Without using poison, how can I keep bugs out of my plants ?

Question

i want to get rid of the ants & other bugs that get into my plants.

Coffee Grounds ?? What works.

Answer 1

I planted garlic in my garden and planters and it works very well, as well as filling a spray bottle w/ a little dish soap and water and spraying down the plants. Same goes for crushing garlic and mixing it w/ water in the spray bottle.

I hear lavender keeps away spiders...

Answer 2

Mint does not work...don't plant it...coffee grounds help, but depending on the plants it can burn them, dishwater works a little for ants but it's great on other bugs...If you rinse the plants with dishwater then put lady bugs out (purchase at home depot or nursery) it will get rid of most pests, but not all of the ants. Ants are nearly indestructible, but good-luck !!!

Answer 3

Ants don't like water and are a sign of dry soil. If you have reasonable drainage, give your plants a good soaking to disrupt the nests. If the nest isn't near plants, pour boiling water into it.

In truth you are unlikely to get rid of ants completely.

I have found that coffee grounds work for snails and slugs if they are put in a circle around the plant.

A good fact sheet about organic pest control is: http://www.abc.net.au/gardening/stories/s1805263.htm

Answer 4

spray your plants with soap and water. Bugs hate the stuff and the plants don't mind it.

Answer 5

okay here goes mix equal pts of liquid dish soap and listerine . it really works the bugs hate it and the plants love it .

Answer 6

i have luck planting marigolds in my garden the scent from the repel almost all bugs

Answer 7

For most insects: Mix 2 tbsp vegetable oil, and 2 tbsp baby shampoo ( or mild dish soap) in 1 gallon of water & spray.

The caustic properties of sour milk kills insect eggs when poured on the cabbage heads.

Sprinkle white cooking flour on the dampened leaves of cabbage to get rid of cabbage loopers. The flour sticks to them & they suffocate & fall off.

Coffee grounds work in keeping slugs & snails away from your plants, when spread around the base of plants. It's been verified that spraying slugs directly with strong coffee will eliminate them. (1)

Wormwood, prostrate rosemary, basil, rue, acacia bark, and oak leaves are disliked by snails and make good repellent mulches.
Wormwood is also effective as a spray. Use barriers with scratchy material, hydrated lime, wood ash, sharp sand, crushed egg shells, or diatamaceous earth. Diatomaceous Earth also creates a barrier around plants needing protection from ants as well as slugs. (2)

Slugs & snails won't cross materials containing the naturally repelling properties of chile pepper.(3)

Rose Chafers are usually only a problem in areas with sandy soils. Control methods are similar to Japanese Beetles.Kill the chafer larvae using biological controls such as beneficial nematodes or a product called "milky spore." A new Neem-based product, Neem Seed Oil, is available that repels the chafers. Or, manually knock them off your plants into a jar filled with water and kill them. Or trap them with a specially designed Chafer trap that uses a pheremone to attract them.

Aphids will literally suck the life out of plants. Knock them off with a strong spray of water & then use a baby shampoo or mild liquid dish soap spray . The recommended dilution rate is 1 oz. Ivory dishwashing soap or baby shampoo to 1 gallon of water.

Alcohol, oils, and soaps will either suffocate or dessicate Red Spider Mites.
Some people use a 1:3 mixture of rubbing alcohol to water, mixture, to get rid of mites.

The gardenweb.com site debates Old Spider Mite Remedies such as the home-made rubbing alcohol/soap/water mix ... Murphy's Oil Soap spray... and...even a buttermilk solution. (4)
Murphy's Oil Soap spray:
1/3 cup Murphy's Oil Soap
1 tablespoon baking soda
1 gallon water.

Seaweed repels red spider mites and aphids.

Orange oil is effective at destroying the protective shell of fire ants. Pour a solution of equal parts orange oil, compost tea and molasses mixture directly into the hole of an ant mound. Compost tea contains microorganisms that feed on fire ants. Molasses is a food source for the microorganisms in compost tea. Molasses helps to increase the number of predatory microorganisms in an ant mound. (5)

Garlic spray is great for getting rid of slugs, cutworms, wireworms, & whiteflies. Blend well 1garlic bulb & 1 onion add 1Tbsp cayenne pepper & 1 quart water. Steep ingredients for 1 hr, then strain & add 1 Tbsp dish soap and your non-toxic spray is ready to use against slugs, snails & other insects. (6)

Spearmint-Hot Pepper-Horseradish Spray works on many different kinds of bugs:
1/2 cup of red peppers (hot)
water (read below)
1/2 cup of fresh spearmint
1/2 cup horseradish (root and leaves)
2 tablespoons of liquid detergent
1/2 cup green onion tops
Mix all of the spearmint leaves, horseradish, onion tops and peppers together with enough water to cover everything. Strain the solution. After mixing all of these, add a half-gallon of water and add the detergent also. To use this solution, mix 1/2 gallon of this solution with 1/2 gallon of water. You can use this to spray almost any plant safely. Store this mixture for a few days in a cool environment. (6)

Don't forget to plant Marigolds & onions near desirable plants & set up bird houses to encourage birds in helping you eliminate undesirable bugs. Use Lady bugs also to help you control insects like aphids.