How to prevent insects from eating plants • Plant a small garden (2023)

Last updated on September 14, 2022

As a gardener, you often wonder whether you started a vegetable garden to feed yourself and your family or to provide food for insect pests in your garden.

And anyone who has already planted a vegetable garden to feed themselves (I presume☺️) is inevitably faced with the question:

How can I prevent insects from eating my plants?

Those garden pests that spoil all your hard work can be very annoying.

You might be so upset that you briefly think about getting in your car to buy a synthetic pesticide from Lowes or Home Depot and leaving it for the bugs.

Please wait. If you care about your health and the environment, let's try natural solutions first.

There are some simple, smart tricks that will help you keep bugs out of your garden. And the best part is that it doesn't cost much. You probably already have most of the suggested items at home.

*This post may contain affiliate links. If you decide to purchase any of the products I recommend, I may receive a free commission for you.

15 easy DIY ways to get rid of bugs on plants naturally

#1 Strong jet of water

Try the simplest thing first: hose them down. A strong jet of water kills aphids and most other insects. Do this in the morning to allow the plants to dry out and prevent fungus from developing.

#2 Tax Guide

Prepare a small bucket of soapy water. Wearing disposable gloves, collect the insects and caterpillars from the plants and place them in the bucket.

Alternatively, you can gently shake or tap the plant by holding the bucket underneath. Pests fall into soapy water and drown.

#3 crushed eggshell

Sprinkle crushed eggshells into the soil around the plants to protect them from slugs, earthworms and ants.

Want to know about other uses for eggshells in the garden?

read relatedHow to make soil fertile naturallyArticle.

#4 Ground Pepper

Prevent cabbage and onion flies from laying eggs at the base of plants by sprinkling ground black pepper, chili pepper or paprika in the soil around the plants. This should also deter rabbits from your garden.

#5 Flour with pepper

To protect cabbage and other cabbages (kale, kale, broccoli) from cabbage and hookworm, mix 1/2 cup flour with 1 tablespoon ground cayenne pepper or paprika and sprinkle over plants. Pests eat the mixture and die.

#6 wood ash

Wood ash has a rough surface that damages the skin of slugs and slugs, causing them to dry out and die.

To protect your plants from snails and snails, sprinkle a 2-inch strip of wood ash around the plants. Be sure to keep the ash at least 2 inches from the plant's stem, otherwise the plant may burn due to the strong alkalinity of the wood ash.

#7 Paper towels or toilet paper rolls

To protect your plants from nematodes, use a paper towel barrier or a toilet paper roll. Alternatively, you can cut off both ends of a soup can with a can opener and use it as a protective collar around the bottom of the plant.

Cutworms feed on young plant stems at or just below the surface of the soil. They affect a wide variety of crops, including cabbage and other cruciferous vegetables, carrots, celery, corn, lettuce, peas, peppers, potatoes, asparagus, beans and tomatoes.

By placing the cardboard tube around the plants so that one end of the tube is a few inches below the ground and the other end a few inches above the ground, you should be protecting your plants from most types of caterpillars.

You can place a paper tube collar over young seedlings and press into the soil immediately after planting. But if your transplant is large, push a collar into the stem (from the root side) before transplanting, and after the plant is in the ground, push the collar under the surface of the soil.

#8Es

According to Jerry Baker, you can destroy any type of insect pest with a garlic oil spray.

You can buyDurkee liquid garlicspray it on or make your own garlic oil.

To make garlic oil at home, mix 1 whole minced garlic clove with 1 cup of vegetable oil in a glass jar, cover tightly and store in the fridge. After 2 days strain out the solids and your garlic oil is ready!

Store the garlic oil in a glass container in the refrigerator.

#9 Beer or yeast

To fight snails in your strawberries or hostas, place any container: plate, can, jar and fill with beer. Wait for the snails to arrive at the party, get drunk and get caught.

Since the real snail attractant in beer is the yeast, you can use plain yeast (or a mixture of yeast and honey) to attract and capture the snails.

Learn more about snails and10 common garden pests.

#10 Soap (avoid antibacterial soap)

on aspray bottleMix 2 cups of water and 1 tablespoon of dish soap and spray on plants infested with aphids, mealybugs, whiteflies, thrips and spider mites. Soap should kill soft-bodied bugs by breaking their cuticles.

Remember that when you spray insects, you are also spraying your plant; so pay attention to the type of detergent you are using. Do not use antibacterial soap or degreasing soap.

It's a good idea to apply a spot treatment to a plant and wait 24 hours to ensure the plant itself is not affected by the spray.

