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Buying the latest weed or pest killer is not the solution.
These chemicals do not eradicate the pest issue but instead destroy the diversity of animals that live in your garden.
A few pests will always survive, but usually their predators do not.
Now these super pest laugh at the chemical cocktail you deliver wrecking even more havoc
 on your yard.


The best way to fight pests is to use beneficial insects and wise planting idea.
Beneficial insects are named such because they work in harmony to help our garden grow,
by controlling the number of pests eating our plants and often pollinating our flowers.
Starting today be inviting insect predators into your garden
by p
lanting flowers to attract an army of good.

Also check out the links page for links to fruit tree care and organic pest and disease management.
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As with life there is no one solution that fits everything.
The first step in a pest problem is to take a good look at what is really going on.

Ask yourself:
1. Is this plant in the right place?  Pest love stressed out and weakened plants.
2. Is this thing really a pest?  What is it doing?  Insects are the best controllers of other insects, you may be looking at a valuable preditor.
2. How did the pest get here in the first place?  Did ants bring it (common for aphid problems), is it larva to a moth?
3. What are they damaging? Overall weakening the plant, eating the fruit, or just curling a few leaves?

There are many eco-friendly ways to deal with pest problems.  Start with them before moving on to hazardous chemicals.
1. Can you wash them off with water? Great way to rid yourself of aphids
2. Can you trap the pest using sticky traps or phermone containers? Great for moth problems
3. Can you barricade their paths?  Copper strips around trees to prevent snails from climbing.

These are just a few ideas of a very long list of ways to safely control pest problems.
E-mail me your troubles and I can give you solutions specific to your needs.



Flowers to have in your garden:

  1. Dill (Anethum graveolens)  Fennel, Coriander/Cilantro, Caraway, and Anise have abundant nectar-producing flowers
  2. Sweet alyssum (Lobularia maritima)
  3. Buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum)
  4. Sunflower Family (Asteraceae) – e.g. Asters, Cosmos, sunflowers, daisies, purple
  5. coneflower (Echinacea purpurea), Zinnias
  6. Yarrow (Fern-leaf) (Achillea filipendulina)

Picture is of Dill (Anethum graveolens)

Dill and other members of the Umbel (Apiaceae) family (e.g. Fennel, Coriander/Cilantro, Caraway, Anise, and others) are renowned for their ability to attract beneficial insects, because of their abundant nectar-producing flowers. Almost every kind of beneficial insect I looked up was attracted to dill.
This ladybug's larva is in search of aphids and other insects that suck the life out of your plants.




Green Lacewings and eggs.  Their larva are ferocious predators consuming several hundred aphids before becoming adults.  The brown lacewing looks the same yet as an adult it will happily continue to feed on aphids.





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