One of the great pleasures of having a garden is sitting back and relaxing surrounded by beautiful plants and flowers. However, one of the drawbacks of gardening is dealing with pesky insects looking for a bite to eat. This article will explore different types of plants and flowers that attract different insects. It will also touch on the importance of pest-proofing your garden.
Contents
Clean Up Any Fallen Fruit Or Vegetables
One of the biggest culprits for attracting insects into your garden is fallen fruit or vegetables. If you are lucky, you can catch these before any insects have a chance to lay eggs in them or spread their bacteria all over your garden. Hard fruits, such as apples and pears, are safe from infestation from most insects because they are too hard for insects to get through. However, many types of fruit will become very soft once ripened and thus provide an open buffet line for pests looking to eat them. It is best to pick up fallen fruits or vegetables every day so that they do not have time to acquire mold, which can further attract unwanted visitors.
Add Some Good Insects
One of the best ways to keep your garden insect-free is by surrounding it with plants and flowers that attract good insects. The good bugs in question include praying mantises, ladybugs, and lacewings (lacewing larvae eat 400-800 aphids each, whereas adult lacewings eat nectar from flowers). When planting flowers in your garden, opt for any plant that attracts bees, such as marigolds, coneflowers, yarrow, or even lavender. Avoid using nightshades such as petunias and tomatoes because these plants attract certain types of insects and bugs that we do not want in our gardens (i.e., aphids and spider mites).
Take Care Of Weeds
Many types of weeds have a waxy cuticle that repels water. This is why they can be so hard to get rid of due to their deep roots and the fact that they grow back very quickly once you have removed them from the ground. They also contain certain chemicals that will prevent many plants from growing close to them, thus preventing any good insects from coming around. Therefore, it would be beneficial for your garden if you weed out these types of weeds regularly to make sure there are no hidden forests in your garden where pests can hide and breed!
Organic Insect Repellents
Insects will be around no matter what you do. They are a part of nature and want to be in your garden as much as you would! Therefore, we must learn how to attract the right insects and keep the wrong ones far away from our gardens! The best way to do this is by using safe, natural insect repellents. Many different substances can help repel these pesky insects, such as cedar chips, eucalyptus oil, garlic sprays, and neem oil. These oils either mask the smell of your plants from certain pests or make your vegetables taste bitter, so they would rather look for food elsewhere. In addition, some odors such as rosemary or chili pepper repel insects.
Sticky Traps
Sticky traps are another excellent way to keep your garden free of certain insects. You can buy these or make them on your own by coating some strong, white paper with a mixture of vegetable glycerin and honey before sticking them onto stakes in your garden. This will attract flying insects such as wasps, moths, and flies because it smells like rotting fruit. Once the pesky bugs fly onto the sheet, they cannot get off since their feet are stuck in the goo! However, you do not want to use this method too often because wasps are essential for controlling aphid populations, ultimately harming plants if left unchecked.
Conclusion
There are many different types of plants and flowers that attract different insects. Therefore, it is beneficial to try out several different types of organic insect repellents to keep any pests away from your garden! When doing so, make sure to get rid of hidden weeds in the ground and fallen fruits or vegetables on the ground. This way, you can prevent any larvae or eggs from hatching and growing into future generations of destructive insects.