How To Manage Greenhouse And Garden Pests

Handling pests in the greenhouse can be one of those troublesome tasks that you would rather put off.

Not giving attention to the pests that creep into your greenhouse can easily make a greenhouse epidemic that will send you running for the house avoiding the unwanted pests and critters residing in your treasured greenhouse garden. Use these tips to help make the job of controlling greenhouse pests easier this season.

Controlling Greenhouse Pests the Effortless Way

1. One quick way to start is to tend to your soil from last year. If you use the same soil, it can be full of insect infestations so be sure you bake the soil in the oven so you'll kill off any insect eggs. To sterilize, spread soil four inches deep in a culinary dish and cover tightly with a double layer of foil. Cook in a 180 degree oven for thirty minutes. Leave in foil-covered pans to keep sterile until ready to use. Do not bake soil at a temperature higher than 200 degrees, as this can generate toxins that will harm your plants if you use the over-heated soil.

2. For aphid and mite infestations, use an insecticide soap. Another easy way to fix this problem is to dump your soapy dishwater on the greenhouse plants.

3. Bring in beneficial insects and nematodes into your greenhouse to manage numerous greenhouse pests. Lady Bugs, Phytoseiulus persimili, Encarsia formos, and Aphidoletes aphidimyza are generally used in the greenhouse to regulate pests.

4. During winter months, keeping rodents out of the greenhouse can be tough. Electronic pest repellents can be helpful, as can old-fashioned spring traps, but closing up entrances into the greenhouse, securing water sources, and removing any material to use as bedding can be quite effective in discouraging rodents in the greenhouse also.

5. For those who have snake problems, you may be excited to know how to get rid of them! To help discourage these slithering fellows from camping out in the comfortable greenhouse, try removing any materials, like rocks, low-level benches, and large planters from the greenhouse floor. Without sufficient cover to crawl under, snakes may visit your greenhouse, but theyre less likely to hang around.

When you take a proactive approach to pest regulation in the greenhouse, the task is much simpler. Adjust the environment in your greenhouse, sterilize your potting soil, use insecticidal soaps, and introduce beneficial insects into your greenhouse to help control pests the easiest way.