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Garden Gate:  Favorite ways to deal with garden pests  |
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prairielandherbs
True Blue Farmgirl
690 Posts
Maggie
Iowa
USA
690 Posts |
 Posted - Apr 18 2011 : 07:46:40 AM
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Hi Ladies!! I am writing a little article on how to deal with garden pests, and I would LOVE your input on all the folksy/homey remedies you use to control pests in your garden. What do you do about slugs, moles, deer rabbits, etc? your help is greatly appreciated!
-maggie |
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batznthebelfry
True Blue Farmgirl
1257 Posts
Michele
Athol
Ma
USA
1257 Posts |
Posted - Apr 18 2011 : 5:58:36 PM
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I never plant a veg or herb garden without planting plenty of Marigolds around the outer edges of the gardens....I also comb my cats & dogs & use the fur around the gardens to keep out rabbits....slugs I now collect & feed to my chickens but someone told me if you lay down the peels flesh side up of canaloupes the slugs will go under it & the next morning you can collect them that way....
I have Voles everywhere here but I have left them alone as the cats seem to always bring them to me...so far I have not had them eating my gardens up so I leave them be.....my biggest problem is neighborhood dogs that people let run wild...I use red pepper/chili powder & sprinkle that around my gardens & along the isles as well...sometimes it works other times it doesn't & I have to go scream at them when they decide to run over my tomato plants.....Michele'
Chickens rule!
The Old Batz Farm
Hen #2622 |
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LadyInRed
True Blue Farmgirl
6740 Posts
PeggyAnn
Vancouver
WA
USA
6740 Posts |
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walkinwalkoutcattle
True Blue Farmgirl
1675 Posts
Megan
Paint Lick
KY
USA
1675 Posts |
Posted - Apr 20 2011 : 07:32:16 AM
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I think voles are moles. The hair is a great tip! I need advice on how to keep those pesky green caterpillars out of my broccoli, cabbage, and lettuce without pesticides.
Farmgirl #2879 :)
Starbucks and sushi to green fried tomatoes and corn pudding-I wouldn't change it for the world.
www.cattleandcupcakes.blogspot.com
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emsmommy5
True Blue Farmgirl
1547 Posts
Angie
Buckley
WA
USA
1547 Posts |
Posted - Apr 20 2011 : 08:35:54 AM
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We've tried many things to deal with the overwhelming slug population in the PNW. Last season I finally started going slug hunting every night! Recipe:
1/2 water 1/2 ammonia in a spray bottle.
A flashlight.
Boots.
Apron.
Spray a squirt of ammonia water and they curl up and dissolve. It's disgusting. But effective. It works on the biggest right down to those tiny little white baby slugs. People thought I was nuts out looking for something every night with a flashlight and my kids just laughed. But it really worked!
We tried the copper wire and galvanized metal around the beds. Beer in a cup. Diotamacious (sp?) earth around the plants. Nothing worked until the hunting spree. And, I found that the little bit of ammonia that lands on the plants didn't hurt them one bit.
It's getting to be that time again around here. Slugs love our rainy weather, so they are already on the hunt and making to many babies. ick.
My friend said he was ruthless for about 2 years and it pretty much took care of the problem. Now he has to go out every once and a while.
Do what you love, love what you do. |
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Betty J.
True Blue Farmgirl
1408 Posts
Betty
Pasco
WA
USA
1408 Posts |
Posted - Apr 20 2011 : 08:55:56 AM
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I have very few slugs, but the snails are becoming ginormous. Any suggestions there?
I really appreciate all your suggestions and will note them down in my garden journal.
Betty in Pasco |
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prairielandherbs
True Blue Farmgirl
690 Posts
Maggie
Iowa
USA
690 Posts |
Posted - Apr 21 2011 : 08:11:44 AM
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these are wonderful suggestions, evferyone! keep it coming! What do you do to deter deer, or rabbits?
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Fiddlehead Farm
True Blue Farmgirl
4562 Posts
Diane
Waupaca
WI
USA
4562 Posts |
Posted - Apr 21 2011 : 09:00:37 AM
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To discourage crawling pests like slugs and caterpillars, I save all my coffee grounds and egg shells. I crush the eggshells and mix them with the coffee grounds. I then spread a circle around the base of the plant. It works great! Slugs don't like coffee grounds and they don't like to crawl through the eggshells. As for rabbits, I use ground cayenne pepper. I buy it in bulk and sprinkle a border around my garden beds. Just be careful of your dogs getting a sniff. My dog Molly sneezed for awhile after sniffing!
http://studiodiphotosite.shutterfly.com/
farmgirl sister #922
Happy to be a "Raggedy Ann" in a Barbie World!
