18 Tips for Super Green Pest Control

By Gerri L Elder in Animals & Habitats, Home & Garden, Nature & Ecosystems

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You don’t have to suffer with pests or harm the environment trying to get rid of them just to enjoy all of the outdoor activities of the season. There are many eco-friendly ways to approach pest control, whether the problem is slugs on your patio or a snake in the pool. We no longer have to rely on harsh chemicals to enjoy the summer.

Natural Insect Repellants

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Cedar oil is a natural, non-toxic insect repellent. It can be used to repel mosquitoes, fleas, ants, cockroaches and other insects. It’s safe for your skin and even has a pleasant smell. Pets and pet bedding can also be treated with cedar oil to control fleas. Citronella oil is another natural mosquito repellent and is often used in outdoor candles, while the Mosquito Plant, or Citrosa Geranium, is often grown on patios for its mosquito-repelling qualities.

Beneficial Insects

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Beneficial insects are natural predators of other insects that can cause damage in the garden. Live specimens and eggs are available commercially, but by providing a favorable habitat through plantings that provide cover for these insects, you can attract them to your property. Create the right environment and you can have an army of beneficial insects go to work for you.

Solar-Powered Repellents

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Solar powered pest control products are a relatively new green product on the market. Solar panels on the top of the unit collect energy from the sun while the spike is buried underground. The device periodically shakes, sending vibrations through the ground to disturb and frighten animals. Models are available to repel moles and other vermin and at least one company makes a solar powered snake repellent. However, many gardeners are happy to see snakes in the garden, as they are natural predators of the smaller mammals that cause the most damage.

Humane Relocation: Trap and Release

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A very humane way of dealing with a pest problem is the trap and release method. There are a variety of no-kill traps available to safely capture an unwanted animal so that it can be relocated in the wild. Special care must be taken when relocating animals to ensure their survival. They should be relocated early in the day to an area that provides plenty of food, water and shelter. Glue traps are also available to help capture and relocate snakes. When it is time to release the snake, vegetable or mineral oil loosens the glue.

Wash Bad Bugs Away

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Aphids can often be removed from ornamental plants simply with a blast of water from the hose. The tiny mouths of the aphids remain stuck to the plant, while the bodies wash away. To control scale and other parasitic insects in the garden, Neem oil or insecticidal soap can be sprayed directly on the plant and insect-infestation. These products are safe for the plants and the environment.

Banish Snails and Slugs

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Snails and slugs can destroy delicate plants overnight. These soft-bodied pests come out after dark and wreak havoc in the garden. To control the population, a shallow dish of beer can be placed among the plants that need protection. Slugs especially love beer and will fall in and drown. Diatomaceous earth and crushed eggshells sprinkled among plants also help prevent slug and snail damage as they will not cross a barrier that will damage their soft undersides.

Attract Birds

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Many wild birds are natural predators of the insects we wish to eliminate. You can attract wild birds to your home by creating a favorable habitat for them. By providing water in a bird bath, hanging bird feeders filled with food for the bird species you wish to attract and planting brightly colored flowering plants for hummingbirds, who like nectar, you can lure birds in to do your dirty work for you – naturally.

Skunks: Handle with Caution

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If you have a skunk problem, there may be no pleasant way to solve it. Baby skunks have a functioning scent gland from the time they are born, so care must be taken not to startle them. Skunks are nocturnal animals and usually will visit you in the night to find a meal. You can discourage skunk activity on your property by making sure all garbage is secure inside a lidded trash can and putting away all pet food before turning in for the night.

Love your newsletter and your website. You should know that in most states, in suburban and urban areas, it’s illegal to trap and release animal pests. You can trap and then kill (oddly enough) some animals, but you can’t release them elsewhere. You could starve or harm the animal or yourself, spread diseases to other animal communities, and force your problem into someone else’s backyard.

Check with your local County Extension office if you have critter control issues about the best method to deal with them. They will also have resources to animal control or trappers that are licensed to trap and release legally.
http://www.csrees.usda.gov/Extension/

Keep up the beautiful and unique photographs. Great job!

Gophers are the bane of my gardening existence. Have you got any good no-kill ideas to get them out for good? I am trying a gopher/mole repellent that has castor oil in it and have planted new perennials in gopher cages but they are still getting the plants not in gopher cages. Thanks.

@Carrie, thanks. Glad you enjoyed it.

