It's summertime and we're out in droves knee deep in dirt, tangled in the hose, watching our gardens grow. Happy homeowners and gardeners across the nation have bravely gone outside battling creeping, crawling, flying pests and despite all of that, life is still good in the garden...
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Garden pests can take the fun out our garden party faster than I can pop a warm garden tomato in my mouth. Hopefully, we're gardening organically and using natural alternatives to keep bugs out of our vegetable patch. I found a few good "rescue remedies" putting EOs to work that I can't wait to share with you!
If you're lucky enough to have a potting shed, you're lucky enough! And for heaven's sake, what a perfect place to keep some garden friendly EOs and a few "organic strategies" up your sleeve...
Let's start with flying pest control for the home or potting shed. Flies and wasps are our nemesis over the summer ~ especially flies. One of my favorite tricks is to diffuse peppermint in the house close to where ever people are coming and going. Aromatherapy to the rescue! Peppermint repels insects and makes your house smell really good :)
Let's start with flying pest control for the home or potting shed. Flies and wasps are our nemesis over the summer ~ especially flies. One of my favorite tricks is to diffuse peppermint in the house close to where ever people are coming and going. Aromatherapy to the rescue! Peppermint repels insects and makes your house smell really good :)
Should you be away from a power source or without a diffuser {gasp!}, here's a "finger licking good" natural alternative to sticky pest strips from One Good Thing by Jillee. It's quite easy and looks much nicer than the tacky fluorescent, chemical laden store bought strips...
All you need is a paper grocery bag, water, sugar and honey or corn syrup and some twine for an impressive bug catching device.
This is a project your kids could help you with and have some fun in the process!
One more tip for home pest control! If you've found a "nesting" area in your home where mice, ants or other bugs or rodents are find cozy, stash peppermint laden cotton balls in those areas and wave goodbye to the squatters, they won't want to be anywhere near those peppermint fresh cotton balls. Peppermint EO is a homeowners BFF I'm tellin ya :)
NATURAL INSECT REPELLENTS FOR YOUR GARDEN
{from Valerie Worwood's book, The Complete Book of Essential Oils and Aromatherapy}
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Essential oils in the garden are superior in more ways than one. Taking a step back to their origins, EOs are plant essence, their compatibility with your flowers, herbs and vegetables is invaluable! For instance...
Basil is a great companion plant for tomatoes in the garden. Companion planting helps to strengthen and intensify flavor of crops or flowers...
Did you know that with the pure plant essence of Basil (essential oil), you can accomplish the same companion planting benefits just by watering your tomato plants with a few drops of Basil in the watering can. Cool huh?!
EO GARDEN TEA!
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A hose end sprayer is a brilliant way to quickly douse any problem areas with a garden rescue remedy. They're inexpensive and perfect for fertilizing with manure tea too...but that's a different blog post {CLICK HERE}.
The basic formula for a garden tea looks like this:
Add 8 drops of essential oil to each hose end sprayer fill up.
Ants: Peppermint
Cutworm: Thyme
Fleas: Lavender, Lemongrass
Mosquitos: Lemongrass
Flies: Peppermint or Lavender
Gnats: Spearmint or Patchouli
Moths: Spearmint, Lavender or Peppermint
Slugs: Patchouli
Ticks: Lemongrass, Thyme
White Fly: Lavender
Aphids: Patchouli
Caterpillars: Spearmint, Peppermint
Flea Beetle: Peppermint, Lemongrass, Spearmint or Lavender
Deer: Lavender or Manure Tea
Garden On ~ Go Organic!
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