, as you may already know, they will grow inches overnight.
So, now we gingerly skip down to our properly prepared beds with young plants in our hands. We take special care to plant them properly into their resting bed.
But now…… boom, boom, BOOM.
We let them be for about a week because, hey, we did everything right, right? We feel confident that they will be ok and soon provide us with food because we were such good boys and girls during their upbringing. But here is the thing…
…Observation is key.
Take a stroll shortly after planting through your growing space. You may see, depending on the weather, that your lovelies are under attack. Holes in the leaves. Leaves are looking to be eaten up. Plants are looking sad with yellowing leaves and stems sagging.
What did I do wrong?
You did nothing wrong. Mother Nature just decided to teach a lesson. OR you decided not to follow our techniques. If you do the work and have healthy thriving plants, they will have a higher immunity leaving them better equipped to fight off pests and disease.
You see, just like our gut biome is one of our main lines of defense against pests and diseases, the soil that you have built works in the same way. Healthy soil = more hardy plants. Mother Nature is always paying attention and she will step in when she is called upon.
Why Are These Pests Out To Get Me and My Plants.
I hate to break it to you, but they are all there for a reason. To take out the weak. However, that concept is not entirely true. Sometimes the right mixture of weather conditions will bring them in. The health of the soil could also be a factor.
Sometimes pest pressure is out of our control leading us to take necessary action. Luckily there are many natural ways to deter pests, kill pests, confuse pests, and control pests. Let’s get right into some of the common foes out there.
5 Common Garden Pests
Garden Pest 1. Aphids
Commonly found on the underside of leaves. These little suckers can decimate your crops, if not spotted and controlled in a timely manner. Like it or not, you can almost always bet on finding them in the garden.
One common sign that they have set up shop on your plants is ants. Ants just love these tasty treats, but don’t count on them to do the dirty work for you. There are a few ways you can help in the fight against them.
Blast them with a garden hose nozzle.
You will have to be diligent in getting every leaf and stems until you have washed them all off. Preferably at sunset so that the heat of the sun does not magnify the heat onto the leaves. This may take a few days of revisiting the sight during an infestation.
Neem oil application can do wonders when done right.
But, not just any neem oil that you come across on the poison isle at your big box store. It is important to source out Organic Cold Pressed Neem Oil. We want the purest form. Read the labels on the products you buy. Pure neem oil is what we are after folks. Do not be a lazy consumer on this one.
Remedies for Aphids
Simple Neem Oil Recipe
32 oz. Spray bottle.
1 tsp. 100% cold pressed organic neem oil.
1/4 tsp. Standard dawn dish soap with no additives. Even better, use Castile soap.
32 oz. Water. Preferably rain water, filtered water, or tap water that has been left to sit for 24-48 hours.
- Add the water and the neem oil first and shake it up. Be sure to add the dish soap last. Natural separation will occur between oil and water.
- Then add the dish soap and gently mix. If you decide to shake it after adding soap, you will end up with a bunch of bubbles, so shake at your own risk!
- Spray this amazing remedy on every leaf on all sides of the leaf. Not a bad idea to go ahead and spray the stems, branches, and soil below.
- Go ahead and apply at dawn or better yet, at sunset. You may need to reapply if you still see aphid pressure after a couple days.
Place this recipe into your go to pest killer book. Remember, that this will help to eradicate the aphids. Do not assume that after one application of this remedy the issue will be gone. You still must regularly check your plants during an infestation. You may still need to apply the neem oil spray until there are no more signs of aphids.
Garden Pest 2. Vine Borers
Often attacking Cucurbit crops like cucumber, pumpkin, summer/winter squash, and melons. These little demons live and feed inside the stem. This makes them quite difficult to notice when they find a home amongst your crops.
However, once you learn how to identify the damage they bring early on you might just have a chance in the fight. First signs are wilting of the leaves. Next, take a close look at the stems for holes as you may be able to see the caterpillar in action making a feast out of the inside of the stems.
Remedies For Vine Borers
Get your crops planted as early as possible. This will help plants to get strong and healthy before these suckers come with the weather they thrive in.
Cut a slit gently with a knife at the entry hole down the stem.
Find the caterpillar and remove by hand or with tweezers. I will just go ahead and tell you friends, you will never see me going out in the dead of night with a knife and tweezers to pull out these assholes. Ain’t doin it, Not gonna happen. You do you. But, that ain’t me. So, I will just try to stay vigilant and remove any damaged looking stems and leaves.
Use A Floating Row Cover
Doing this early on will help keep the adult moths from laying eggs on the vines. These covers will need to be removed when the plants begin to flower to allow proper access from our pollinating friends.
