Things To Do Before You Start Gardening Again

If you’re reading this, it’s probably because at some point or another you have attempted to start a garden. The problem is, you’re worried about wasting your time and killing off everything that you’ve committed time and energy to.

What a lot of people don’t know is that one reason your garden may not be thriving is because it’s been infested with common garden pests.

Today we’re going to go over some pests that love to invade your garden, and what you should do this to keep them out in 4 easy steps.

Common Garden Pests

Depending on where you live, you could potentially have more pests. The pests below are some of the most common troublemakers in gardens all across America. 

Aphids

If you’ve seen little clusters of tiny insects on your plants, you’ve probably spotted a swarm of aphids. Larger infestations will damage and eventually kill your plants. Most of the time, you can get rid of these guys by pinching off vegetation where aphids gather. Be sure to dispose of this vegetation in the trash and not on the ground.

Cutworms

Cutworms look like tiny caterpillars, and will often feed on your plants at night. They gather and begin eating at the ground-level or roots of your plants. 

Thrips

These pests look like tiny black flies. They’re sap suckers and will cause white patches on petals and leaves on plants and veggies.

Flea Beetles 

Adult flea beetles eat foliage and will leave small holes on leaves, while immature beetles feed on the roots of your garden. These pests go for anything and everything, but can thankfully be easily prevented with our preventive steps below. 

Whiteflies

Whiteflies are the tiny flying insects you’ve probably seen on the leaves of your plants, or flying in swarms around your garden. They love to feed on plant juices, and will leave behind a sticky substance that can easily get moldy. If you see mold on your plants, you probably have a whitefly infestation.

Red Spider Mite

Spider mites can be found sucking sap under leaves, or making fine webs that are barely visible to the human eye. You can spot an infestation by looking for yellow mottling on your leaves. 

Keeping Pests Out of Your Garden 

So now that you’ve figured out what pests might be attacking your garden, it’s time to set your garden up to ensure that it won’t be infested by pests or diseases. 

1. Use Good-Quality Materials

Giving your plants a good bed of soil and fertilizer will not only help keep your plants thriving, but also help keep pests at bay! You can also ensure you won’t introduce diseases to your garden by changing out your garden tools yearly, and cleaning them after every use. 

2. Practice Regular Care

Starting even the smallest of gardens is a commitment. Remember that weeding out your yard and garden is also vital in not spreading diseases. You should also be rotating your crops so that soil-borne pathogens will have never have the chance to get too big. Finally, sterilize your soil so that you keep invasive pests out and invite beneficial insects.

3. Encourage Beneficial Insects  

As crazy as it seems, there are lots of insects you should be inviting into your garden. Pollinators like bees, butterflies, and ladybugs will help growth in your garden and keep it healthy! Something as simple as planting lavender and other flowers loved by these insects will not only help the pollinators, but will smell amazing.

4. Establish Preventative Barriers

There are lots of ways you can prevent pests from entering into your garden. Here are some of our favorite ways you can keep them out! 

• For the ground-level pests like cutworms, make collars around your seedlings. To make a collar, take cardboard or aluminum foil that is 10 inches long and 4 inches wide, then plant the barrier around each seedling.

• Use mesh row covers around young plants to keep out beetles, and other high-climbing pests. 

• Place yellow sticky traps around your garden. This will also help you track infestations that are harder to spot like spider mites.

• Dust food-grade diatomaceous earth throughout your garden.

• Use products that naturally keep pests out like neem oil. You can create your very own DIY spray on both you and your garden to keep out pests. 

Conclusion

Gardening can be fun and rewarding. Don’t let pests disturb your hard work and fun by following these easy steps. If you want to know more about pests that can invade your garden and what you can do to stop them, call Pest Brigade at (833) 431-0401 to speak with one of our qualified partners.

Tell us some of your favorite garden-saving tips in the comments below!