Are pests taking over your garden? Are you fed up of finding aphids? Want to know some ways to prevent pests in your garden? You’re in the right place! Prevention is always better than being stuck with a large infestation and here at The Lady Gardener Team we believe in using natural ways to help keep your outdoor space pest free.

We’ve put together a simple guide to some of the ways you can prevent garden critters taking over.

‍Keep on top of weeding

‍Weeds are a breeding ground for pests and provide a place for them to thrive. Stay on top of weeds in your garden and you’ll remove any extra hiding places for pests to cause problems. Some weeds have long taproots so make sure you remove the entire weed to stop them coming back!

‍Choose resistant varieties

‍When choosing your flowers or veg check the seed catalogues for pest resistant varieties. These plants will be better for your garden if you find it’s normally a pest playground as they are naturally resistant to certain pests and will save you a world of trouble in the long run.

‍Encourage beneficial insects

‍Not all insects in your garden are your enemy. Some love to munch on pests and help keep numbers down. For example ladybugs love to eat aphids so try to encourage more into your garden. Flowers that ladybugs love include:

• Calendula
• Cosmos
• Chives

And remember it’s not always productive to get rid of all pests. You may need to have a few aphids in your garden to attract the ladybugs in the first place. Try planting Marigolds or Nasturtium to encourage aphids and in turn encourage ladybugs. Marigolds and Nasturtiums can also be planted to distract aphids from your other crops – this is called companion planting!
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Remove infested leaves

If you spot any leaves with a heavy infestation remove these quickly! Remember to clean your tools after removing any pest or disease infested foliage to prevent spreading any problems around your garden and never compost infested leaves and dispose of them responsibly.

Rotate crops

If you’re a keen vegetable grower you might want to consider rotating your crops every year – this means not growing the same veg in the same spot each time. There are many benefits to crop rotation: It helps to control disease, weeds, and pests, while boosting soil quality. Most plants deplete soil nutrients during their growth cycle, and some plants such as corn are particularly heavy feeders, so the soil gets depleted when planting them in the same place year after year. Crop rotation helps to manage this by including use of soil building plants, cover crops, and nitrogen fixers such as beans help to increase soil fertility.

Try interplanting

Pests love monoplanting so confuse them by alternating your crops and try mixing flowers, herbs and other crops in the same bed.

Keep track!

One of the best ways to stay on top of your pest problems is to monitor and record. Take note of any pests, how many, what kind and what plants had issues. By understanding pest life cycles and what’s going on in your garden, you’ll be in a better position to prevent issues the next year.
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