Use Your Flame Thrower
Just kidding but seriously, during your highest emotions when you notice these trespassers destroying all your hard work. This approach is probably not a good an idea. But, let us just come together and express our emotions towards these pests that will test our patience and hard work. And let’s be honest how tempting would it be to set fire to the crops?!
Garden Pest 3. Caterpillars
Caterpillars are very common in the garden and they can destroy a whole plant over night. Two common ones are tomato hornworms and cabbage worms. Be on the lookout for these two nemesis’ because they work fast. I have never met a hungrier pest. These enemies will work 10x harder than our current youth generation.
Remedies For Caterpillars
Pull Them Off By Hand
Either put them into a bucket and feed them to your chickens, throw them on the ground and squash them, or put them in a bucket of soapy water.
BT (Bacillus Thuringiensis)
I absolutely love BT, because it has worked for me for many years, as long as it is applied properly. Read the label!!! The label is helpful and it is there for you to read.
When applying, use a garden sprayer and spray every leaf. Top, bottom, sides, everything. Go ahead and spray the stems and soil below as well. While you are applying BT, you will see caterpillars. Remove them when you see them.
Remove them!
Sorry, sometimes when I mention this step to folks they decide to not listen. Do not expect BT to work after one application, although it could. This does not work on contact. The caterpillar has to ingest it.
Continue to observe your crops after applying. Sometimes it can take several applications to take control of and remove these demons from your crops. When you see the white moths flying around your brassicas, they are the ones to blame for an infestation.
They lay eggs in the darkness of the night. Some growers go out at night to stop the process. However, I never have and probably never will.
Garden Pest 4. Japanese Beetles
These beetles will go after many plants, but they have a special taste for fruit trees, grape vines and roses. The Japanese beetle grubs live in the soil and feed on grass and other roots. The grubs will mature into the shiny green loud buzzing ones you commonly see and will decimate plants very quickly while working in groups.
As a kid, I remember catching them and tying a string around their body and watching them fly like a kite. There are some measures you can take to get rid of them or help to control them.
Remedies for Japanese Beetles
Pull Them Off By Hand
Pulling these beetles off by hand and dropping them into a bucket of soapy water is an easy way to get them off your crop. Capturing them by hand is very easy, as they are more concerned about feasting on leaves.
Use Trap Crops To Attract Them
Then you can spray them or dispose of the plants. I planted dozens of marigolds last season. I observed that the marigolds were covered with beetles, but my tomatoes went untouched. This could have been a coincidence, but I will be planting marigolds everywhere from now on.
Beneficial Nematodes
Beneficial nematodes are microscopic roundworms that tend to live in the soil. These little guys are on the good side of things are cause no harm to humans. They tend to feast on pests in the garden. They can be applied to the soil during the off season to help also eliminate grubs.
Garden Pest 5. Snails and Slugs
Snails and Slugs are almost guaranteed to be found in the garden feasting on plant leaves. If you visit the garden after sunset, you will more than likely find some. There are some things we can try to keep them out.
Remedies For Snails & Slugs
- Setting traps can be super helpful. There are many different kinds of traps you can make yourself. One is to place a small shallow dish with some beer in it in various areas of the garden. The slugs will get a good buzz and then black out and drown.
- Copper strips can be used, but only work in a raised bed.
- Slug bait like Sluggo.
- Crushed egg shells have worked for some. The slugs don’t seem to like crawling across them.
Garden Pest 6. Squash Bugs
These pests love cucumbers, melons, pumpkins, and squash. I have not heard of a single gardener or farmer that has not had issues with these guys. If they are visiting your garden, you will see them and/or their eggs. They have no intention in being sneaky and you will see them during the day. Be sure to check both sides of the leaves. Some forms of management can help like…
Remedies For Squash Bugs
- Pulling them off by hand and putting them in a bucket of soapy water.
- Scrape the eggs off of the plant and put them in soapy water.
These are some of the most common pests you can almost bet on finding. There are, unfortunately, many others you are bound to find, but we wanted to just brush upon some of the most common ones we find. Gardening can be one of the most humbling, therapeutic, peaceful, and frustrating activities ever. But, the benefits outweigh all.
Remember that the creators design inhabits all different forms of life and it is our part to learn how to navigate through it and live amongst it all. So, put on your pest gloves and get out there and let them know that you will not stand by and watch them destroy all of your hard work.
Until next time…
That was a good read! Grab my entire attention with the humor. I just hate pests and their havoc. I learned better about neem oil! Thank you!