Preventing garden pests is achievable, despite their common occurrence. Instead of letting them gain control, take proactive measures to keep them at bay. Implementing a few straightforward and smart tactics can help you safeguard your crops. Here are some effective strategies from the Brockman Tree & Lawn Care team to help you control insects in your garden:

Grow Resistant Plant Varieties

To make things easier for yourself, choosing plant varieties resistant to common pests is a good idea. Spend some time researching suitable types in seed catalogs to reduce pest problems down the line. Look for carrots resistant to carrot-fly or potatoes that can shake off eelworm attacks, for instance. By selecting pest-resistant varieties, you can minimize the risk of pests damaging your plants and save yourself a lot of trouble later.

Confuse The Insects and Pests

A useful technique to deter pests is to interplant different crops together. This can confuse passing pests, as they will have a harder time homing in on their preferred crop. You can interplant vegetables with herbs or flowers to make things even more confusing, creating a diverse planting scheme. Another trick is to plant vegetables with colored leaves, such as purple cabbage or kale, that insects may not expect. Using these strategies, you can effectively obfuscate and deter pests from attacking your crops.

Plant Outside of Typical Peak Times

Growing vegetables outside the peak times of their pests is a clever yet straightforward approach. For instance, flea beetles make tiny holes in brassica leaves during midsummer. Therefore, it’s best to grow crops such as Asian greens and mustards in the fall when fewer beetles are around.

Another effective method is to plant before the arrival of a pest. This can work wonders for fast-growing early peas, allowing them to evade pea moths’ destructive attention. So, to avoid pests damaging your crops, try planting them at the right time and outsmart those pesky insects!

Use Physical Barriers

Using barriers is an effective way to keep pests away from your plants. You can physically prevent pests from getting to your precious crops using insect mesh or floating row covers. To use them, you can either allow the covers to rest on the plants or support them on hoops. Secure the edges tightly so pests can’t sneak in at ground level.

These covers work wonders in protecting plants from caterpillars that love brassicas and keeping out pests like carrot flies, aphids, and squash bugs. So, use barriers to your advantage and safeguard your plants from unwanted pests.

Keep Plants Healthy

Maintaining healthy plants is essential for discouraging pests, as insects are less prone to causing damage to robust plants. They can better defend themselves against pests without outside help when not under pressure. It’s crucial to nurture them properly, particularly during dry periods, by providing enough food and water. Add compost or other organic matter to the soil to foster a robust root system, promoting robust above-ground development.

These are only a few of the many things you can do to control insects in your landscaping. For information about our incest control and other services, use this form to write to Brockman Tree & Lawn Care or call our team at(585) 608-0623.