Natural Pest Control: Eco-Friendly Solutions for Your Garden
Thursday, 30th September 2021
We love all nature at Haith’s, even if that garden visitor has two, four or even more legs - or no legs at all - but we do know that the gardeners amongst us draw the line at thinking kindly of aphids and caterpillars that overnight make a three-course meal of our prize plants and shrubs.
Attracting hedgehogs and ladybirds into your garden can help with your pest control and wild birds can do a top job of vamoosing greenfly, blackfly, and other aphids that damage a plant's health.
The first one's easy, attract more birds into your garden; birds will give you hours of enjoyment watching their comings and goings and they will return your kindness by reducing the aphid, slugs, and caterpillar population the natural way, which is better for the environment.
Planting thorny, sharp bushes such as bramble and hawthorn is ideal for blackbirds, which seem to love to nest in low bushes. The thorns help to deter predators and the birds consume the aphids on them, making your garden greenery a more natural dining experience for wildlife.
Another tip is to allow plants to set seeds - dandelions and thistle seeds are a fantastic food source for insects, in turn making themselves a meal for visiting birds. However, if you prefer a more orderly garden, then lavender or teasel in a container will suffice.
Entice birds into your garden during autumn and winter by planting a berry-producing shrub. Birds love to feed on berries during the winter, try planting a blackberry, holly or ivy bush - these will eventually keep birds coming back to your garden throughout autumn and winter.
The quickest way to attract garden birds, however, is also one of the simplest. Try hanging out a bird feeder full of Haith's Premium Wild Bird Food or scatter one of our hand-crafted soft foods (such as Mealworm Crumble). Suet will have the wrens, robins and starlings returning daily to feed and whilst they are attracted to these foods they'll take a juicy caterpillar or aphid making garden birds the ideal natural pest control.
Written by Angela
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