Guest Post: How to Keep Garden Pests Away Naturally

Good Morning and HAPPY FRIDAY!!  We just recently put the word out that we are looking for 2 additional co-hosts for Tuesdays with a Twist while I am out of town.  If you're interested please send me an email with your info.  
mari_backtonature@yahoo.com

PLUS, I am looking for guests for Back to the Basics and Mary's Kitchen.  Interested?

Today we have Maya from Pets and Pests.  This is perfect timing since my mom was just asking me about how to keep the rabbits and other pests from eating her plants.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Maintaining a nice garden is a time-consuming (yet incredibly rewarding) task. There’s watering, weeding, planting, pruning, and more, but one of the most difficult parts of gardening is keeping the garden pest-free. Maybe squirrels are always chomping your bulbs, or maybe you can’t figure out what is munching all your tomatoes. 

photo credit: gardener41

While there are many manmade chemical products you can use to rid your garden of pests, (like deer, rabbits, slugs and other invaders) nature’s got her own chemicals we can borrow. Plus, pesticides can end up doing more harm than good for your plants themselves. This article is all about keeping your garden pests away the old-fashioned way.

Slugs are one of the most persistent and irritating of garden pests. They are hard to find, yet they can irreversibly damage your plants. The first thing to do to get rid of those nasty slugs is to spread some coffee grounds around your garden. Unlike humans, slugs cannot stand coffee grounds, nor can cats or deer. The coffee grounds actually possess an added bonus because they contain nitrogen which is an essential element for all healthy gardens.

Slugs are fairly easy to handle versus bigger pests that are a huge nuisance for your garden. Naturally, putting up a fence is one way to keep those mammals out. If that is not a viable option for you, things might be a bit more complicated. However, nature has a few tricks up her sleeve to offer. 

For larger garden pests, blood meal is a great way to keep them out, and yes, it is exactly what you might be thinking it is: dried up animal blood.  Interestingly enough, the bigger pests such as deer, rabbits, and raccoons cannot stand the smell of blood, and will stay far from your plants if you use it. Additionally, blood meal is full of high amounts of nitrogen which acts as a great fertilizer. 

If blood meal really isn’t your thing, you can also try using fox or coyote urine. Put some small drops of urine all around the garden. The smell of a predator will frighten the raccoons, rabbits, deer, and squirrels. Because the predator’s “scent” lingers even after the urine dries, a little of it goes a long way. Once there is a good rain, you can reapply the urine. The other piece of good news is that a bottle should cost less than $30. 

Starting your garden, growing all your plants, and keeping them safe from pesky pests can be a challenge. Hopefully, some of these tips will enable you to keep your bulbs, fruits, and veggies all for yourself this year – unless you choose to share with friends and family!

Author Bio: Maya Rodgers is an avid gardener, amateur salsa-maker (since she grows mostly peppers and tomatoes), and spends her days as a pest control consultant for Terminix. Hopefully by the end of this summer she’ll have lots of salsa to eat and share! She can be found blogging at Pets and Pests.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I'm sharing this great garden post HERE.