If we could do our gardening, without any interference, from the pests which attack plants, then indeed, gardening would be a simple matter. But, all the time we must be vigilant, for these little foes, little in size, but tremendous in the havoc they wreak.

As human illness may often be prevented, by healthful conditions, so pests may be kept away, by strict garden cleanliness. Heaps of waste are lodging places, for the breeding of insects. I do not think a compost heap presents a big threat, but unkempt, uncared for spots, seem to invite trouble.

There are certain aids, to keeping pests numbers down. The constant stirring up, of the soil, by earthworms, is an aid, in keeping the soil open to air and water. Many of our common birds, feed upon insects. The sparrows, robins, chickadees, meadow larks and orioles are all examples of birds, who help in this way. Some insects feed on other and harmful insects. Some kinds of ladybugs, do this good deed for us. The ichneumon-fly helps too. And toads are wonders, in the number of insects they can consume, at one meal. The toad deserves very kind treatment, from all of us.

Each gardener should try to make her, or his garden, into a place attractive to birds and toads. A good birdhouse, grain sprinkled about, in early spring, a water-place, are all invitations for birds to stay a while, in your garden. If you wish to keep the toads, then fix things up for them too. During a hot summer day, a toad likes to rest in the shade. By night, he is ready to go forth, to eat, but not to kill, since toads prefer live food. How can one “fix up” for toads? Well, one thing to do, is to prepare a retreat, quiet, dark and damp. A few big stones, under the shade of a shrub, with perhaps a carpeting of damp leaves, would appear very inviting to a toad.

There are two general classes of insects, known by the way they do their work. One kind gnaws at the plant, really taking pieces of it into it’s system. This kind of insect has a mouth fitted to do this work. Grasshoppers and caterpillars are of this sort. The other kind, sucks the juices from a plant. This, in some ways, is the worst sort. Plant lice belong here, as do mosquitoes, which then prey on us. All the scale insects fasten themselves on plants, and suck out the life of the plants.

Now, how can we fight these pests? The gnawing fellows may be caught with poison, sprayed upon the plants, which they will then take into their bodies, with the plant. The Bordeaux mixture, is a poison which is sprayed upon plants, for this purpose. 

In the other case, the only thing to do, is to attack the insect directly. So certain insecticides, as they are called, are sprayed on the plant, to fall upon the insect. They are fatal, when absorbed, or ingested by the insect. 

Sometimes we are troubled with underground insects, at work. You have probably seen a garden, covered with ant hills. Here is a remedy, but one of which you must be careful.

This question is constantly being asked, ‘How can I tell what insect is doing the destructive work?’ Well, you can tell, partly by the work done, and partly by seeing the insect itself. The latter is not always so easy, to accomplish. I had cutworms, one season and never saw one of them. I saw only the work done by them. If stalks of tender plants are cut clean off, you can be pretty sure, the cutworm is at work. What does he look like? Well, that is a hard question, because his family is a large one. If you see a grayish, striped caterpillar, you know it is a cutworm. But, because of it’s habit, of resting in the ground, during the day and working by night, it is difficult to catch sight of one. The cutworm is around, early in the season, ready to cut the flower stalks of the hyacinths. When the peas come on, a bit later, he is ready for them too. A very good way to block him off, is to put paper, or tin collars around the plants. These collars should be about an inch, away from the plant.

Of course, plant lice are more common. Those we see, are often green in colour. But they may also be red, yellow, or brown. Lice are easy enough to find, since they are always clinging to their host. As sucking insects, they have to cling close to a plant, for food, and one is pretty sure to find them. But, the biting insects do their work, and then go hide. That makes them much more difficult to deal with.

Rose slugs do great damage, to the rose bushes. They eat out the body of the leaves, so that just the veining is left. They are soft-bodied, green above and yellow below. 

A beetle, like the striped beetle, attacks young melons and squash leaves. It eats the leaf, by riddling out holes in it. This beetle, as it’s name implies, is striped. The back is black, with yellow stripes running lengthwise. 

Then there are the slugs, which are common garden pests. The slug will devour almost any garden plant, whether it be a flower, or a vegetable. They lay lots of eggs, in old rubbish heaps. Do you see the benefit of cleaning up rubbish? The slugs do more harm in the garden, than almost any other single insect pest. You can find them, in the following way. There is a trick, for bringing them to the surface of the ground, in the day time. You see, they rest during the day, below ground. So, just water the soil, in which the slugs are supposed to be. How are you to know where they are? They are quite likely to hide near the plants, that they are feeding on. So water the ground, with some nice clean lime water. This will disturb them, and up they’ll poke their heads, to see what is going on.

Beside these most common of pests, pests which attack many kinds of plants, there are some special pests for special plants. Discouraging, is it not? Beans have pests of their own; so have potatoes and cabbages. In fact, the vegetable garden has many inhabitants. In the flower garden, lice are very bothersome, the cutworm and the slug have a good time there, too, and ants often get very numerous, as the season advances. But, for real discouraging insect troubles, the vegetable garden takes the prize. If we were going into fruit, to any extent, perhaps the vegetable garden would have to resign, in favour of the fruit garden.

A common pest in the vegetable garden, is the tomato worm. This is a large yellowish, or greenish, striped worm. It’s purpose is to eat into the young fruit.

A great, light green caterpillar, can be found on celery. This caterpillar may be identified, by the black bands, one on each ring, or segment of its body.

The squash bug, may be told, by it’s brown body, which is long and slender, and by the disagreeable odour from it, when killed. This is often called the stinkbug. The potato bug, is another fellow to look out for. It is a beetle, with yellow and black stripes, down it’s crusty back. The little green cabbage worm, is a perfect nuisance. It is a small caterpillar and smaller than the tomato worm.

These are perhaps the most common of garden pests, by name. These are some of the challenges faced by gardeners. Careful control of the garden and regular applications of pesticides will net the results you want. The poisons, need not be toxic chemicals. There are plenty of safe, organic remedies available.

If you are one of those who dislike chemicals and prefer natural remedies in your garden and if you love the country living, then get this book “Home And Garden, Country and Rural Life”. It covers garden topics, as well as wildlife, nature and other pastimes. If you are interested in being eco friendly and protecting the environment and if you are sick of the rat race and dream of relaxing in the rural country environment, then you should read this book on the good life. Titled Home And Garden - Country And Rural Life, it will show you how to best enjoy your garden, the birds and bees, how to raise chickens and goats and even how to bake your own bread. Change your lifestyle, by reading this book. Take a look here http://dersalsites.com/hag/  

Sally Robson is an up and coming, South African internet marketer, with a vision of empowering all fellow South Africans and non U.S folk, to have equal opportunity and success on the internet. She and her husband Derek, have started a string of sites, resources, courses and articles, as part of Dersalsites. She also has a passion for gardening.

To remain informed of our progress, by newsletter and mail, to get recommended tools and lessons and to start your journey to wealth, sign up here. You will also get some free software. It’s free. Click this link : http://dersalsites.com/newsletter/

For more articles and advice on gardening topics, visit Sally’s website at http://www.dersalsites.com/gardening/
and her blog at http://dersalsites.com/sallysgardeningtips

For more on internet marketing, South African business, list building, law of attraction and rugby, visit Derek’s blog at: http://dersalsites.com/southafricanbusiness/

Clint has stated a website on fitness and bodybuilding and has amassed hundreds of articles on various topics of fitness. Check his site at: http://dersalsites.com/clintstrainingblog/

For all you need to know about blogging, article writing, submission and feeds, visit our site at: http://dersalsites.com/blogging/

Bookmark to: