If your region is currently in its warm/wet season, you have likely swatted away more than your fair share of the dreaded blood-sucking mosquito. They’re not only annoying--insistent on interrupting your campfire fun and producing extremely itchy bumps--they’re also … [Read more...]
How to Get Rid of Grasshoppers in the Garden
If your vegetable garden beds are surrounded by grass, your crops may get visitors: grasshoppers. If grasshoppers make their way to your veggies, you’ll begin to notice holes in your crops’ leaves and partially eaten produce. If very large numbers are present, you may lose your … [Read more...]
Natural Ways to Get Rid of Ants in Your Vegetable Garden
So far, we’ve provided gardeners with humane tips to clear their vegetable gardens of unwanted rabbits, squirrels, and cats. Methods ranged from ultrasonic devices to physical barriers. However, ant infestations are a different beast of a problem. Too small to be restrained by … [Read more...]
5 Humane Ways to Get Rid of Squirrels in Your Garden
While we normally think of squirrels as nut and fruit lovers (or those critters that habitually empty your bird feeders) they are also particularly attracted to several vegetable crops: corn, tomatoes, mushrooms, pole beans, and chard. They prefer sweet crops, so anything ripe … [Read more...]
4 Humane Ways to Keep Rabbits Out Of The Garden
Looking for humane ways to keep those "wascally wabbits" from snacking on your lettuce and carrots? The best offense is a good defense: literally, a fence will do the job quite effectively. However, if you opt not to fence in your vegetable garden for whatever reason and your … [Read more...]
10 Organic Pest Control Methods
If your vegetable garden is overrun with pests, the first step is to identify the invader. Snap a photo of the pest and compare to others on the internet, or ask a local garden expert. Once you have identified the pest, now you can take proactive measures to protect your garden. … [Read more...]
Flea Control Options for the Yard
By Julie Christensen We can send a man to the moon, separate conjoined twins and build computers capable of storing millions of bits of information, yet we can’t get rid of the common flea. Fleas can be found almost everywhere, including your yard and your home. If you have … [Read more...]
Cat Repellant Options for the Lawn and Garden
Looking for ways to keep cats out of your yard or garden? Cats and gardening don’t mix. Cats chew leaves and lay in the middle of plants, flattening them. Then there are the little surprises you find in the soil and sand, as well as the nasty odor. What to do? If you’re having a … [Read more...]
Garden Fencing: A Roundup of the Best Ideas
by Jill Potvin Schoff Are you planning a garden and wish to incorporate the best fencing into your design? Or do you have unidentified visitors wreaking havoc in your existing garden? We’ve scoured the web for the best garden fencing ideas to keep out garden pests. From … [Read more...]
Pea Weevils: How to Prevent and Control
Pea weevils are more often a problem in agricultural fields than the home garden, but if you notice leaves with scalloped cuts around the edges or pea pods with deformed or missing seeds, pea weevils are the likely culprit. Proper soil preparation and planting can prevent most … [Read more...]
Houseplant Bugs: Identification and Control
Houseplant bugs usually enter your home as unwanted stowaways on newly purchased plants. Once in your home, they can quickly spread to other houseplants, where they damage plants by actively feeding on the leaves or sucking the juices from plants. Insect pests on outdoor plants … [Read more...]
Bean Pests: How to Identify and Control
Green beans are one of the simplest garden vegetables to grow, producing a bountiful crop with very little care. Most bean pests are easily controlled through natural means and rarely require the use of pesticides. Watch for the following pests in your bean patch: Aphids Aphids … [Read more...]
Corn Earworms: How to Prevent and Control
Corn earworms are a bane to both home gardeners and commercial farmers alike. In fact, they cause more damage to corn crops than any other insect and are found throughout the continental U.S. In addition to corn, corn earworms eat at least 16 other cultivated crops and over 100 … [Read more...]
Potato Bugs: How to Prevent and Control
Colorado potato bugs, also know as Colorado potato beetles, were first observed feeding on potatoes in Colorado in 1859, and quickly spread across the U.S. They are now found in every state and are a major pest for both home gardeners and commercial agriculture. Most pesticides … [Read more...]
Slug and Snail Pest Control
In many parts of the country, slugs and snails are the springtime bane of the gardener's existence. There are few things worse than waking up in the morning to go check on your garden only to find slimy, glittering trails that lead to devastated plants. Slugs and snails leave … [Read more...]
Deer Proof Plants
Deer are beautiful creatures that occasionally wander into our yards and bless us with their graceful presence. Until garden season. Then they're pests who sneak into our yards when we least expect it and chow down on everything we hold dear (pun intended). No plant is deer … [Read more...]
Troubleshooting Tomato Problems
There is no better feeling in the world than walking into your own garden and picking a big, red, juicy tomato off of the vine. Slicing into the gorgeous fruit and putting it onto your sandwich can be almost as satisfying as eating it. Homegrown, vine ripened tomatoes are one of … [Read more...]
How to Control Snails and Slugs in the Garden
Snails and slugs can destroy a garden faster than just about anything, so it’s very important for gardeners to understand their habits in order to control them. Snails and slugs are both mollusks, and very similar to each other; the big difference is that snails have shells. Both … [Read more...]
What to Do About Squash Vine Borers
Photo found on Flickr, courtesy of La Grande Farmer's Market. Have you ever had a healthy-looking squash plant suddenly wilt and die? If your answer is yes, you know the devastation of the squash vine borer. To check for squash vine borers, look near the base of the plants for … [Read more...]
Simple Garden Fences
Photo found on Flickr, courtesy of InAweofGodsCreation. You have probably heard the adage that good fences make good neighbors. That’s true not just between people but also between our gardens and the forces that can damage them or lessen our pleasure of them. Whether the … [Read more...]