There aren’t many things in this world that are more fulfilling than growing your own food in your own garden. Similarly, there aren’t many things in this world that are more annoying than finding out bugs have been eating your prized zucchinis before you got around to it. Here are some simple organic tips to help you out.
Beer
Next time your plants are plagued by slugs, poor some brewski into a cup and stick it down in your soil near the affected plants. Snails are attracted to the yeast in the bubbly liquid, and they’ll crawl into the cup and drown before they eat your tomatoes.
Place the cup firmly in the soil but be sure to leave a good inch so as to not kill good organisms along with the slimy pests. You don’t want the good insects that eat the peskier pests to accidentally drown. And hey, at least the snails will die happy, right?
Broken eggshells
Next time you eat hardboiled eggs or omelets, rinse the shells off and throw them in the garden. This can help to deter small pests from crawling near enough to eat your plants. Eggshells are completely organic and biodegradable, so you don’t have to worry about harming the environment, like most pesticides do, or cleaning them up in the future.
Use an open container to store all of your eggshells after you eat them, so you can crush tons at once and have a more effective amount. Just make sure you allow them to fully dry before use to avoid any unpleasant smells.
DIY insect repellant
Try making your own bug spray with ingredients you’ve got lying around your kitchen. All you need is a spray bottle, a couple of heads of garlic, some mint leaves, dish soap, and a few teaspoons of cayenne pepper. Don’t worry – this spray is for your garden, not your skin.
Toss your garlic and mint leaves into a food processor or chop them as finely as possible. Boil ten cups of water and add your cayenne pepper. Combine everything into one pot and boil for 2-3 minutes. Once your concoction cools completely, strain and pour into spray bottles along with a few squirts of liquid dish soap. Use the mixture to spray on areas where pests are most prevalent.
Plastic forks
The thing about inserting a bunch of plastic forks upside down in the ground in your front lawn is this: it looks super tacky. But hey, if you’re determined to try anything to keep the pests from crawling around in your plants, you can give it a shot!
If you think about it, the forks actually do make some sense. After all, they serve the same purpose as chicken wire – to deter and block pests from certain areas. They won’t keep everything away, but they’ll make it less likely for snails and some animals from treading on your garden. And let’s be honest, who doesn’t have a drawer full of extra forks from takeout restaurants just rearing to go for this project?