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If you have committed yourself to building a garden, then you have also committed yourself to fighting off pests. If it hasn’t happened yet, consider yourself lucky. At some point every gardening enthusiast will need to manage pests to protect their garden. Learn how to prevent pests from plaguing your garden by following these simple tips and techniques that can give you an advantage on managing pests.

The easiest way to keep pests from invading your garden is to keep them from entering in the first place by building a healthy garden.  To establish a healthy garden, use fresh organic soil, pull out weak plants, and keep your garden clear of any debris and weeds. Use clean mulch or plant covers and keep foliage dry for most of the day. Its important to get started early in the morning that way the water has time to dry and to not create a wet environment that will attract insects and fungal plants that will damage your garden. One tip in particular to manage pests is to add variation to your garden.  Mix up your garden by adding a variety of different plants. Increasing the biodiversity of your garden will allow you to avoid monoculture and an increase in pests. Instead of planting long rows of one single crop, interplant edibles with ornamentals, which will mix up the sights and scents naturally deterring pests away from your garden. Another way is to grow your own decoy plant among your cultivated plants.  Allow a single weed to grow that will attract insects and help keep pests like beetles and aphids away. Make sure to monitor your decoy plant and pull them out periodically to destroy their load of insects. You may have to plant more than one decoy depending on the size of your garden.  In addition to introducing decoy plants to your garden, you may also install traps.  You can choose to make these yourself out of pieces of thick paper and seashells or buy some from the local hardware store. Don’t forget to dispose of the insects inside the traps daily.  A common trap used by many garden enthusiasts is flypaper. Good old-fashioned flypaper is very effective in the garden for providing a barrier against aphids and whiteflies.  In fact, any heavy paper coated with a sticky substance will do the job.  

One final tip for managing pests is to implement your own army of insects that will prey on harmful insects. These insects include ladybugs, praying mantis, and brachonids, which prevent insects from entering your garden and new larvae from developing. Taking care of a garden can be a very rewarding experience.  Follow these useful tips to reap more rewards and for a more abundant and flourishing garden.