There is a huge upsurge of public opinion going against the use of chemicals whenever possible. People are instead re-evaluating their grandmother's old home remedies and they are not being given much support from what I can see.
I guess that this is not unusual, given the enormous amount of money we spend every year on chemicals and the vested interests of the industry itself. A lot of the money we spend on chemicals is for cleaning and the killing of insects.
Most of us use our insecticides in the house, but gardeners use even more of the substance outside killing the bugs that eat their blooms and their fruit. Would it not be superb if we could rediscover the way these things were done before the invention of chemical insecticides, some of which, like DEET, have admittedly been around for quite some time - more than 60 years in the case of DEET.
The first thing a first-rate gardener should endeavour to do is look after the environment while tending his or her garden. After all, if the environment is right for your flowers, then they will have a better chance of flourishing.
One of the best methods of doing this is by getting rid of the insects that eat or damage your plants and the best method of doing this is by encouraging the predators that eat the bad insects. Easier said than done, you might say.
However, if you generate the right environment, they will come. Two of the most widespread yet also two of the most voracious predators are ladybirds and earwigs. if you can get those to stay in your garden then most of your insect problems will solve themselves. You can encourage ladybirds by growing herbs such as fennel and dill, which they seem to like.
In order to encourage earwigs, grow dahlias. If you plant a dozen dahlias around your garden you will lure hundreds of earwigs, but sprinkle sharp sand around their base, because slugs and snails like them too.
Earwigs like to crawl under things, so leave a few potted plants about as well, but raise them off the ground a little by standing the pots on a handful of gravel. This will give the earwigs somewhere to live and will help with the drainage of the pot.
Depending on where you have your home, of course, the praying mantis is a good friend to have in the garden. These creatures look scary and they really are scary to other insects. They will eat any insect they can get hold of, but they are completely safe for humans.
Lizards and frogs and toads are good allies to have as well. They too need somewhere to crawl under and flower pots or large stones are perfect. Put a few stones the size of footballs under your shrubbery or make a rockery for them to live in. However, cats will kill them, so it is a good idea to discourage cats from your garden.
I guess that this is not unusual, given the enormous amount of money we spend every year on chemicals and the vested interests of the industry itself. A lot of the money we spend on chemicals is for cleaning and the killing of insects.
Most of us use our insecticides in the house, but gardeners use even more of the substance outside killing the bugs that eat their blooms and their fruit. Would it not be superb if we could rediscover the way these things were done before the invention of chemical insecticides, some of which, like DEET, have admittedly been around for quite some time - more than 60 years in the case of DEET.
The first thing a first-rate gardener should endeavour to do is look after the environment while tending his or her garden. After all, if the environment is right for your flowers, then they will have a better chance of flourishing.
One of the best methods of doing this is by getting rid of the insects that eat or damage your plants and the best method of doing this is by encouraging the predators that eat the bad insects. Easier said than done, you might say.
However, if you generate the right environment, they will come. Two of the most widespread yet also two of the most voracious predators are ladybirds and earwigs. if you can get those to stay in your garden then most of your insect problems will solve themselves. You can encourage ladybirds by growing herbs such as fennel and dill, which they seem to like.
In order to encourage earwigs, grow dahlias. If you plant a dozen dahlias around your garden you will lure hundreds of earwigs, but sprinkle sharp sand around their base, because slugs and snails like them too.
Earwigs like to crawl under things, so leave a few potted plants about as well, but raise them off the ground a little by standing the pots on a handful of gravel. This will give the earwigs somewhere to live and will help with the drainage of the pot.
Depending on where you have your home, of course, the praying mantis is a good friend to have in the garden. These creatures look scary and they really are scary to other insects. They will eat any insect they can get hold of, but they are completely safe for humans.
Lizards and frogs and toads are good allies to have as well. They too need somewhere to crawl under and flower pots or large stones are perfect. Put a few stones the size of footballs under your shrubbery or make a rockery for them to live in. However, cats will kill them, so it is a good idea to discourage cats from your garden.
About the Author:
Owen Jones, the author of this piece writes on quite a few topics, but is currently concerned with natural mosquito repellant. If you would like to know more or check out some great offers, please go to our website at Mosquito Repellent For Dogs.
