Tips for Eco-safe Pest and Weed Control
Pest and weed outbreaks in a garden are inevitable regardless of how much you are experienced in gardening practices. Both of them are a major threat to healthy plant growth, hence their timely management is crucial, so your garden keeps on flourishing. However, the conventional chemicals used for pest and weed control have damaging effects on the environment making it unsafe for human survival. If your beautiful garden is encountering the same issue but you want an eco-friendly solution, this blog post is for you. Let’s get started to learn more about eco-conscious weed and best control.
Eco-friendly Options for Weeds and Pest Control
Eco-safe alternatives are always available for each of our activities including gardening alternatives. Here is how you can use the staple items in a household to deal with these problems.
-
Boiling Water
Undoubtedly, boiling water is the safest and most effective method to kill the stubborn weeds growing in your garden. Furthermore, this method is the cheapest and costs you nothing to make your garden weed-free. Get a pot of boiling water and pour it directly on the growing weed. In the end, you just have to pull the dead weeds from the garden to make it weed-free.
-
Vinegar
Have you ever thought that vinegar, which is a part of the kitchen in every home, can be an alternative to the dangerous chemicals used to control pests and weeds? Well! You have heard it right. The vinegar smell is dreadful for many insects that are common in the garden, especially ants. So, if it’s your issue, spray vinegar on the plants to drive them away. Moreover, vinegar with 3% and 9% concentrations of acetic acid have proven effects against growing and stubborn weeds respectively. Consider your issue while choosing the appropriate concentration and make your garden best and weed-free.
-
Salt and Water
Another eco-safe option used to control the pests and weeds in the garden is the solution of 1 part of salt in 2 parts of water. Pests like snails, slugs, and ants are easily scared off by such high salt concentrations. Moreover, the generous spray of this solution is enough to kill the weeds. However, salt solution has a major setback when used in the garden. They not only kill the weed but also discourage the growth of literally anything in that soil with high salt concentration. Thus, use it carefully on only those areas where you are going to be fine with no growth.
-
Dish Soap Solution
Only a squirt of dish soap in a spray bottle is enough to deter the common insect pests in the garden like whiteflies, aphids, spider mites, or lingering bugs from on the leaves. However, you need to be careful about the contents of the dish soap. Make sure that it is free of bleach or similar chemicals that can compromise the soil quality and cause damage to the plants too. Be cautious while using it and it’s better to keep the shower to the plants instead of soaking the soil.
-
Solarization
This method is only adopted when the level of weeds and pests in your garden is so high that you are unable to control them with the above alternatives. All you need is a big stretch of plastic sheet and plenty of time to let the solar energy trap and suffocate the weeds and pests to death along with sterilizing the topsoil. Secure the plastic with enough props as it is going to take at least 2 months to get the job done. Do not forget to mow the weeds, so less energy will be more effective for the solution of this issue.
Final Words
Even if you are eco-conscious, you do not have to be worried about finding eco-safe options to control the weed and pest issues in your city garden. The simplest items like boiling water, salt, and dish soap solution, and vinegar are the best alternatives for harmful chemicals. If the issue persists, using the solarization method is an easy solution in a large area.
