Natural Alternatives for Bugs & Gardens

Natural Pest Deterrents

Did you know there may be a natural bug deterrent for your pesky problems? My sister had a carpenter ant problem at her old house. They learned you can use a combination of vinegar and water (1 Tbsp to 16 oz) sprayed around the outside edges of the house. The vinegar worked as well as the pesticide they used to use. You may need to re-apply after a couple months, but that was true of the toxic pesticides as well. A quick internet search can help you locate non-toxic ways to rid yourselves of most pests.

Want to keep bugs away? Check out this guide to many different kinds of herbs and folwers that repel many bugs. And if you need to repel mosquitos, ticks and fleas from yourself or your pets, then try Mercola Bug Spray, an all natural insect repellent that is free of toxins and safe for people and pets!

Organic Gardening

There are many organic options for lawn and plant care. The most organic lawn care you can practice is essentially no care. No fertilizers and no weed-killers. We had a terrible lawn when we moved in - tons of crab grass and other weeds. My husband, John, spent many weekends working to get us a nice lawn, and mostly in an organic way. He spread tons of compost and cow manure from a local farm, not top soil. He researched the best grasses for our area and added clover to the mix. The clover is actually great for lawns because it adds nitrogen to the soil, which helps everything grow. Many weed-killers kill the clover in lawns, therefore making it less healthy!

If you can't tolerate the weeds from no care, we recommend the book The Organic Lawn Care Manual, by Paul Tukey. John often refers to this book during the lawn care months.

Native plants are your best bet for low maintenance landscaping. These plants grow wild in your area therefore they are perfectly adapted to the local temperatures and average rainfall. You can visit www.wildflower.org for a list of recommended plants for your area.

HGTV has many articles about organic gardening. Check out their website and type organic gardening in the search bar.

We do a completely organic vegetable garden. John and I both love to work in the gardens. John plants "green manure" in the fall to add good stuff back into the soil for the next year. He plants certain things to ward off certain pests. We compost almost all our food waste to get super compost for our veggies. We do worm composting because it is easier, you can compost more and the worm castings make a phenomenally rich, black compost! More on John's methods when I get him to write it down.

John's favorite books for reference are: