Four Safe, Home-Made Pest Remedies for Your Organic Garden

Many people love the idea of growing a natural and organic garden but when it comes to pest control, they don’t really know where to turn.  Contrary to what the chemical companies might tell you, there are safe and natural alternatives to chemical pesticides.  And they’re effective too!  Here are four quick and easy ways to kill and repel garden pests naturally while keeping your family safe.

 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

* Many pesticides work to repel insects or even kill them.  But why worry about applying these chemicals when you can simply make your plants taste bad?  Take a gallon of hot water and mix in six cloves of garlic, a tablespoon of hot peppers, a minced onion and a teaspoon of soap (hand dishwashing soap works well).  Let it sit for a few days and then drain out the liquid into a spray bottle.  If you apply it regularly to plants, even the smell will keep harmful pests off your plants.  It also helps to deter small animals like mice and rabbits from eating your garden.  Make sure to reapply when it rains since it will wash off.

* If repelling insects using the above mixture is just not working, there are natural remedies that will kill them as well.  Try mixing a small amount of dish soap and canola oil in water and spraying down the entire affected plant.  The oil will smother the insect, so make sure to get the whole plant so you don’t miss any.

If insects are a problem in your garden, your first instinct may be to kill all the insects.  But, exercise care.  Many bugs in your garden are actually beneficial.  Use sprays only on affected areas instead of spraying indiscriminately.  You may also just consider adding beneficial insects to your garden to get rid of the pests or adding plants that naturally repel problem insects.

No name baking soda (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

* Often the harm to your plants isn’t coming from pests eating them, but from diseases, fungus, and other infections.  While you may not be able to save a plant that has become infected, you can take steps to prevent the disease from spreading to the other plants in your garden.  Try mixing up some baking soda in a bucket or water and spraying on plants.  This will help prevent a small amount of disease from spreading and wiping out your whole garden.  You can even mix baking soda with oil sprays to help stop pests and fungus at the same time.

* While baking soda helps with fungal infections, you may have issues from mildew.  Try mixing a cup or two of milk with a bucket of water and spray on plants twice a week.  Milk not only kills the mildew, it can help with fungal and other infections as well.

Natural pest control in your organic garden is not only inexpensive, it’s also a lot safer for your family and better for the environment around you. And the above remedies can all be made with common items you probably have around your home already. Hopefully these suggestions will help your sustainable garden grow at its best and with minimal pests this summer!