Pests Don’t Go Away in the Winter

There are a large number of common garden pests that can cause damage to your plants and yard if allowed to breed with impunity. Thankfully, most pests like slugs, termites, caterpillars, aphids, and others, react negatively to the same treatments, meaning that you can protect your plant growth from damage from a variety of different pests with a single treatment.

Apply Diatomaceous Earth

Diatomaceous earth is a kind of powder made up fossilized animal remains and can be found at most hardware and garden supply stores. If it comes into contact with certain pests, especially slugs, it will cause them to dry up and die. Other types of pests are attracted to the smell and will ingest it, after which it will cause much the same effect. Sprinkling diatomaceous earth around your flower beds can help prevent pests from causing undue amounts of damage while laying down a line around your windows and doors can also prevent pests from entering your home in the search of food.

Attract Birds

Birds are the number one predator for most garden pests, so you can control the population of insects within your garden by attracting wild birds to your yard. You can do this by placing bird feeders and bird baths around your garden. Having large trees located around your yard also makes the area around your garden the ideal place for nest building.

Remove Damaged Plants

If only certain plants within your garden are exhibiting signs of pest infestation, you should remove them as soon as possible. This is because these plants most likely have insect eggs somewhere on them, even if you can't see them. By removing them, you'll be able to remove the next generation of insect pests before they have the chance to hatch and spread further through your garden.

Apply Netting

For fruit trees or particularly vulnerable or fragile plants within your garden, you can cover them with netting to protect them from insect infestation. This netting is sold at most hardware stores, sometimes labeled under bird netting. While they may not look appealing, they do provide a high degree of protection against insects if you want to save specific plants during an infestation.

Insecticidal Soaps

There are a number of different products available that offer a non-toxic pest solution. These insecticidal soaps are usually mixed with water and then sprayed onto infested plants to kill the pests and eggs on them. As they are non-toxic, they won't cause any harm to you or your plants, and most will also not pose a threat to beneficial insects in your garden. For more information about pest control in your area, check out a company like E & R Exterminating Company, Inc.