By Sonya Welter

“Feed and the pests will come,” seems to be every gardener’s motto.

We may never see a pest but as soon as we plant the first tomato or pepper the swarms seem to appear.

But a unique concept of feeding and nurturing nature’s insect task force will bring even the novice gardener relief.

The concept is simple provide shelter, water, and food for beneficial insects and let nature take its course. So try a beneficial insect border around your garden and see how nature works without chemicals. Who knows you may decide to do a whole beneficial insect garden to reward nature’s insect task force.

SWEET ALYSSUM (Lobularia maritima)

This annual is low growing and produces white flowers that can form a border in a flowerbed or can act as a fast-growing ground cover that vegetables can be planted into. Many studies have shown that sweet alyssum is highly appealing to aphid eating hover flies.

CUP PLANT (Silbium perfoliatum)

This perennial grows Read the rest of this entry »

By Vanesa Richins

Sometimes you might find tiny insects flying around your kitchen or houseplants.

There are two main culprits to consider - fruit flies and fungus gnats.

Most of us are familiar with fruit flies.

These pesky tiny nuisances always seem to appear when you have fruit in the kitchen for more than a day or two. They have a very short life span, so they reproduce quickly until a small cloud forms.

I had always heard that one way to get rid of fruit flies was to use vinegar. I tried balsamic vinegar with little success. On the last round, though, I bought a bottle of apple cider vinegar, which I put into a bowl. The fruit flies were soon drawn into the bowl, where they promptly drowned.

I’ve heard of traps that are a little more intricate - jars with small holes poked in the lid, filled with vinegar and honey. Some use bottles covered in plastic wrap. No matter what method, I would highly recommend Read the rest of this entry »

By Cindy Naas

Keeping unwanted pests out of your garden doesn’t have to mean a shelf full of toxic chemicals.

There are many options for even the smallest garden when trying to get rid of unwelcome visitors to your garden.

Other insects can increase productivity in your garden and increase the overall health of plants and soil. Here are some of a gardener’s best friends:

Ladybugs

These small orange insects are the single best defense against aphids, and each ladybug will eat over 4,000 aphids in its lifetime. Ladybugs can be ordered online or purchased in Read the rest of this entry »