Pest Control

Aphids are basically small plant-eating insects that are regarded as one of the most harmful garden pests. Even though they look small, they can become a big problem in no time. They feed on our green plants and if they are left unchecked, they can cause heavy damage to the plants and even kill them. You may follow few basic practices for eradicating your plants from aphids. You may require the following things such as Ladybugs, Garlic plants or cloves, Spray bottle, 1 quart water and 2 tsp dishwasher soap. You need to release the ladybugs into the plants. They will feast on aphids. The quantities of ladybugs can be bought from garden centres. They should be released in the evening as they will fly away in case it rains. Therefore the time of release of ladybugs needs to be planned.

You need to apply insecticide spray which is a non-toxic solution made up from dishwasher soap and water. You need to mix it in a bottle and spray it on plants. The solution gets dehydrated and kills aphids. It needs to be applied once a week. You need to pay attention to the undersides of leaves while spraying as aphids and their larvae will reside in this part of the leaves. You need to plant garlic in the spring as Aphids are repelled by it. With the growth of garlic, the aphids find it difficult to stay in your plants. It is also advised to rub plants with cut cloves of garlic. You should try to avoid chemical insecticides because they may kill the aphids, but leads to the severe damage to your plants. Also, the use of some chemicals leads to death of beneficial insects thereby increasing your plants’ risk from the various future infestations.

Birds devour the cherry fruits well and you need to use preventive methods to stop the birds from feeding on cherry trees. You can use various ways for restricting the birds and you will need few things to do so such as Pest netting, aluminium pie tins, Tin cans, Pebbles, Ear protection, Air horn, Mylar strips and String. The first step you can take is to tent small trees with pest netting from the nursery. You should completely cover the trees all the way till the ground. You can attached it to the ground with plant stakes, or also tie it to the trunk with string. It is one of the most effective ways of bird control.

You can also punch holes in aluminium pie tins by using a scissors blade and then suspend them from the branches of the trees with string. Also, you are required to disperse them on outside branches and within the crow of the cherry tree. You should tie them in pairs so that they will strike each other in the breeze, and also flash in sunlight and thereby frightening the birds away. Another way is to drill holes in tin cans with a drill and insert few pebbles or gravel at the bottom. You should run string across the holes and knot so that to make a loop. You should tie other long piece of string to the loop. You should hang each tin can on a branch of cherry tree and tie a piece of string to the branch. Then you can run the string to a window of house from where you can view the tree. You should run the string under the screen and leave the screen up to allow free movement of string.

Now, if the birds come to eat the cherries, you can simply yank the string, which causes the branch to move, the pebbles to rattle and the cans to sway. It is very effective method for keeping the birds away when done consistently. Another method is to make use of an air horn for frightening the birds away. You can put on earplugs to dampen the sound. You should avoid planting of cherry trees close to the border of a wooded area as birds that nest in the woods will find it easy to eat cherries. You should not rely much on the imitation "predators" like plastic owls.

You can grow tomatoes without much maintenance and reducing the traditional ways of weeding, pest control and watering. You need to dig deeper holes for small tomato plants and plant them because growing the tomatoes deeply leads to the better crop. It will grow roots with a portion of the underground stem that will strengthen the root system. You need to place cardboard or newspaper nearby the base of the tomato plants. It will act as a weed barrier and reduces the need for weeding greatly. It will also helps in keeping the soil moist around your plants.

You need to add straw or other mulch more than the newspaper or cardboard. It assists in keeping the blockade in place and makes the garden look better. You should ensure that mulch gets down when you are done. It assists in adding weight and keeping the wind from blowing away. You should also add irrigation in the form of drip irrigation or soaker hoses. You should focus on keeping the water directly on the tomatoes roots. It will assist in keeping the weed growth lower. It will also remove the need of manually watering of your plants.

There are some plants that help to keep the insects off your plants like zinnias, marigolds, or basil. You may also use a combination of all three among the tomatoes. These plants help to keep insects away from your plants. It will reduce the amount of pest control greatly. When your tomato plants grow large enough, then you should stake them. You should take a stake of metal or wood and tie the plants to the stake gently. It will keeps the tomatoes away from the ground and prevent it from rotting on the vine. You can also keep a timer to remember the irrigation to water for a short period every night.

There are various pesticides and herbicides available in the market for killing weeds. The majority of these are expensive and toxic in nature. You can avoid using them in your garden by making your own weed killer by using the vinegar and dish soap. The chemical composition of all vinegars includes the 5 percent of acetic acid normally and it is responsible for the tart flavour and its ability to dry out the leaves of plants. The weed killer prepared form vinegar is effective against most weeds if it is used appropriately. One positive aspect of using vinegar is that its acidity does not affect the pH of the soil permanently because it is not bio-accumulative.

