How To Naturally Rid Your Garden Of These 4 Common Pests

As the warmer weather begins to roll in people are beginning to prepare their gardens for the upcoming season. However nothing is more infuriating than when you put in the hours to create a beautiful garden and a pest comes in and messes it up. Then you have to battle the tough choice, do I spray something harmful on my garden to kill the pests? Sure it will eliminate the unwanted bug, but it may also cause harm to your or the plant. Or do you leave it alone and allow the pest to wreak havoc on your garden? Luckily there is a third option. Here are some ways to naturally rid your garden of these four common pests.

1. Aphids

In case you were unaware, aphids are very tiny insects that suck the sap from leaves and plants. While they won't harm your garden by themselves, when they are are in large groups they can cause serious damage to the leaves that they are feeding on. The fact that they multiply rapidly doesn't help either. Eco Guard shares that "Aphid infestations can lead to discolored or wilted leaves, stunned plant growth, and mold growth." Luckily, there is a way to combat these pesky insects. You can make your own citrus spray by "grating the rind of one lemon or orange and combining it with 1 pint of boiling water." You let it steep over night then you strain it and add the mixture to a spray bottle. Spray the aphids —particularly under the leaves which is where they like to gather.

2.  Snails

While snails are not typically harmful to people they can cause damage to a garden. That is because they will eat holes right through the middle of your leaves. Not to mention they will also devour seedlings and will happily munch on low-hanging fruit like strawberries and tomatoes. Luckily there are ways to naturally rid your garden of these common pests. If you want to get rid of snails all you need to do is place a wooden board in your garden. Ensure the board is far from your plants. The snails will take shelter beneath them, then you can take the board and scrape them off elsewhere. If you want to chose a more...direct method, you can spray them with a solution that is equal parts vinegar and water as well. Then remove them.

3. Caterpillars

Before these babies turn into butterflies they are real pests for gardeners. While we all like to plant butterfly bushes and other plants that attract the pollinators, we are not as fond of them in their pre-butterfly stage. Gardeners Basics shares that different types of caterpillars are worse than others. However those that they label as "bad caterpillars" can cause a lot of damage. They can, "eat large portions of leaves, reducing the plant's ability to photosynthesize and causing stunted growth or death." If you want to naturally rid your garden of these common pests here is what you need to do. First pick them off your plants, by hand, when you see them. Additionally, you can plant thyme and oregano to help keep them away.

4. Slugs

Similar to snails, these common garden pests can be a real nuisance. They often feed on the leaves of many plants and their excessive feeding can cause the plant to become weak and die. Reader's Digest shares a natural solution. Apparently, slugs love beer just as much as people. If you "fill an empty tuna or cat-food can with beer and bury it in your garden soil up to its rim" it will attract the slugs. They will go right over to it until they fall into it. Then they will drown and you can discard the entire can in the morning and replace it for the next slug.