One of the main issues some gardeners struggle with is the bug or insect infestation, which eats away the garden plants.
This can be very frustrating especially if you have not idea how to stop bugs from eating the garden plants.
Did you know that bugs are attracted to plants for food, water, and shelter?
Yes, the food you are growing in your backyard garden is the ideal home for most bugs and insects to thrive.
This allows them not only for living but also to rapidly multiply because of the rich vegetation.
However, to prevent other bugs and insects from colonizing the garden, keep your plant and the surroundings clean.
The garden should be kept sparkling clean, well-lit, and easy enough to observe or notice any minor changes to plants, in other words, to see if bugs are coming to colonize the plants.
Additionally, give your plant the required amount of water they need on a daily or weekly basis you are into the potting garden.
Don’t overwater, and get the pot too wet, this behavior will only give bugs easy access to water to thrive easier if overwatered.
How To Stop Bugs From Eating Garden Plants?
The most effective ways of stopping bugs from eating away house plants the organic way comes down to 2 things, Care and Observation of the plants. These 2 important parts are essential to protect house plants from bugs.
Care
This means to prove all the required elements the plant needs such as compost, water, nutrients soil change, etc. This way the house plant will remain strong and healthy and can use its own natural defenses against bugs.
Observation
It is very important to monitor your house plants carefully and actively. In their world, you’re the apex predator. So. whenever you water your house plants or even your garden plants, make it part of a routine to turn over their leaves, and along the stems especially to check for bugs.
If you are considering buying plants from growers at the shop the plants will most likely not have any bug issue.
Plant growers use rather complete systems of pesticides on their plants because if a crop gets infested with bugs or other insects, they may lose out tens of thousands of dollars.
How To Get Rid of Bugs Organically Without Using Pesticides?
The best way to get rid of bugs organically is to wash down the plant every once in a while regularly.
However, please know that, if the plant does have bugs, washing or wiping once won’t get rid of them.
The plant will still have few tiny eggs, hiding in crevices, nooks, and crannies that your washing will never reach.
Nevertheless, the bugs will just go on about their business, and in a couple of months, you’ll notice that the plant still have has bugs with all that washing and wiping.
Protecting House Plants From Bugs With Pesticides
Any kind of pesticide spraying you do should be done once a week for four (4 weeks).
This spraying routine allows you to completely break the life cycle of the bugs, get the new hatchlings. Some bug eggs are not affected by the treatments so it is best to get the nymphs before they can lay more eggs.
Don’t use pesticides spray too often. Too much of anything can damage the leaves and ith plant itself over time.
It is better to spraying weekly for 4 weeks, which should take care of most infestations, and don’t spray the plant again unless you notice more bugs.
On the market, there are lots of different kinds of insecticides to choose from even (Do It Yourself) DIY mixtures.
Personally, I use a simple DIY mixture of mild soap and water. for example, 1 tsp soap in 2 cups water) for many years. Either horticultural soap or Castille soap is probably the best choice.
Many people have the own creative ways of making their own plant insecticide recipes using some kind of oil, or alcohol, or both.
However, soap works by itself, too much alcohol is drying, and too much oil is oily. But you can use them both to see what you like best.
How Can I Get Rid of Bugs That Are Eating My Plants?
There are hundreds of different types of bugs and insects that attack plants.
However, if they are houseplants, there are a few things you can try to alleviate the bug issue.
But first, did you know that house plants are often attacked by bugs if they are under-watered?
Why?
Well, just like any other living thing they weaken if under-watered and their natural defenses drop.
So, make sure you are following the correct watering schedule for each plant, as they have different requirements. Especially house plants.
If you are unaware of the plant you bought, it is important to look up its culture requirements online.
Look up basic things about plants such as:
1.What kind of soil does it like?
2. How much sun is required?
3. How does it like to be watered either from the top or from the bottom and how wet should it be?
These are some of the questions you should ask about the plant if you don’t know too much about it.
For some plants, if you put them outside during the warmer months, they will bring an infestation inside when you carry them in again.
So before you take them back inside, always check carefully, identify any culprit and deal with it before exposing the other indoor plants.
How Can I Stop Bugs From Eating The Roots of Plants?
The root-eating bugs are usually found in areas where the soil does not care properly.
Either it is due to not maintaining the soil health by weeding at a regular timeframe or not removing dead plants or debris from the topsoil layer.
However, the first step to getting rid of bugs eating the plant root is to provide a healthy surrounding for your plant.
For Example, pathogens and aphids grow on the leaves of the plant, and when they die they fall to the ground.
Once they fall to the round, they release eggs that hatch and burrow into the soil where they feed on plant roots.
Therefore washing your plant with soap and water or using insecticides should help alleviate pathogens before they appear on parts of the plant. Prevention is always better than cure.
You can use methods such as soil temperature gardening techniques to eliminate not just bugs but other pathogens and fungi as well as other bacteria present inside the garden or potting soil.
The easiest method is the use of beneficial nematodes that act as biological agents against soil pathogens.
How Do I Prevent My Garden From Being Infested By Pests?
These are three of the common steps I use to protect my garden from being infested by bugs. Although there are plenty more examples these are my favorite techniques used to resolve bug issues.
Grow Resistance Varieties
Not all plant variety is the same, so selecting varieties that are known to have some resistance to common pests such as bugs, Aphid, and other insects is the ideal way to go.
It may cost you a bit form but at the of the day, it makes your gardening experience much easier.
All you need to do is spend some time researching seed catalogs for suitable varieties to reduce pest problems later on.
Confuse Insects and Bugs
Plant compatible crops with one another to confuse insects and bugs in the garden.
This method works great and confuses passing pests because they will find it harder to hone in on their preferred crop.
For example, vegetables such as Chard and Lettuce or Beets and Celery.
You can also interplant different vegetables, or mix up vegetables that are incompatible, however, in different rows with herbs or flowers to create a more diverse and confusing planting scheme for pests.
Plant out of peak times
A lot of people use the out-of-peak season strategy to grow vegetables and hide them from seasonal pests.
For example, flea beetles, which chew tiny holes in the leaves of the Brassicas plant or normally activate during the peaks in midsummer.
So, it’s ideal to grow vegetables such as Mustard in the autumn, when fewer beetles are out and about.
You can also sow the crops before a pest arrives. This method always works with fast-growing vegetables.
Anyhow, I hope you found this post informative on How To Stop Bugs From Eating The Garden Plants.