For making the weed killer, you will require few things including 1 gallon vinegar, 1/8 cup liquid dish soap, Spray bottle, Wooden spoon, 5-gallon bucket and permanent marker. The first step is to pour 1 gallon of vinegar as well as 1/8 cup of liquid soap into a 5-gallon bucket and stir it thoroughly to mix it properly. Then you need to fill a spray bottle with the solution. You need to cap and mark the contents with a permanent marker. By using the mist spray, you can spray the annual weeds on the foliage in bright sunlight. You need to ensure that it will remain sunny for a couple days for causing the maximum effectiveness.

In case of perennial weeds, you need to spray it twice a week for about a month that begins at the start of fall. It will ensure that the vinegar penetrates the leaves well and also flows down into the roots when the plant gets ready for winter dormancy. You need to repeat the process for all types of weeds. You should not spray it on a windy day or take care that your desirable plants should not get affected by the weed killer.

The Juniper trees are beautiful trees that are susceptible to pest infestation. The Juniper scale leaves brown patches and they are round with a 1/16 inch to 1/20 inch in diameter. It is white and consists of a yellow spot in its centre that resembles like a fried egg. Juniper scale is a bright yellow when hatched. You need to identify the infestation by looking underneath the foliage. The Juniper web worms are small brown moths that are approx 5/8 inch long. If case, a Juniper is infested with this pest, you can see the brown leaves, silken tubes, tiny white webs around an infested leaf.

Another Juniper pest is the bagworm caterpillar which has telltale silk bag shaped like a spindle. These bags are up to 1 to 2 inches long with the adult bagworm looking similar to a bee with clear wings. The Spider mites causes harm to Juniper also. The mites are small and measure around 1 mm. They comprise of eight legs instead of six, and you need to use a magnifying glass for seeing this. The younger mites are greenish white and older mites are reddish brown.

The dogwood trees enhance the beauty of the forests in spring. When they blossom, they take the beauty of the forests and landscapes to another level. Among the pest of dogwood tree, is a dogwood borer which is a caterpillar that turns into a moth with clear wings. It looks similar to a wasp that is 5/8 inch in length and off-white colour with a brown head. In case the dogwood tree gets infested with this pest, the leaves will turn red and fall off before autumn. The scales are other insect that infest the dogwood. They are present on the leaves and stems. They look smaller and resemble bumps.

Pine trees are found in rich quantity in many places of the country, however if your plants become infested with pests, they can eventually die. In case, the pests are harming your pine trees, you need to identify them. The Pine bark beetles cause mass destruction to pine trees and you should search for red to brown coloured beetles about a 0.5 inch long. These can fly and lives on living pine trees rather than those that may have been cut. The unhealthy trees that produce excess of sap are vulnerable to pine bark beetles. The pine needle scale is a white scale covering the needles and has an oval shape that results in the pine needles turning yellow. It consists of a wax covering that is about 1/16 to 1/8 inch long.

The Pine sawflies are attracted to mugo and table top pines mostly. They are found in Japanese, Scotch, red and Jack pine trees. These sawflies damages the pine needles, however the pine survive the attack. It is easy to find the larvae of the pine sawfly from April to June. The adults are visible in August. They include a green caterpillar with stripes at their backs. The southern pine beetles follow engraver and black turpentine beetles in general. The latter two makes the pine tree vulnerable to the southern pine beetle.

The beetles can literally wipe out huge areas of pine trees up to many hundred acres. The pine tree’s needles started to turn yellow, red, and then brown. The yellow or white patches of resin is also seen where the beetle has makes its way into the tree. A majority of the beetles are in the bark, so you need to rely on their telltale signs. Another major pest of the pine trees is Spruce spider mites that attack and feed on more than 40 species of pine trees. They range from green to brown to red in colour. Most of them are active in early spring and late fall as they prefer cold weather.

The cockroaches poses a big threat for the people as they can come up in any nice house or building. To keep the cockroaches away you can make use of the following things such as Roach traps, Cleaning supplies and Plastic baggies including small and large bags. The cockroaches are generally found in the bathroom or kitchen. It is mandatory to keep these areas very clean and hygienic. You should not leave the dishes in the sink or food open on the counter. You should wipe down the kitchen counters nicely and ensure to do cleaning in even difficult to reach places. You should also apply a disinfectant spray on these surfaces.

In case, you have a dishwasher, you should ensure that it is scraped thoroughly and plates/other utensils are cleaned properly prior to putting them in. You should not allow the accumulation of garbage and you should store garbage in a can with a lid. There is a tendency of the cockroaches to move towards water, so you should not allow standing water to sit in your kitchen or bathroom. You should also reduce the number of places where the cockroaches could hide. It includes the places behind the cookbooks or knickknacks. You can also keep your counter space as hygienic and empty as possible always.

