Every creature has a place in the natural world; unfortunately some of them feel that their place is YOUR garden. If you take pride in your garden, keep flowers and vegetables and try to maintain a neat lawn, you will come across many adversaries. Aside from all the insects you have to worry about; rabbits, birds and even deer can cause considerable damage to your greenery.
Your first line of defence in tackling bugs is to avoid planting plants that will attract them in the first place. Most gardening stores will be able to offer advice on which plants attract what and if not you can always look it up online if you are unsure. You will most likely be able to find plants that you like that won’t attract unwanted guests but if not there are other options.
One other way of dealing with bugs is to buy some praying mantis or other predators that will control the population of nuisance insects. You could get some other plants that attract birds which also feed on insects; this will deal with the insect problem but could leave you dealing with the birds.
You last resort should be pesticides; you will need to find exactly what will deal with the specific insects that are troubling you and be sure to follow safety precautions exactly and use protective clothing and a mask. It is a poison so keep it away from children and be wary of any pets that may come into contact with it but it is important that this is your last option and not your first port of call.
If you are dealing with something a little bigger, you will need to take bigger steps to have an effect. Many people struggle with rodents, moles, rabbits and larger rodents are keen on eating vegetables, surround your plants with chicken wire and raise them out of the soil.
If you have fruit and berry trees, you may have a big problem with birds but unfortunately there isn’t a great deal you can do to protect your garden from these airborne attackers. Bird netting will keep them away but depending on how big your garden is this will have to span over a large area and can spoil your enjoyment of the garden. Some people use plastic owls to act as a deterrent to other birds but this loses effectiveness as time goes on, it will also be an eyesore.
Although it depends on where you live, you may have an issue with deer. Particularly in the winter when food is scarce, deer will wander into neighbourhoods looking for food. The first line of defence against deer is to surround your garden with a fence but if you aren’t keen on this, you can try spreading your plants with garlic which should put them off.
In order to keep your grass healthy you will need to provide it with lawn feed as bugs usually provide extra sustenance. Consult a gardening store for proper lawn advice.
