Natural Pest Control for the Organic Garden

It is a myth that you need to have special chemicals and expensive repellants in order to keep pests out of your garden if you are going to garden organically. There are many natural and organic measures that you can take to prevent birds, aphids, rabbits, deer, and other pests from making short work of your fruits and vegetables.

Birds

Birds are wonderful for handling pests in your garden, but once your crops begin producing, birds can lay waste to many fruits and vegetables. The most conventional way to keep birds out of your garden and your fruit trees is by covering your plants with thin netting. This netting can be purchased at most gardening stores and is not expensive. Fruit trees can be wrapped with netting and gardens can be covered with a few thin pieces.

Snakes are natural predators of birds and will frighten them away from your garden. You do not need to invest in any real snakes. Rubber snakes work just as well. Try to get some that are fairly realistic looking. They do not have to be fancy, but avoid unusual colors and patterns. Birds can get wise to rubber snakes, so make sure that you move the snakes every two or three days around the garden.

Like snakes, owls are natural predators of birds. Fake owls can be purchased at most garden stores and can be placed in or near your garden. Birds will see them during the day and keep far away. Like the rubber snakes, birds can get wise to seeing the owl in the same spot day after day, so move the owl around the garden at least once a week or so.

If you do not have money to buy anything to scare birds away, you can use recycled CDs effectively. Many people have lots of old CDs lying around that they cannot use. The shiny, flashing surfaces reflect light and colors and frighten birds. To use them, tie two CDs back to back so that their rainbow sides are facing outward. Hang them from string to posts in and around your garden or hang them from your fruit trees to keep birds out.

Aphids