KEEP YOUR GARDEN PEST FREE, THE NATURAL WAY!

Gardening is a great way to feed your family with homegrown fruit and vegetables, and is also a fulfilling pastime. Take our tips on deterring pests without using poisons that harm the environment and your produce.

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You step outside to admire your vegetable garden but caterpillars have gnawed at the beautiful tomatoes you were about to pick… Every gardener knows the frustration and disappointment of finding lovingly tended plants damaged or destroyed by pests. And gardeners who care about the environment (and the health of pets and wildlife) aren’t

too keen to use poisons to deter them. So what’s the solution? There are many ways to protect indoor and outdoor plants from pests and diseases without using harmful chemicals. Some are as simple as picking insects off by hand, others involve physical barriers or natural pesticides, and then there’s companion planting, which ensures stronger, healthier plants that are less prone to damage or disease.

Related article: How to plant a vegetable garden.

Related article: Make a square foot garden.

IT STARTS WITH THE SOIL
Before you plant anything outside in the garden, cultivate the soil by loosening it with a fork or spade, and remove any snails’ eggs or cutworms you find. (Earthworms are your friends out in the garden, but that’s where they should stay – you don’t want them in potted plants.)

Related article: How to make the most of a small or no garden.

EAGLE EYES
Constant vigilance can save you a lot of time and trouble in the long run. Check your plants weekly for any signs of disease or fungus, and remove affected leaves or stems. If possible burn them, or put them in the rubbish bin – don’t put them on your compost heap. Thoroughly wash your clippers or shears with soapy water after use.

STOP SNAILS IN THEIR TRACKS
If you don’t have ducks or geese to deal with snails, save your raw egg shells. Crush them quite finely and scatter them around the bases of plants the snails like to feast on, which are usually those with broader, smoother leaves (you won’t find snails on a rosemary bush, for example, with it’s tiny, needle-like leaves). And snails and slugs love a good old pint! A cunning way to trap them is to sink a container of beer into the soil so the rim is level with the ground – or simply set out saucers of beer (grape juice, grapefruit peels and orange peels also make good traps).

DIVERSITY IS KEY
The more food you provide for garden pests, the quicker they’ll multiply, so the trick is to not grow too many of the same plants together. Rather plant a group of different plants near one another, so no one particular pest is treated to a banquet of its favourite snacks.>>

DID YOU KNOW?
Ants ‘farm’ aphids much like people farm livestock. They care for them and protect them from predators, because aphids produce a sweet substance called honeydew, that ants love!

USING HERBS TO REPEL PESTS
Planting herbs is a great way to repel unwanted insects and attract the good ones. Below is a list of common pests and the herbs you can use todeter them.

• Aphids: chives, coriander, nasturtium
• Ants: tansy
• Bean beetle: marigold, nasturtium, rosemary
• Cabbage moth: mint, oregano, rosemary, sage, thyme
• Carrot fly: rosemary, sage
• Flies: basil, rue
• Potato bugs: horseradish
• Mosquitoes: basil, rosemary
• Ticks: lavender (also thought to repel mice)
• Tomato hornworm: borage, marigold
• General: winter savory has some insect-repelling qualities

Related article: How to grow and maintain a balcony garden.



GARDENERS’ FRIENDS
Many creatures like spiders, chameleons, lizards, wasps, praying mantises, lacewings, frogs and some types of ladybird feed on pests like aphids and caterpillars, beetles and grasshoppers. You want to encourage them in your garden (another reason not to use poisons, as they can kill the good guys along with the bad).

ORGANIC CULTIVATION
The Surplus People’s Project has produced an excellent, comprehensive guide on the basic principles of organic cultivation. Find it at https://spp.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/ENG-ORGANIC-REPORT-SPP-new.pdf

COMPANION PLANTING
Companion planting is a system of growing plants together that benefit one another, and that can also reduce pest damage. For a list of companion plants go to jetclub.co.za.



