To Many Bugs in My Garden

Google "Companion Planting". My sister-in-law recently got me started on gardening and hooked on campion planting. There are plants that help each other and some that deter or repel certain insects.

My mom (who is the gardener, not me) says to ALWAYS plant Marigolds with the tomato plants. Apparently the Marigolds give off a scent that aphids & other pests don't like so well. We used to eat the BEST Beef Steak Tomatoes when I was growing up in Indiana, right from the vine, they were so yummy!!

douse them with soapy water several times a day. If you can find ladybugs for sale, they just LOVE aphids!

Hi Maria, try using your left over coffee, I used to belong to a garden club, and they would send me all kinds of gardening tips, and that was one of them, I use my left over coffee, Just put it in a spray bottle and spray it on your plants. J. L.

You can buy ladybugs at most garden and big name hardware stores. Follow the instructions on the carton, but I think you release them at sundown. Has worked wonders on my roses.

We were at Tanaka Farms in Irvine the other day...they farm organically and said that they use garlic oil and chili oil as natural pesticides to keep the bugs away. It doesn't effect the taste of the plants, but the bugs don't like it.

-M

Soapy water in a spray bottle should do the trick!

Spray your plants with a solution of dish soap and water. It helps keep bugs down - the plants taste bad - and doesn't harm people or pets.

Hi - you could buy a box of ladybugs at the nursery. They will help eat the ladybugs, and we did this with my 2 year old son recently, and he loved watching them! An alternative to the ladybugs is any non-toxic product with neem oil or another horticultural oil works really well when sprayed on the plant (also available at the nursery). You could try putting on gardening gloves and wiping your hands over the affected areas, which will squash the bugs pretty well. Spraying the plants with the hose can help knock the bugs off. But mostly aphids won't really harm the plant too much, and they do subside in time due to their natural life cycle. Enjoy your wonderful garden!

Yes! You need to get some Lady Bugs! Seriously. They eat aphids like there's no tomorrow and they are great to have around the garden. Ladybugs and earthworms are a gardener's best friend.

I'm not sure where in Ventura county to get them. You might try calling a few nurseries. You can usually but a bag of 200 or so.

Good luck! And let us know where you manage to find them. I'll probably want to get some for my own garden when I move out there.

M.,

Hi! Those creepy critters are such an irritation, aren't they!

There is a product called PreSpot (available at an online store) that is made for spot removal in your clothes, but for some wonderful reason is safe and works wonderfully at killing mini-pests like aphids and ants, etc.

If you would like more info, feel free to email me at ____@____.com or leave your info at www.SwitchingStores.com/HealthyHome4All. Everything available through this company has been created to be safe for people and the environment, but it also just simply works so well, and they aren't too pricy either (important to all of us!).

Looking forward to you being able to conquer those critters.
T.

Ladybugs love to eat aphids. There are non-toxic soap sprays, but I found that the best way to get rid of aphids is to manually remove or scrape them off the plants. It is gross and messy, but works the best.

Hi, M...
There are many plants you can plant in a garden to rid many insects, including garlic. However, for aphids, I recommend ladybugs and praying mantises. You can go to your local greenhouse and purchase them. The ladybugs come in a tub of about 1500 and the praying mantis (which, by the way, love just about every insect, so they are great!) comes in their cocoon and are actually fun for the family to watch hatch. Hope this helps!

Ladybugs! We bought some last year and haven't seen a aphid since. You can get them at any nursery or home depot. Plus your little girl will get a kick out of them, I haven't met a kid yet that didn't like lady bugs!

Lady bugs, try OSH hardware store. I just saw them in their ad a few sundays ago. Ladybugs live off of aphids.

I just bought a bag of ladybugs from Ace Hardware. Call around, some store in your neighborhood should have them. Better to release them in early morning or evening when cool, then they will stay for a little bit. I mostly did it for my daughter, a budding entomologist! I also use a mix of water, organic dish soap (1-2 drops) and a tsp of oil. Spray that on the affected plants then wash it off in the evening. Good luck!

buy a bag of ladybugs from your local garden supply store. they eat aphids, are cheap, and earth friendly :)

Hi, M.. You can buy ladybugs at the nursery. (The "bags" tell you just how/when to let them go.) It is really fun for the kids to watch and worked great for us.

You can try soapy water. Just put a little dish soap in a spray bottle and fill with water and wet the plant thouroughly. You can also see if you can buy some lady bugs, they eat them. They cleaned up my hibiscus, well that and the birds. See if you have a nursery that carries lady bugs. Good luck. : )

LOL I should have read responses first! Guess you already know Lady Bugs are the way to go. I think I will go get some to just because my dd LOVES them. : )

I'm trying to garden organically, too, and bugs can definitely be a bother. If any of the great ideas listed here don't work, please contact your local extension service. They're a wealth of information and are particularly interested in gardening in your area and climate.

We used to have this problem, too. We used a solution of water and a bit of dishsoap in a spray bottle and would spray the plants daily with it. It worked!

have you tried soap and water? They make sprays to get rid of the bugs at Wal-mart and all other stores but just put some soap and water in a spray bottle and give that a try.

Ladybugs can be purchased from Home Depot, Lowes, and some nurseries. All natural no chemicals and fun to see.

Ladybugs will eat the aphids, you can purchase them at your local nursery. It really works.

Try your local nursery to purchase lady bugs! :-) release them in the evening time....natural & pretty solution!

LADYBUGS! They eat aphids. :)

Ladybugs. You can buy them at Home Depot, etc.

Hi M.,
Shaklee's Basic H2 is non-toxic and that is what I use on everything. It even is a great insect repellent! It is very economical and has many uses inside and outside the home. To read more about it, go to: www.shaklee.net/paradise. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me at ###-###-####.
Good luck!
M.

Try worm castings. They are sold as a soil amendment at nurseries. If you ask an employee, they can direct you to the worm castings (and can confirm that it is a great, natural source to get rid of many pests!). Simply spread the worm castings around the base of the plants. Good luck!

Hi M.,

We get aphids on our jasmin. We buy packages of lady bugs at the garden store. They're pretty inexpensive. You just spread them around on the plants where the aphids are. They get rid of the aphid problem. The only problem is we have to do it every few months, because it doesn't keep them away for more than that. Since ours isn't vegetables, I've even tried all kind of sprays and this has been the best remedy for us. Good luck! Take care, S.