The sun is shining, the flowers are blooming, and the bees are buzzing away in your garden. But not all creepy crawly bugs are as helpful as bees. Our tolerance for bugs is regularly tested when the snails snack on our salad, the aphids set in on our flowers, and the moles upset our perfect green grass. Thankfully there are a handful of tricks to get rid of them using natural means. After all, you don't want to pollute the ground you plant in with aggressive chemicals.
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#1
Aphids are a plague that will overtake your garden one day or another. If you wrap your hands in tape (with the sticky side facing out) and run them over your plants, the vermin will be whisked away. You should probably repeat the process several times to really reduce their numbers.
#2
You can build a border of pine needles around your garden bed to keep slugs away. The slimy little creatures don't like the smell and can't easily crawl over the needles. Or you can place a cup of beer next to any plants that are being eaten. The smell attracts the slugs to it and they'll drown in the liquid. This method is most recommended in spring, before slug populations get too large.
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#3
If you really want to get down to the root cause, you can let some snails loose in your garden. They like to eat slug eggs. Warning: Snails like to nibble here and there, while slugs will strip a plant bare.
#4
If ants are romping through your garden, lemon rinds or cloves will deter them. Alternatively, you could plant lavender, which is not only pleasing to our eyes, but keeps mosquitoes and aphids away.
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#5
It's a good thing to donate your blood, but it's better to give it to the blood bank and not to pesky mosquitoes. The tiny vampires dislike the strong smell of tomato plants. If you've already gotten a bite, mix a teaspoon of salt with cold water and put it on the spot. It will save you from hours of itching.
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#6
Wasps won't come anywhere near you if you pour some coffee grounds in a fireproof container and light it on fire. Be careful to avoid having sugary liquids outside since they attract the pests. If you've already been stung by a wasp, you can put a moist sugar cube on it. That will take some of the poison out of your system. Placing half an onion on the sting also helps.
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#7
If moles are destroying your yard, you can water down some aftershave and pour it down the holes. The strong smell deters the animals without hurting them. Other strong smells like garlic or horseradish also work well. Warning: Moles eat other pests and loosen the soil, which can be helpful. Too bad they also make those unattractive mounds in the grass. Though that can be useful too if you need some extra potting soil since the dirt is the nutrient-rich soil from deeper down which is normally hard to reach.
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#8
It's also good to provide habitat for helpful animals like hedgehogs, birds, and frogs, all of which snack on pesky bugs. If you have hedges, piles of rocks, a pond, and heavily planted corners, these animals have a place to take cover and can help you with your bug problems.
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#9
And last, but not least, if rats or mice are trampling around your yard, it's best to call pest control to really take care of the problem. The same goes for wasps or hornets nests. Don't touch them yourself!
The most important thing is to try to do as little harm as possible to your garden and the animals. Almost every animal has a positive use and you should consider whether the animal is really damaging the plants in your yard, like slugs or aphids, or if they are just making it a little less tidy like moles or ants.
