Preventing Pests in an Herb Garden

Good Insects versues Bad Insects

For the gardener the most annoying things is insects and animals destroying your precious garden and all your hard work.  While many insects destroy plants be sure you are not killing the insects that are beneficial to your garden.

Do research for each of you plants and write down the insects that are beneficial to your garden and find natural ways to repel the bad insects and animals that may harm your garden.

Do not use chemicals to keep away the pest since you will be using these herbs to heal yourself or your family you will be introducing harmful chemicals to your family and will be outweighing all the good if you use chemicals to fight pests.

Good Insects:

• Praying Mantids: are a great way to protect your plants as they will eat any insect that comes into your garden.
  
  
• Wasps: can also be beneficial to some of your plants as they will eat the aphids and are pollinators, so they will help you populate your herb garden.
  
  
• Ladybugs: are another great insect to have in your herb garden because they can eat up to 50 or 60 aphids a day.
  
  
• Adult Lacewings and their offspring: Adult lacewings will only feed on pollen and nectar.  Their larvae are great to have because they are avid predators of aphids and other pest insects.

Try to attract these good insects by providing them with food and shelter and they will cut your work in half on cutting down on the bad insects.

Bad Insects:

• Aphids:  They are tiny, sap-sucking, soft bodied insects that feed on a variety of plants and they tend to be bear the growing tips of plants and on the undersides of the leaves.  They can leave a trail of sugary excrement.
  
  
• Japenese Beetles: They are shiny, metallic blue-green beetles with bronze wing covers and they feed on many annuals, perrenials, and shrubs.  They will eat the green part of the leaves and only leave behind the veins of the leaves.
  
  
• Leafminers: Are tiny larvae of small flies that will tunnel inside your leaves leaving a light colored trail on the surface of the leaf.
  
  
• Spider Mites:  These spider like pests attack plants, especially in hot dry climates.  They look brown or pinkish red or green mites and they make webs on plants and suck the sap from the underside of the leaf, causing it to look speckled and curl.
  
  
• Slugs and Snails:  Usually you only have a problem with slugs and snails in damp gardens and climates.  They can chew holes in your leaves, stems or flowers and are easy to spot because they leave a trail of slim behind them.
  
  
• Thrips:  Thrips are minute, quick moving insects that will feed on your flowers and leaves. You will know when you plants have been affected by these pests because your palnt will have a pal and silvery look in the damaged area.

There are many pests that you may have to look out for.  This is just a basic list.  The best way to find out what pests are dominant in your area is to talk to a local garden center and ask them what pests you need to look out for and what can you do to prevent them from harming your herb garden.

Managing Insect Pests

There are many herbs that you can plant in your herb garden that will repel insect pests such as Pennyroyal.  Plant these in between your other herbs to keep out the pests.

Be sure to check your plants at least once a week for harmful pests and take action to get rid of them.  Be sure that your garden is set up for your area and that you have built up the area with organic matter and well drained areas.

When you notice that the pest population is growing try to stay away for a while as they will drawn in the good insects who will in turn eat your pests. If you have to spray please choose a product that is organic in nature or is forumulated only for the pests you have identified with.

Be sure to read the Simple Solutions part of this website for homemade pest control and other tips and trick to help you keep your garden healthy and growing.

Be sure you plant all your herbs at the recommended length in between plants as this allows air to circulate and less protection for the bad insects.