A lush green lawn requires a lot of attention, energy and of course monetary investment from the home owner. Looking after the garden lawn is a continuous process; the work doesn’t stop when the thick grass has covered your outdoor area. You have to be on the constant lookout for lawn pests and bugs which could damage the effort you have been putting in for months.
There are numerous species and kinds of bugs and tiny pests that have the potential of turning a grassy green patch and luscious blooms into withered yellow patch and dead leaves hanging on stems. If you don’t want your effort to go to waste, then follow these simple steps to get rid of common lawn pests that generally plague gardens.
The first step towards ridding your lawn of pests is the identification of pests. The bugs and insects that normally plague the grass blades and surrounding flowering plants are very tiny and often go unnoticed. The first and most common sign indicating that there is a possibility of pest infestation in your garden is a withered or yellowish patch in your grass or perhaps in your bed of flowers.
Once you are sure, that garden pests are present in your lawn, you can work towards getting rid of them. Use of insecticides is one of the most commonly thought of methods to get rid of garden pests and bugs but it carries with it two disadvantages – one, that it is harmful for both the environment and all members of the house (pets included) and secondly, these insecticides are powerful enough to kill the beneficial insects and microorganisms present in the lawns as well.
Most home owners, who care for their lawn and their own health, adopt natural and harmless methods against the pests and insects in the garden. One of the most convenient and safest methods is importing natural enemies into the ecological environment of your garden. With the addition of insects like spiders, lady birds and wasps into the little food chain that exists in your garden, you can be sure that your plants are safe. With the introduction of such natural enemies to garden pests, you get the assurance that they will do all the dirty work for you.
There are a couple of methods of bringing in these beneficial bugs into your garden. You can either attract them from the afar by planting plants as oregano, daisies, thyme, fennel, zinnias, dill and sunflowers or you can actually purchase live ones (or the larvae at least!) from garden shops or online bug stores.
If you don’t like too many bugs, attracting beautiful chirping birds also does the trick to control the bugs in the lawn. And you don’t have to spend much to invite them to your home; a mere attractive habitat is enough and they will soon be over. Some of the things that attract birds are bird bath, bright flowers and hanging feeders. Not only will these additions bring aesthetic appeal to your lawn, they will also help in protecting your beautiful bed of flowers from harmful insects.
There are many fragrant plants that repel harmful insects as well and by planting these at various points in your garden; these include rosemary, thyme, and garlic. Some people also make their own insect repellent by mixing essential oils with cooking oils to ward off these harmful bugs. A solution of dish washing soap and water, when sprinkled over grass and plants also scares some of the pests away or you could just try sprinkling crushed egg shells here and there to fright them off.
Lawn pests exist in various kinds and each has the natural ability to destroy those preciously grown plants and blossoms. Follow the natural prevention and treatment methods to protect your lawn from harmful bugs and insects.
