No garden is spared from pests. Aphids, snails, voles and the like take every opportunity to attack your lovingly tended ornamental and crop plants. This list of tried-and-tested tips reveals how you can effectively combat the most common culprits without using poison.

Indian runner ducks eat all the snails

Lice give up to soapy water - this is how it works

They are there just in time for the start of the gardening season. Aphids, scale insects and other plant lice colonize the leaves to suck the sap from the young, freshly sprouting life. We resent this behavior of lice and define them as pests that need to be combated. To get rid of the plague, you can safely do without chemical insecticides. With this home remedy, the parasites regularly lose out:

  • Heat 1 liter of water to dissolve 30 to 40 grams of pure curd soap
  • Pour the cooled liquid into a hand sprayer
  • Spray infested plants every 2 to 3 days

Repeat the application until you no longer find any pests.

Stink scares voles - non-toxic repellents

Voles have the same fondness for vegetables in the garden as the gardener. Flower bulbs and rose roots are also on their menu. Therefore, the voracious tunnel builders are defined as pests that are allowed to be controlled. Those who remain true to their basic ecological principles in pest control leave toxic agents on the side and drive away odor-sensitive voles with their stench.

Cloths soaked in turpentine or carbolineum, which are stuck in the aisles in several places, have proven useful among home remedies. Those who exercise the necessary caution will scare off voles with butyric acid. Specialist shops have ready-to-use repellents available, such as the non-toxic vole gas from Neudorff or the strong-smelling balls from Dr. Stahler vole free.

Ducks versus snails - fighting in harmony with nature

Pesticides have had their day in fighting snails if you have Indian runner ducks in your garden. Even a small flock of these flightless waterfowl keeps the entire area free from the voracious slugs. When the lively ducks waddle through the garden, they don't disdain insects, beetles and other pests.

In order for the powerful troop to feel comfortable in your garden, there should be water points nearby, such as a pond or stream. A fence that is at least man-high keeps foxes, martens or other deadly enemies away. In addition, a small stable offers the busy beneficial insects a sheltered retreat from rain, cold and snow.

tips

If ticks invade the garden, they do not target the plants, but the gardener. Since fighting the bloodsuckers is very difficult, preventive measures are very popular as part of the care work. Always keep the lawn short, cut back shrubs regularly and avoid dark, damp niches. It finally becomes uncomfortable for the beasts if you remove abandoned nests as potential winter quarters in autumn and clean nest cavities.