Common Garden Pests and How To Deter Them
Keeping your flowers fit and healthy requires you to identify garden pests and deter them from visiting. You’ll find pest experts online, such as at www.bluebeetlepest.com, but first, let’s identify which garden pests may have made a home in your vegetable patch.
Caterpillars
If you’ve spotted some chew marks on the edges of your flower petals, chances are your garden has become home to a family of caterpillars.
Caterpillars can move quickly, meaning that they can cause a lot of damage in a short space of time.
Caterpillars like to live amongst weeds, so avoid letting these grow close to flower beds. Birds like to eat caterpillars, so adding a bird bath or bird table to your garden will encourage their natural predators into the space.
Rabbits
We know what you’re thinking, how can these adorable animals ever be a nuisance? Unfortunately, rabbits chew on plant stems which causes the flower to collapse. Given their larger size, you’ll either see a rabbit in your garden or you’ll become suspicious when you identify clean cuts in your flower steps and small pellets across the lawn.
To keep rabbits out of your flowerbed, you should consider putting up a wired fence. Rabbits won’t explore spaces with dogs or cats, so if you have either of these let them roam freely around the garden.
Slugs and Snails
If you spot slime on your flowers, evidence points to one of two guilty parties – slugs or snails.
You can help to avoid attracting slugs and snails by removing places they can hide, or you can simply pick them up and move them elsewhere.
Ants
Despite being tiny, it’s easy to spot ants in your garden because they always travel together in large groups.
Ants can cause damage to your garden because – remarkably – they can carry objects larger than themselves. They also love cucumbers, so if you’re growing them you’re at higher risk of an ant invasion.
To deter ants from staying too long, sprinkle brewed coffee grounds into your flower beds. It won’t hurt them, they just hate the smell.
Rats
Rats love unclean spaces and like to set up homes underneath decking or in sheds. Being mostly nocturnal, it can be hard to identify if you have a rat problem and so instead you’ll need to keep an eye out for their small tunnels, droppings, and teeth marks.
Rats can be avoided by keeping a tidy garden. They love having places to scurry undercover and so long grass needs to be removed from the equation. Keep your shed and decking free from litter and block their access to these hideout spaces if you can.
Spiders
Spiders, everyone’s least favorite creepy crawlies, have been living in our gardens forever. While spiders don’t cause any damage to plants or crops, you may wish to prevent them from visiting because you’re scared of them. Remove all possible hiding spots from your garden – they love these. If they can’t find any they’ll quickly move on.
Don’t forget spiders are actually helpful visitors to your garden, as they are a form of pest control in their own right.
Read more: Simple Steps to Keep Your Home And Garden Pest-Free
