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 Everywhere
you go, retail stores have doorways full of flats of bright flowers,
ground cover, trees, shrubs, and vegetable bins. So where do you
start? One has to take into consideration how much shade or sun,
drainage options, kids, dogs, maintenance, funds, and location. Not
necessarily the location of where are you going to plant in the
yard, planters, or garden, but what type is best for your geographic
location and what type of insects do you want to attract or deter?
Certain insects and critters will flock to whatever they can to
survive and multiply, even to the most carefully cultivated gardens.
It can be one of the most frustrating ventures to put long hours
into a flower bed or vegetable garden only to have it infested by
pests. Knowing that every garden will always have some form of
enemy, one must realize it will also have some form of adversary.
One way to control the ‘pesty’ side effect of a beautiful yard is to
use a multitude of poisonous chemicals on and around your lawn,
which can become costly, time-consuming and some will argue not safe
for kids, animals, or the environment. Some will say to use
floodlights or noisemakers, but returning intruders are smart and in
time will grow wise and not see those as a threat. Regardless of
what you want your home to reflect using flowers, shrubs, trees, or
mulch, your choices will be a huge factor in whether pests end up in
your home and take flight around your patio.
A couple of considerations to keep in mind:
1. Place all plants and mulch two to three feet away from the
foundation and use crushed stone or pebbles between the foundation
and plants.
2. Don’t go deeper than two inches for mulch. Deeper mulch
will result in a damp, moldy wood that invites pests like sowbugs,
earwigs, millipedes, and springtails.
3. Don’t use thick ground covers or dense low shrubbery and
plant shrubs singularly and not in dense grouping. Choose shrubs
that are wine glass shaped to keep the base of the shrub off the
ground and open. This will help prevent rodents from hiding and
making burrows.
4. Keep fruit, berry, and nut trees far from the house. The
ripe and rotten produce will attract rodents, flies, and bees. Keep
all other tree branches no closer than four feet from the house.
5. Stay away from boxelder, elm, and zelkova trees and other
ornamental trees. The beetles these attract can enter nearby
buildings in the fall.
One of the safest defenses to deter certain critters and insects is
the power of smell. Irish Spring bar soap can be used for more than
just washing! This soap gives off a scent that is good to deter
mice, rabbits, chipmunks, and deer. Simply cut up the soap bar into
chunks and place it in a vented bag such as an old pantyhose or a
netted type of bag and hang or place it around the garden. The
bigger the pests, the more soap you will need.
If the idea of using a bar of soap outside of the shower is a wash,
then one can strategically pick certain plants close to the house or
around your vegetation. One such plant is mint. You can purchase
these in seed packages or as live plants. Some of the most popular
are peppermint and spearmint which have the most potent aromas and
can double as herbs in cooking. These plants can be integrated
around the perimeters, tucked next to pest-attracting plants, or
even in containers. Other plant deterrents like oregano, parsley,
and basil work as well, but do better when crushed or dried and
spread around the patio or vegetable garden. Herbs like rosemary
have a dual purpose by using them to enhance the flavors of your
Sunday pot roast and in or around the garden to keep bugs away. It
has a woody scent that discourages insects from taking up residence
in your garden.
Some other plants that will help to repel insects are lemon-scented
plants such as lemongrass, lemon balm, lemon verbena, lemon thyme,
or citrus trees. Lavender plants are a part of the mint family and
are beautiful plants that are pleasing to the eye, smell wonderful,
and also can be used as a living screen to deter mosquitoes, flies,
moths, and fleas.
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Marigolds are beautiful, easy-to-grow flowers that
emit a strong fragrance that mosquitos find very unappealing, and
Chrysanthemums have a natural insecticide called pyrethrin that
helps repel ants, roaches, ticks, and fleas, but be cautious around
your furry friends as it can be toxic to them.
If there is no room for any extra plants, using
essential oils on nearby rocks, fence posts, or mint tea bags will
work, just not quite as well due to the amount needed and the
possibility of dilution of the scent with rainwater or sun drying.
Another scent that works well is spicy. You can mix one tablespoon
of cayenne pepper for every cup of water and bring to a boil, reduce
heat, and simmer for 30 minutes. Strain out any solids and pour into
a glass spray bottle. Plants can be sprayed from top to bottom and
those pesty critters will not want to come back for seconds. Make
sure you label this concoction and keep it in a safe place away from
children and pets.
Another idea to stay in the environmentally safe way is to use
expired or rotten egg solids with a little garlic and a dash of
vinegar. In 1975 the EPA registered putrescent egg solids (aka
rotten eggs) as an animal repellant. If you don’t like the idea of
cutting up or slicing rotten eggs, then using eggshells in your
garden will help deter slugs and beetles, as long as they remain
dry. The crushed eggshells have calcium and can provide nutrients
and help balance the pH of the soil.
Another quite easy and cheap way to deter insects and critters from
around a garden is to save your hair! The next time you go to get
your hair cut, do it without having your stylist wash your hair. Or
if you lose a lot of hair and your hairbrush looks like a
long-haired hamster in your drawer, then this is a good excuse for
you to clean those hairbrushes and scatter them around the garden or
put them into a stocking or netted bag and hang. Unwashed human or
pet hair will give off a human scent to fool prey like deer,
rabbits, and snails into thinking that danger is near. However, be
careful and make sure it is dirty, unwashed hair, because some
shampoos will linger on the hair strand, and it can attract certain
pests.
Your house is your shrine and should reflect your
love for landscaping and nature, no matter how much or how little
you can afford or have the time to do it. Just choose plants wisely,
keep them trimmed and away from the foundation, and enjoy as much of
a pest-free oasis as you can.
[Jay Ruppel]
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