An Organic Gardening How To On Pest Control
This organic gardening how to is on pest control in your organic garden. It’s easy, safe, and inexpensive. In an earlier article on pest controls, we talked about making and using pepper spray. In this article, we’ll talk about using diatomaceous earth to control garden pests.
Diatomaceous earth is a 100% ecologically safe product to use to control garden insects. It is a naturally occurring siliceous sedimentary rock that is easily crushed into fine powder. Diatomaceous earth (also called diatomite, kleselger, or DE) is formed when fossilized remains of single-cell algae are mixed with silica. It is mined in the United States, Australia, Brazil, Libya, and Sweden.
DE absorbs moisture and is used for many things. It is used as a filtrtion aid, a mild abrasive, an absorbant for liquids, cat litter, and an insecticide.
As an insecticide, diatomaceous earth will kill any insect with an exoskeleton. The fine powder absorbs lipids from the outer layers of the insects causing them to dehydrate. Then, the insects in a sense “bleed” to death as the innards of the insect leak through their exoskeletons. DE will control beatles, fleas, ticks, ants, snails, slugs, and many other garden pests.
Diatomaceous earth is harmless to humans and animals. In fact, most all of us have eaten some of it. DE is often used in silos where flour is stored to control insects. So, if you have eaten any products made with flour, you have probaly also eaten some diatomaceous earth.
You can buy diatomaceous earth at many stores. Most garden shops carry it and many Lowes stores have it. Or, you can buy it online at Amazon.com where it is called GreenSense Diatomaceous Earth.
To apply diatomaceous earth to your garden, use one of these two organic gardening how to methods:
1. Using a garden hose, sprinkle all of your garden plants thoroughly. Make sure you get all of the parts of the plants wet including the underside of the leaves. Dust the plants with a fine coat of diatomaceous earth making sure you cover the entire plant (a tool called Dustin-Mizer by EarthDuster
2. Apply with a garden sprayer. Mix one gallon of water with 1/2 cup of DE. Diatomaceous earth will not dissolve in the water – it will only be suspended in it, so you will need to keep your sprayer well agitated.
After a rainfall, you will need to check your garden plants to see if you need to re-apply. It depends on how hard it has rained and for how long. In our garden, I do not always have to re-apply.
To help you with this organic gardening how to, watch this video:
If you are new to organic gardening or you would like to learn more, try any one of these two great e courses: Organic Gardening Magic or My Organic Food Garden. Or, try them both! Satisfaction Guaranteed for your Organic Gardening How To needs, or your money back
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