@Christine I feel your pain. I have a groundhog that won’t leave. The solar moler might be effective against gophers, but they didn’t work on the groundhog. Good luck!

One of the pictures above looks like a snake caught in a sticky trap. Is that right? Sticky traps are NOT humane ways of ridding anything from your garden. There is no way for you to remove the snake from the glue on the trap. There will be no relocating the animal. Instead it will suffer and die stuck to the trap. If you want to kill the snake, I’m sure there are less torturous ways of going about it. I’m sorry, but the picture makes me a little sick to my stomach.

Yellow Jackets (common wasps):

Coke (any sugary, dark soda) and Tobassco (or any hot sauce) poured into a small dish, placed adjacent to a yellow jacket nest will ensure this particular pest has it’s last supper. Note: allow the mixture to ‘reduce’ in a dish for atleast a few days, check back in a week. May need to change the mixture out once the dish is full of dead wasps — Be Careful. In order to locate a nest (usually a hole in the ground) use tuna in an area you think the yellow jackets are coming from, wait, and watch as the jackets will slowly take the tuna back to the HQ one by one.
With a king’s bounty of the wasp-workers killed off, the queen will have no choice but to relocate (far away) once fall and winter arrives.

Most small mammals (chipmunks, squirrels, moles, gophers, et al):
Small mammals can add comedic releif in the blistering heat of summer, but they can wreck havok on any garden. this antedote works particulary well because it’s natural, non-toxic, most people have some of the ingredients at home, and your garden humor stays intact.

Garlic, Cayenne Pepper, Red Chilli pepper, Habenaros, and/or most spices in fresh (chopped) or dry ( powdery-seasoning) form applied throughout your garden bed will halt these mammals from digging out buds, or arround ornamental plants. As an added bonus, birds don’t have taste glands like most mammals (like us or smaller) and will not taste the spicy goodness of your garden. The added bonus is particularly useful if you find squirrels gourging themselves on the bird food you’ve used to invite your new Insect-Control Agents (Birds) to your yard; as it can also be applied when adding bird seeds to feeders. Have you ever seen a squirrel do a two-handed dismount with a mid-air summersault?

Also, for slugs, coarse (used, even) sandpaper around plants will work similar to egg shells.

Mosquitos: Marigolds, Catnip, Cedars, Lemon Balm, or any number of variations of genus; Cymbopogon (Citronella Grass, Lemon Grass et al) can aid in the repel of these nasty pests. Note: These plants show regional favortism, not just in plant health but in repeling powers. Try a variety and see what works.

Also, a lot of National Wildlife, Fish and Game, Wetland, and Forestry Services are using what’s called a ‘Mosquito Dunk’. They can also be picked up at your local, large-chain hardware store. These are supposedly non-toxic and non-lethal. The ‘Dunks’ are supposed to slow or halt the growth stages of mosquitos early on, which disables the mosquito from going from the larvae (wiggle) to a winged-Adult. They do work, but I think the juries still out on whether these ‘Dunks’ are harmful to others Animals (Birdbaths?) Best advice for any standing water: If it’s not needed, dump it, if it is (boirdbath, rain barrel, etc.) keep it changed out or invest in a device to keep the water from standing still; usually takes mosquito larvae 2 days to develop in standing water, they will not lay eggs in moving water.

If you have a water-feature (small pond) cosnider pruchasing mosquito fish and/or coy; mosquito fish will consume 100-400 larvae a day. Also, bat boxes can aid in the demise of mosquitos in the right regions. Some species of bats can consume 1000’s of mosquitos a day.

That’s all I know, for now. I’m sure I’ll think of more once I’ve submitted this comment. I’d like to hear how these workout for anyone.

Thanks for the additional tips in the article and comments!

Thanks for the good information. Day by day insects are becoming a colossal problem for human world as they are the carriers of harmful diseases. In order to get prevention from such diseases we have to take some preventive measures earlier. circumstances. It is better to use a natural insect repellent.

I’ve been told that Cayenne Pepper and similar products are not an eco-friendly way of dealing with squirrels and chipmunks. They can get in their eyes and they suffer. I use feeders with weight sensitive doors (although chipmunks can be so light that they can still feed) and metal tubes with holes. The latter don’t stop the critters, but keep the losses down.

Besides their antics are worth a bit of food. They’re no worse, or even not as big gluttons as Blue Jays, Grackles and the likes.