SPRAY IT WITH LOVE
There are plenty of different recipes for homemade insecticide sprays and other natural pest remedies. When using sprays, only apply to parts of the plant that are infected with disease or infested with pests. Here are some remedies anyone can try at home:

Alcohol spray
Mix 1 or 2 cups of 70 percent rubbing alcohol (available at pharmacies) with one litre of water. This is a good solution for repelling insects on indoor plants.

Garlic
A clove of garlic stuck into the soil of a houseplant is thought to repel common pests.

Herbal spray
Crush basil, lavender, mint, rosemary, sage or thyme leaves, soak in water over- night and strain. The water can then be used as a pest-deterring spray.

Neem oil spray
Available from some garden centres, neem oil comes from the seeds of neem trees that are indigenous to India. Mix a teaspoon of the oil with half a teaspoon of dishwashing liquid and just under a litre of warm water (the oil mixes more easily with warm water). Shake well and allow to cool. This spray repels aphids, mites, scale and other small, soft-bodies pests. It does not smell good, but it works!

Nicotine
Nicotine dust can be found at garden centres. Soak a cup of nicotine dust (or dried, crushed tobacco leaves) in a litre of warm water with a quarter of a teaspoon of dishwashing liquid. After 30 minutes, strain and use as a spray to repel leaf-chewing insects.

Pepper spray
To get rid of spider mites, make a solution of 2 tablespoons red pepper, 6 drops of dishwashing liquid and a litre of water, and spray your plants. You can also use ground black pepper, chilli pepper, dill, ginger or paprika, as they contain capsaicin, which spider mites and some other insects hate.

Soapy water
Mix 5 tablespoons of dishwashing liquid with 4 cups of water and spray on plants that have aphids or spider mites.

COMMON PESTS

APHIDS
What they look like: Tiny soft-bodied insects that vary in colour from white to black. There’s a fluffy white woolly variety too!
Plant damage: Wilting, distorted leaves and shoots, yellowing.
How to control: Spray with a hose in short, strong blasts, then remove any stragglers by hand. Also use rubbing alcohol or neem oil spray.

COMMON BROWN SCALE
What they look like: Quite flat, oval-shaped, around 3-4mm long, usually brown, but can also be shades of yellow, orange or green.
Plant damage: Withering, yellow or dropped leaves, sticky sap and a black fungus on leaves and stems.
How to control: Spray with a neem or rubbing alcohol spray, then gently scrape off the scale with your fingers. Hose the plant down to remove any traces of soap.

COMMON WHITEFLY
What they look like: About 3mm big, with a powdery white coating.
Plant damage: Stunted growth, yellowing, dropped leaves, wilting.
How to control: Spray with neem oil or soapy water; blast with short bursts of water.

MEALYBUGS
What they look like: They look like little clumps of soft, sticky white ‘cotton’.
Plant damage: Stunted growth, wilting, yellowing, dropped leaves.
How to control: As with scale insect – remember to hose down to remove traces of soap.

RED SPIDER MITES
Plant damage: Too small to see, they cause reddish spots on leaves; leaves dry up or fall off. A bad infestation can kill a plant.
How to control them: Keeping air humid around houseplants will help. An infestation can be treated the same way as aphids or mealybugs.



POLLINATORS, PREDATORS & PARASITES
By Clarke Scholtz, Jenny Scholtz & Hennie de Klerk
(Struik Nature, 59000)
Everything you ever wanted to know about insects is in this fascinating new book that’s just been published by Struik Nature. Pollinators, Predators & Parasites – The ecological roles of insects in southern Africa covers every aspect of insects and their roles in the environment, from pollination of plants to soil modification and everything in between. Read this book and you’ll find out about the crucial role insects play as ‘ecosystem service providers’. You’ll never look at them in the same way again! The highly knowledgeable authors explain how insects play a vital role in soil health, how they provide food for multitudes of other organisms – from bacteria and fungi to frogs, reptiles, birds, mammals and even some plants – and how important they are in keeping nature in balance.

As tiny as they might be, they all have their role to play on our beautiful planet. You’ll never unthinkingly swat an insect again once you’re read this beautifully written and illustrated masterpiece. With around 1,600 magnificent photographs (including macro images), the chances are that any insect you want to identify can be found here – including the ones you definitely will want to swat if found on your plants!