A gardening expert has revealed the best “nature-friendly” ways to banish pests without harming the rest of your outdoor space, including an unusual eggshell hack. While bug killer may seem like a quick solution for getting rid of unwanted visitors, it could be doing more harm than good.
Writing for the the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), wildlife gardening guru Adrian Thomas urged people to “ditch the chemicals”. He explained: “Sometimes ‘pests’ can get a bit out of hand and many people are tempted to reach for the bug killer.
“Fortunately, there is a better, more nature-friendly way.” One of the problems is that standard pesticides “don’t discriminate” between what is considered a pest and other species.
He warned: “They are likely to not only kill your target species but also harm all sorts of other wildlife, including the ones you want to stick around.” On top of this, using chemicals to kill off certain bugs also removes potential food for other wildlife.
“For example, if you have no aphids then what will ladybirds or hoverfly larvae or lacewings feed on?” Adrian said. To avoid these issues, he shared a number of other steps you can take.
Understanding the problem
The first thing to do it to establish why the problem occurred. Adrian said: “Using insecticides on your green space will only address the symptom, not the cause.
“Population booms in the garden only happen because we have created the environment that fulfills their needs.”
Deterrents and barriers
Physical barriers can be used to deter certain pests. “Slugs for example do not like copper piping or the sharp edges of eggshells, so surrounding plants with such materials may keep many species away,” Adrian advised. “Other methods to keep pests away are plastic bottles and straw around the base of plants.”
He added: “The key point to remember with pest control in gardens is that you are not trying to remove the pest completely but to protect your plants and crops from serious damage.”
Mix your plants
According to Adrian, you can help the situation by mixing up what you grow. “If you grow rows and rows of one thing, chances are that some creepy crawlies will take a liking to it,” he said.
“But if you grow a variety of plants, all mixed together, pests won’t have such a free for all. This is called polyculture and is part of the ethos of companion planting.”
As an extra tip he recommended planting flowers such as marigold between your vegetables. These can provide nectar for hoverflies whose larvae then eat the aphids. The scent of the marigolds can also discourage vegetable-eating insects.
Encourage predators
By encouraging natural predators of any specific pest into the area, the pest in question will be controlled. He said: “Ladybirds, lacewings, frogs, hedgehogs and birds are all great at limiting numbers of garden pests such as aphids and slugs.”
To conclude he advised:
- Encouraging more diversity within the garden
- Looking for easy ways to solve your pest problems that don’t need pesticides
- Being patient, and use a trial and error approach to see what works
- Learning to tolerate some pests and damage
“By avoiding pesticides, you’ll save plenty of time, money and wildlife in the long run,” he said.
