Keep Fall Insects Out of Your Garden: Tips to Prevent Specific Pests
Pumpkins, sweet potatoes, and many types of squash—harvest season is upon us for these crops and many more across gardens here in Alabama. Gardeners aren’t the only ones eager to enjoy the product of their hard work this harvest season; many fall insects see bountiful gardens as a free feast.
Don’t worry; our experts in integrative pest management from Vulcan Termite are back with a new edition of our weekly pest blog: keep reading for a free guide for keeping fall insects out of your home garden!
Fall Insects That Can Ruin Gardens
The following are fall insects that often decimate gardens and ruin harvests if you don’t implement the right prevention strategies:
- Stinkbugs
- Aphids
- Cutworms
- Cabbage Loopers
- Cucumber Beatles
- Mites
Best Prevention Strategies for Garden Pests
Plant These Herbs
Although fall insects love to feast on fruits and vegetables, you can repel them by planting herbs they tend to avoid near your garden. Examples include basil, lemongrass, citronella, lavender, chives, sage, and thyme. Another advantage of planting these herbs with your garden veggies is using them as flavorful seasonings in your fall harvest dishes.
Inspect Veggie Plants Before Planting
If you want to plant fruits and vegetables in your garden using live plants from the store, inspect the condition of the plants thoroughly for fall insects and signs of chewing damage. Otherwise, you may bring home a crop carrying predatory insects or other plant diseases, which can spread to the rest of your garden.
Suppose you bought young plants from the store without inspecting them but haven’t planted them in a garden bed yet. That’s okay! You can inspect your veggies at any time before planting. If it has a few spider mites and minimal damage, you can quarantine it from the rest of your garden in a pot and treat it with edible plant-friendly insecticide; eliminate the pest and transfer after you treat it.
Till Your Soil
Many fall pests in a given area will return the following year by overwintering in soil or laying eggs there. Don’t just replant using the same soil you had in your garden last year—your plants will thrive with new, fresh soil and fertilizer. Replace old soil with new, remove weeds, and break up any soil worth saving to aerate it and ensure no fall insects are hiding within.
Call a Mindful Pest Control Expert
Many gardeners hesitate to have professional pest control agents spray for insects and implement other strategies on their property because they want to keep their crops free of toxic chemicals that would be harmful for people to consume. However, pests can be very burdensome and challenging to keep away without effective insecticides.
We want our customers to feel confident in the safety of their edible crops without having to worry about pests eating them first; that’s why we are mindful of these preferences and the health of our customers when implementing our effective solutions. Our team has extensive experience with garden-friendly pest control that ensures the safety of our customers’ crops and the health of its consumers.
For 40+ years, our team of integrative pest solutions professionals from Vulcan Termite & Pest Control has proudly aided hundreds of families in Birmingham and nearby communities by eradicating invasive pests on their property.
Call us today at 205-663-4200 or contact us online to request our services. We’ll gladly perform a FREE evaluation and create and implement an effective strategy using our tried-and-true methods, so you and your family can return to your daily activities safely and comfortably in a pest-free home.
Thanks for reading this edition of our weekly pest blogs! Are you curious to keep learning about common critters found in Alabama or how to safely and humanely deal with them when they show up on your property uninvited? Check out more of our blogs for helpful tips, tricks, and educational content!