I get up every morning determined to both change the world and have one hell of a good time. Sometimes this makes planning my day difficult.
- E. B. White |
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Ninibini
True Blue Farmgirl
7577 Posts
Nini
Pennsylvania
USA
7577 Posts |
Posted - Apr 21 2011 : 09:44:48 AM
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Last year I found an amazing remedy for slugs: sprinkle flour on the ground around your plants. Just plain old unbleached white flour. It coats them and they suffocate and then the problem is solved! Talk about inexpensive AND organic! Although, I have to say, my neighbors sure raised eyebrows and thought I was insane! I'm not sure, but think somehow it really helped the soil, too, because this year - WOW was the soil nice in the spring!!!
For rabbits, I just plant onions. They ward them off when planted in the border around the garden. Last year, I actually interplanted them between my lettuce and cabbages, and even though we had a rabbit family vacationing under the tomatoes (they reside under a neighbor's holly bush for most of the year), they never bothered a single plant. I was absolutely amazed.
I don't have a deer problem, but a lot of friends do. One friend swears by hanging chunks of Irish Spring bar soap around her garden.
My aunt SWEARS by a little blood meal intermingled with human hair to ward off deer AND rabbits, too.
If anyone has a good remedy for ground hogs, I'd really like to hear about that! Also we had moles, and the old fashioned moth ball remedy didn't seem to be too effective. Our dog likes to catch them and deliver them to me as gifts, but I could do without that. And our neighbor favors poison, which can be really dangerous if our girl catches a poisoned critter, so I sure would like a better solution for that so I can share it with her, too!
Best of luck with your article, Maggie! I am REALLY looking forward to all the farmgirls' feedback!!! GREAT post!!!
Have a blessed Easter, girls!
Hugs -
Nini
God gave us two hands... one to help ourselves, and one to help others!
Farmgirl Sister #1974 |
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herb19355
True Blue Farmgirl
321 Posts
Debi
Danielsville,
GA
USA
321 Posts |
Posted - Apr 22 2011 : 06:35:23 AM
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How about fleas... it is not even summer here in GA (but, is has begun to feel like it) and my two dauchands are already picking up fleas.
Debi
herb19355
GA Farmgirl #2515 |
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rksmith
True Blue Farmgirl
858 Posts
Rachel
Clayton
GA
USA
858 Posts |
Posted - Apr 22 2011 : 2:52:14 PM
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This is what I use for flea and bug spray and it works exceptionally well (for all kinds of creepy crawlies & fliers). I get the ingredients from Nature's Sunshine and mix it all in the Nature's Fresh bottle. The homeopathic and essential oils can be purchased anywhere however I do not know of anywhere else that has the Nature's Fresh--it is an enzyme spray. I have sprayed my critters with it, areas where they frequent, etc and have not had any side effects (other than the desired dead bugs) I'm willing to bet it'd work very well for bedbugs and head lice too. I have used it to spray my house for bugs as well with excellent results.
1 bottle nature's fresh
parasite homeopathic 24 drops
lavender 20 drops
thyme 8 drops
tea tree 12 drops
geranium 8 drops
peppermint 8 drops
Rachel
Farmgirl Sister #2753
Do not ask the Lord to guide your footsteps, if you are not willing to move your feet--Dr. Kioni
http://www.mynsp.com/rksmith
http://madame1313.wordpress.com/ |
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batznthebelfry
True Blue Farmgirl
1257 Posts
Michele
Athol
Ma
USA
1257 Posts |
Posted - Apr 24 2011 : 08:24:59 AM
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the difference between a mole & a vole is a mole is blind & stays underground pretty much all the time..a vole can see has a thin pointy nose, cute as can be they dig holes but then come up invade areas then start digging again.....We have both moles & voles up here in Massachusetts & our lawn looks like a mine field...some areas we have fallen thur.....so now I have large flower pots stuck in the ground where there is a hole that is so big & am afraid we will fall in it at night....lol....yes my grandmother also swore by the Irish spring soap...she drilled holes in it hung it on string & put it in the trees around where she wanted the dear to stay away...we also did the salt thing with the slugs gross but works but now with the chickens I just give them to the hens....extra protein for them...rough grade sandpaper is also suppose to work where there is slugs...for the groundhogs, we had them in the lower part of Oregon when I was there....the farmers used powdered sulfur...they would throw it as far as they could down each hole & around the intrance holes.....my brothers favorite way of getting rid of them was shooting them with his 22, but I don't recommend that one....he was young & sometimes hit them but didn't kill them so they suffered :(.....Michele'
Chickens rule!
The Old Batz Farm
Hen #2622 |
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Garden Gate: Favorite ways to deal with garden pests |
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Favorite ways to deal with garden pests