#11 Grapefruit or orange peel

Use grapefruit or orange peels to lure snails and snails away from your plants. Snails like to hide in dark, damp places. That way, when they gather in the “Citrus Peel House”, just pick them up and throw them away.

Did you know that you can also use citrus peels to improve your soil? More information atHow to make the soil fertileArticle.

Also citrus peelsScare the cats in your garden.

#12 Plants That Keep Bugs Away

Grow plants with insect repellent properties: marigolds, peppermint, peppermint, catnip, basil, thyme, rosemary, nasturtium, sage, oregano, lemon balm throughout your garden to keep unwanted insects away.

french marigoldNot only does it repel insects from your edible plants, but it also decorates your garden.

Or you can place insect repellent plants more strategically.

Plant for example:

• Garlic near the bean to repel the bean weevil or near the cabbage to protect it from the hook
• Basil near asparagus to ward off asparagus beetles or near carrots to ward off carrot flies
• Catnip near cabbage to protect it from cabbage hooks or near squash to ward off squash bugs
• Onion near Swiss chard to repel aphids
• Put cilantro near the potato to deter Colorado potato beetles
• Nasturtium near cucumbers to deter cucumber beetles

However, I should warn you that the insect repellent plants from the mint family mentioned above are easy to care for and can become quite invasive in your garden, which brings us to our next suggestion.

#13 Peppermint and Spearmint Essential Oil

Peppermint essential oil prevents ants, aphids, flies, bugs, caterpillars, mosquitoes, spiders and even your cat or dog from digging in your garden.

Peppermint Essential Oil (Mint piperita) from Plant Therapy- Can be used for your body, home and garden.

Cornell.edu-DokumentConditions:

“As a pesticide, the main active ingredient (in mint), menthol, has biocidal properties and is effective in controlling mites, mosquito larvae and other pests. It also has insect, dog and cat repellent properties.

Peppermint essential oil can also be used as a pesticide.That's itResearch notes, "While peppermint (Mentha piperita) repels ants, flies, lice and moths, peppermint (Mentha spicata) and basil (Ocimumbasilicum) are also effective at repelling flies."

To use essential oils as an insect repellent, you need to combine 10 drops of themdemandÖmint essential oilwith 1 liter of distilled water in aspray bottle. Shake to mix and use to spray pests on your plants.

If you want to read about scientific studies on other essential oils for insect pest controlThat's it.

#14 Toads and Frogs

The best thing you can do to naturally exterminate herbivorous insects is to attract frogs and toads to your yard. Frogs and toads eat snails, snails, grubs, cucumber beetles, ants, flies, mealybugs, caterpillars, earwigs and grasshoppers.

Afterliving gardens"A single frog will eat tens of thousands of pests in a single season, typically consuming two to three times its weight."

If you have a water fountain in your backyard, I bet you already have a lot of frogs and toads.

Another thing you can do to attract frogs is to build a frog house out of an old flower pot that will provide shade and shelter. Or buy a decorative ceramicHouse of Toads and FrogsBeautify your garden and bring home a frog or toad year after year.

#15 Plant dill to attract beneficial insects

I recommend planting a lotdillto attract beneficial insects: ladybugs, aphids and lacewings to eat the aphids that destroy your plants.

Planting dill near cabbages will attract beneficial parasitic wasps, which will protect your plants from cabbage moths.

Would you like to learn how to grow dill and other culinary and medicinal herbs? Click on the image below to get Garden Lady's beautiful full color herbal e-book.

(Video) How to Keep Pests Out of your Garden, 5 Tips for Organic Pest Control

Related reading:

learnthe safest commercial organic pesticides– best insecticide for gardens and best organic insecticide for fruit trees – that I personally use.

Get more tips onHow to recognize and control garden pests.

To tryThe 9 best plants to repel catsto keep cats out of your garden.

Discover more gardening tips belowcultivate and maintain your garden.

Final Thoughts on DIY Natural Pest Control

There are simple, inexpensive ways to protect your garden from plant-destroying insects.

Some of these can be applied right away: spray the bugs, drown them in soapy water, make traps, barriers, and sprays out of things you probably already have around the house.

Some of the methods described require advance planning. These methods include:

Pin for future reference!

1) Growing insect repellent plants

2) attract beneficial insects and insects to feed on evil insects.

In the long run, planting plants that repel bugs and attract beneficial bugs is more effective at controlling the bad bugs, produces longer-lasting results, and doesn't require more work on your part once they're established.

So, as you plan your garden for the year ahead, consider long-term solutions to keeping bugs from eating your plants.

What organic DIY solution to the garden pest problem do you use? Share in the comments!

And if you found this article helpful, please share it with your friends.

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How to stop insects from eating plants