Safe, effective ways to rid your garden of unwanteds

Thursday, April 3, 2003

By MARIANNE BINETTI
SPECIAL TO THE POST-INTELLIGENCER

1. Aphids

Add two to three drops of a mild liquid soap (with no fragrance added, such as Ivory) to water in a trigger spray bottle. Spray directly onto aphids. Rinse after several hours.

2. Slugs

Mix one part ammonia with two parts water. Spray on tiny slugs hidden in the hosta or dahlia leaves. The ammonia breaks down into nitrogen to feed the plants.

3. Young weeds

Put straight vinegar into a trigger spray bottle. Most effective during hot dry weather. Use on paths and driveways, as vinegar will harm all plants.

4. Cats

Sprinkle red cayenne pepper on top of the soft soil where Kitty likes to dig.

5. Deer

Puree 2 cloves garlic in 2 cups of water. Then add 2 raw eggs and puree a bit more. Let it sit for a few days until eggs ferment. Spray or drip onto plants. Smelly, but when the mixture dries, it will be odorless, while the bad taste remains on the plants.

6. Weeds

Use newspaper under any mulch to smother existing weeds. Use 7- to 10-page sections on top of existing weeds. Use cardboard for pathways or to smother large weeds.

7. Earwigs

Cut potatoes in half and hollow out part way. Place cut sides down on ground. Collect potato sections in a few days with earwigs burrowed inside.

8. White flies

Cover a tin can with yellow paper or paint the can a bright yellow. Cover with plastic sandwich bag. Smear outside of bag with petroleum jelly. Place can upside-down on a stake near infested plants. White flies will be attracted to yellow color and stick to jelly. Replace plastic bag and reload with more jelly.

9. Spit bugs

Use a strong jet of water to destroy spittle home. Spit bug will make another home, so you may need to repeat this several times. Soon they give up and spit someplace else.

10. Fruit flies

Cover soil of houseplants with marble or gravel mulch. If the tiny black flies can't reach the moist soil to lay their eggs, the next generation can't be born.

Adapted from Marianne Binetti's book "Easy Answers for Great Gardens" (Sasquatch, 212 pages, $14.95

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