Nature and all its animals and pests are a blessing, but they can sometimes be an enemy as well, especially where your garden is concerned. Animal pests can wreak a lot of havoc on your plants and can cause an individual to incur great losses. Not to worry though, since we have you well sorted. The following are a few pointers on protecting garden from animals and pests.
1. Water your plants in the morning
Damp plants are an excellent breeding ground for pests and insects. Watering your plants in the morning will give them enough time to dry up due to the direct exposure to the sun and therefore they will not be damp and cold when evening comes. Consequently, the plants will not attract any pests come nightfall. Watering them in the morning will keep your plants fresh and upright all day, with a fresh vibrancy and colour. This is due to the fact that watering your plants before the sun is totally up will reduce the chances of evaporation of water, which could leave your plants dry.
2. Space out your plants
Due to the small spaces that we have, most of us tend to cramp up our gardens without providing enough space for the plants to receive sunlight and enough oxygen. Moreover, crowding up the plants will provide cover up for pests. This cover up allows the pests to breed and multiply and therefore end up causing a lot of damage to your plants. To keep pests out of your garden you must, therefore, space them as much as you can.
3. Make the environment uncomfortable for them
There are tons of things that are toxic to pests and creepy crawlies which will keep the pests as far away from your garden as possible. For instance, to keep out snails from the garden, you may use beer or salt which will keep the snails and slugs away but still leave your plants intact. Other items you may use include flour or neem oil. You may also crush eggshells and spread them all over your garden. This will keep away pests.
4. Harvest your produce as soon as it is ready
We often make the mistake of letting the fruit of plants stay on too long. Once they are overripe, most of them tend to fall and they will consequently attract a lot of pests and animals to your garden. To avoid this, closely monitor your plants and once the plants are ready, harvest them. Make sure to also clear any fruits and vegetables that might have fallen to the ground.
5. Make your garden wildlife proof
A lot of animals tend to hide in big piles of bushes or grass. If you have these grown out of control in your garden then it is best to clear them in order to eradicate these hiding spaces. Moreover, if you have a fence, make sure it is sealed up and set up well enough so as to avoid having any spaces in which animals can crawl through.
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