The cockroaches normally follow each other near to their faecal matter which is small black or brown marks that is easy to spot or seen. You should clean all these marks completely with a disinfectant. You should place the cockroach traps in areas which are more susceptible for the cockroach’s infection. You can purchase the child- and pet-safe cockroach traps at most of the grocery stores. You can also hire a pest control operator to get your apartment sprayed by insecticides.

The insects like mosquitoes and other bugs create lots of trouble for humans. Many people use the varying insect repellents to keep in check the population of the insects. Thus, insect repellants have become a necessity because people spend more time outdoors. The major problem with using the insect repellent is that they contain toxic chemicals for keeping bugs away. You may prefer to make your own herbal insect repellent for that will keep the insects away and is affordable in comparison to manufactured insect repellents available in the market.

The first step in the preparation of the herbal insect repellents is to select herbs known to repel insects. It includes herbs like Mint, eucalyptus, sage and penny royal leaves. In addition to that there are various essential oils that keep the bugs away such as spearmint, cedar, peppermint, and lavender. The Citronella oil works well and is easy to make by using a few grapefruit peels, lemon, or orange. You can also combine the herbs and citrus peels for making spritz. You can boil them in a pan of hot water and remove the ingredients from the stove. You can cover the pan and allow it to soak overnight. You need to strain the contents of the pan and then mix the herbal tea concoction with same amounts of rubbing alcohol. You can spritz yourself completely prior to going outdoors.

You can also create repellant oil by using the herbs and citrus peels. You can place the citrus peels and sage leaves onto a sterilized jar. You need to heat olive oil till it touches 160 degrees F in a pan. After the oil reaches optimum temperature, you are required to empty the oil into the jar over the herbal ingredients. Then you should cover the mouth of jar and keep it in a dark place from one week to one month. You can also use a homemade spray that is made from pure lavender oil for keeping the mosquitoes away from you.

The insect growth inhibitors or insect growth regulators (commonly known as an IGR) are basically the products or materials that lead to interruption or inhibition of the life cycle of a pest. If an animal cannot attain the stage of adulthood, it cannot reproduce. It is possible to inhibit the maturity of an insect and preventing it from reaching the adult stage, thus leading to end of its life cycle and infestation. In short, an IGR is basically not an insecticide but a man-made protein that affect certain groups of insects.

The flea eggs and larvae that are exposed to an IGR like Nylar, Precor, Methoprene, will never develop into the adult and thus cannot reproduce. As roaches are exposed to either Nylar or Hydroprene, they cannot shed their exoskeleton or form a new exoskeleton. It is an important part of the roach life cycle andonce they failed to shed their outer shell they cannot mature any further.

The materials like Methoprene, Hydroprene, Nylar are the most widely used IGR by pest control operators (PCO), pest professionals and individuals.

Methoprene will prevent the egg and larvae stages of fleas from developing. It is used alone for prevention or tank mix with an approved insecticide like Suspend SC and Permethrin Pro for its treatment. The Precor works on Cigarette Beetles and Methoprene is not photostable and used for indoor purposes. It is available in liquid concentrate and aerosol formulations for controlling the indoor flea. The Methoprene is also found in frontline plus topical flea and used for the treatments for cats as well as dogs. In Frontline Plus products, Methoprene is combined with Fipronil which kills ticks and adult fleas as the Methoprene prevent the growth of immature fleas. Nylar is used for the elimination of flea and Cigarette Beetle. Hydroprene is used for the elimination of roach and flea.

The raspberry bushes and spotty plants grow in undesirable areas and cause danger to other plant life. It renders the access to garden or property areas hard. It requires lots of effort for completely eradicating the raspberry growth. The raspberry bushes come with thorny vines and shoots that pose harm to humans and animals that come in its contact. The Raspberry fruit lures bugs and other undesirable creatures on to your property. You will need a pair of Gloves, Garden trowel or shovel, chemical weed killer and Pruning shears.

You need to remove all the raspberry shoots and vines by using a pair of pruning shears. It leaves the stumps of the shoots visible from the ground. You need to dispose the cut raspberry shoots and vines by keeping them in plastic trash bags. You should not compost the cut raspberry plants because it may risk its spreading in case the compost is used in the garden. You also need to dig up the raspberry bush’s root structure by using a shovel or gardening trowel. You need to dig 6 inches or more for completely exposing the roots. You should take the care in proper disposal of the raspberry bush roots by throwing them in the same manner as the remaining plant.

You need to spray a chemical weed killer in the concerned area for ensuring that the raspberry plants will not come back. You can also use a blockade like black plastic for thwarting further growth of the raspberry plants. You should not use weed killers in those areas where there is other desirable plant life is existing because killing the raspberry in these areas also leads to the damage of the plants with chemicals. It does require efforts to keep the growth of raspberry in check, but once it is done, you can ensure the safety of your desirable plants.