Zero Waste, Organic, Free Insecticides. But Do We Need Them?

We’ve all been there. Anyone that gardens knows the annoyance of planting something so lovingly, so proudly, only to find it has been eaten by a slug, or covered in Aphids. If you garden organically or in a zero waste way you may have come up against a wall wondering what to do without buying all those chemicals in plastic bottles, even if they do say “eco-friendly” on the label. So what do you do? Or the bigger question, do you need to do anything?

By spraying chemicals, even organic ones, to rid your garden of pests you are interrupting the natural order. By leaving things as they are or just adding free, organic deterrents Mother Nature will control any pest issues for you.

Aphid’s for example are an important food source for Blue Tits and all are part of the natural food cycle. If you remove this food source for the birds in early Spring it will interrupt the food web and potentially remove beneficial predators and other insects from your garden later down the line, only increasing your need for other pesticides and fertilizers.

However you of course want some pests, such as slugs to stop eating your lettuces or beautiful sunflowers and the good news is there is a number of things you can do discourage them away without harming them, the soil, or other animals that eat them. Other benefits of this way of gardening is that it is all part of my Zero Waste Garden ethos, where nothing is wasted, no money is spent, and no plastic is used.

Do we need pesticides at all?

The sad answer is probably yes, we do need some.

Pesticides for the last hundred years or so have fed our growing population. In 1845 for example Ireland was hit by a fungal disease wiping out the potato harvest, causing a million people to die in the famine and over a million to migrate. We of course do not want this kind of agricultural disaster to happen in present times and so far pesticides have stopped that. However it is not a clear cut answer. I think the fact that a potato famine is in itself an argument for growing and always having diversity.

Our reliance on pesticides, insecticides and fertilizers has only grown our need for them and the devastating impact on our environment. Insecticides kill large proportions of invasive insects, leaving only the strongest. These survivors pass on their insecticide resistant genes to their babies creating super bugs. Meaning we need to use more insecticides. Other bugs are then caught in the cross fire of this war.

I don’t have the answer to this problem. Scientist are working to hopefully finding a balance between some insect repellents, organic farming and modern technologies to create a better ways of farming.

What I do know is that because of all this spraying of chemicals the population of important wildlife in our countryside’s has fallen dramatically making urban areas surprisingly better places for insects and other wildlife. That’s right our gardens are one of the most important habitats. As we are not trying to feed a hungry nation we DO NOT need to be spraying anything on our plants and veg that interrupts any natural order. There is a natural, zero waste, organic and free solution to everything in our gardens and most of that includes us doing absolutely nothing. This is because they less we touch the more beneficial predator’s will make homes in our gardens and sort the problem for us.

However you will of course want to do something for somethings like slugs, and I have an answer for that too.

4 NATURAL, ZERO WASTE WAYS TO keep slugs away from your growing vegetables.

Coffee Grounds To deter slugs.

Research has found that slugs turn back immediately when they come into contact with caffeinated soil. Instead of adding your coffee ground to your compost, sprinkle a ring around your newly planted baby lettuces.

I advise just using this as a mulch, like I suggest sprinkling coffee ground around a newly planted babies. Research carried out by the United States Department of Agriculture found coffee sprays could kill slugs but also effect other beneficial bugs. Simply adding it to the soil however could not only keep the slugs at bay but also acts as a fertilizer. Coffee contains potassium and phosphorus which makes it great for adding to compost, using as a fertilizer or simply adding to soil to be broken down.

Read: 7 Free Indoor Fertilizers. Zero Waste and Easy.

2. Egg Shells to Deter Slugs.

Another natural deterrent for slugs is ground up egg shells. Make sure the egg shells are clean and dry, grind them up (I use a pestle and morter) and sprinkle a circle around the area you want to protect. Slug do not like the sharp edges and will walk the other way.

Again egg shells are another thing that is great for our soils health and can also be used as fertilizers. So adding them as a slug deterrent also has benefits to your soil.

3. Be on guard and remove the slugs yourself.

This works surprisingly well. Heading out into the garden in the evening when the slugs like to come out and removing any off your plants you can see, then disposing of them will help keep the population down. That’s if you’ve got them stomach for it.

4. A plastic bottle.

If you’ve got some old plastic bottles lying around the house, cut the top and bottom off them and place over a newly planted out plant baby. Slug like little seedlings but tend leave them once they are bigger. Putting a barrier between the slug and your seedling is an effective way to get them started and big enough to survive. I particularly like doing this with tomato seedlings I’m planting out (a favorite treat for slug).

Your plastic bottle will also act as a mini green house, keeping it warm and protecting it from harsh winds.

3 Things not to use to deter slugs from your garden.

Sea Shells.

Though sea shells will deter slugs from your plants in the same way egg shells will (slugs do not like crawling on the sharp edges), they will not break down into the soil in the same way.

2. Salt.

Yes pouring salt on slug will kill them, even pouring salt around your plants will deter the slugs but your plants will not like it either. If your determined to kill the slugs will salt, do it on the patio and away from your plants.

3. Slug Pellets.

I can not tell you how important it is NOT to use slug pellets. Even organic ones, though it is unsure if these pellets will harm hedgehogs or other animals that then eat the dead slug they are labeled to be kept away from children and pets, so my logic says all wildlife too.

Non-organic slug pellets however have be proven to be extremely harmful to other wildlife. Hedgehogs for example have been found to die twisted in pain after eating slugs that have ingested pellets.

These pellets (organic or not) could also be harming the health of your soil. Though they claim degrade into the soil, there is evidence once degraded they can be harmful to soil life. Something that if you have read much of this blog is very important to me.

3 Natural, Zero WASTE ways to rid your plants of bugs.

A light spraying of water.

If your bothered about insects like Aphids on your Rose bushes and can’t wait for friendly predators like blue tits to come along, one solution is to turn your hose onto the light spray settings and spray them off without killing them.

This obviously won’t get rid of them but will slow down any damage they do and leave them there as a vital food source in the food chain of our eco-system.

2. Use a soap based sprays.

If you are going to use a spray to rid your plants of pests the more eco-friendly one you can buy is one that is soap based. This means that bugs simply slip off your plants but it will not kill any beneficial insects.

You can make your own soap based spray to make this option zero waste. Use a liquid all natural soap like Castile. I recommend Dr Bonners Castile Soap which is easy to find and free of anything that could harm your plants or soil. Mix this 5 table spoons of soap to 1 gallon of water. Mix in a spray bottle and spray on any plants that have problem insects.

3. Make a Neem Oil Spray.

When diluted Neem oil is safe to use in the garden as a pest control and will not harm the wildlife. It has been proven to be extremely effective controlling pests such as aphids, thrips, spider mites, mealybugs, scale, and white flies.

It works by coating their body in oil, making it hard for them to feed or reproduce and can kill them. Neem oil will not bother the friends of the garden such as ladybugs, earthworms, parasitic wasps, spiders, or adult butterflies as long as you do not spray them directly with it. So be careful of your aim.

Have I convinced you to give up the chemicals? Let’s face it without them what’s the worse that could happen? We loose a couple of plants? I always sow a few more seeds than I need incase of this. We win some we loose some, what is more important is that we do not loose the environment and these all important insects because without them there would be no garden at all…..

Much love

Hannah xx x