 |
|
BANG FOR THE BITE
If 10,000 Biters switch to non-toxic pest control, we'll get rid of the weight of 1,424 squirrels in synthetic pesticides.
COCKTAIL FACT
UK researchers developed a robot that eats and is powered by slugs (using the bio-gas of decaying slugs), dubbed the SlugBot.
| SAVE TO MY BITES |  |
FORWARD TO A FRIEND:
RATE THIS TIP:
How useful is this tip to you?
(5 is the highest)
home › tip library › Eco Gardens and Homes - Natural Rodent, Insect and Weed Control
Do slugs, squirrels and stickweed have any mercy?
The Bite
It certainly doesn't seem that way. Take back your garden from pesky pests with natural methods that work without eco-unfriendly poisons.The Benefits
- Easier on the earth. Less than 0.1% of pesticides reach the target pests, so more than 99% is left to impact the environment.
- Safer for plants - and the earthworms that sweeten your soil.
- Safer for kids and pets. There are about 110,000 human poisonings from pesticides in the US each year.
Personally Speaking
The Ideal Bite Biter tee models' backyard dogwood tree suffered from a particularly nasty powdery mildew until neem oil saved the day.Wanna Try?
Insects- Organix South Neem Oil - smells funky but works like a charm on insects ($18).
- Slug-X Trap - just add beer to this trap for slugs and snails ($13).
- Bioganic Home & Garden Spray - clove, thyme and sesame oil bug repellent ($11).
- Planet Natural Copper Tape - slugs HATE copper, so try copper tape around your plants ($8).
- DIY Bite: plant plants that are known for being natural repellents. Check here for a guide.
- Solar Moler - vibrations keep moles and other pesky varmints out in a humane way ($40).
- Safety Source for Pest Management - directory of non-toxic pest control providers.
- DIY Bite: adopt a dog. They're great rodent deterrents.
- Deadeye - Jen even killed knapweed (Montana's notoriously insidious non-native invader) with this vinegar-based formula ($10).
- WOW! - made from corn gluten, releases nitrogen for your lawn after it's done killing weeds ($9).
- Naturalawn - let the pros get rid of your weeds.
- DIY Bite: pour boiling water on your walkway crack weeds, and lay fabric or newspaper over larger plots.
Mar 21,2007
Sponsor
All editorial suggestions in this tip are the result of testing and a preference for the tip topic. No advertiser has paid to have its company referenced in the tip. For more information, please read our Editorial Policy.
Les Escargots Sont Bien
I was a vegetarian for six years, and like most former omnivores, I had moments when I felt like breaking my diet. Like all the time.
My biggest temptations were fast food burgers (TV commercials make them out to be way more appealing than they actually are) and exotic foods I just wanted to be able to say I'd tried. You know, to impress future employers, dates, etc.
One day while on vacation in Quebec, I went into a restaurant and in broken French ordered escargot. The restaurant wasn't great and neither were the snails - though I've since had some really great escargot, in Paris - but it made me realize there are certain things I don't have a problem with killing (which was surprising to me, since just a few years before I would've reached for a picket sign if someone so much as complained about having an snails in their garden).
At the same time, I do have a problem with conventional pesticides, which, as mentioned in today's tip, rarely actually reach the target pest. When they do, there's usually still quite a bit of poison left over. So, the 'cides are allowed to eke into groundwater or are accidentally consumed by birds, pets, or little kids.
As far as I'm concerned, eat all the escargot you want, but steer clear of unhealthy chemicals. And for all the snail lovers out there, try planting naturally repellant plant species - never have I seen a snail creeping around the thyme bush in my mom's garden.
-Toshio... off to see if there are any French take-out joints in town...
My biggest temptations were fast food burgers (TV commercials make them out to be way more appealing than they actually are) and exotic foods I just wanted to be able to say I'd tried. You know, to impress future employers, dates, etc.
One day while on vacation in Quebec, I went into a restaurant and in broken French ordered escargot. The restaurant wasn't great and neither were the snails - though I've since had some really great escargot, in Paris - but it made me realize there are certain things I don't have a problem with killing (which was surprising to me, since just a few years before I would've reached for a picket sign if someone so much as complained about having an snails in their garden).
At the same time, I do have a problem with conventional pesticides, which, as mentioned in today's tip, rarely actually reach the target pest. When they do, there's usually still quite a bit of poison left over. So, the 'cides are allowed to eke into groundwater or are accidentally consumed by birds, pets, or little kids.
As far as I'm concerned, eat all the escargot you want, but steer clear of unhealthy chemicals. And for all the snail lovers out there, try planting naturally repellant plant species - never have I seen a snail creeping around the thyme bush in my mom's garden.
-Toshio... off to see if there are any French take-out joints in town...
Biter Comments...
My problem is that I know about natural ways to get rid of bugs, but many of the products are not sold in my area. If I order them online it cost me a lot on shipping and handling. I need a recipe I can put together myself. Any advice?
www.americaninventorspot.com/gloriacampos
I am no gardener, but I was recently told by someone who is that cocoa hulls as a ground covering around your plants provide nitrogen to the soil and deter gophers because the critters can't stand the enzymes in the hulls. They look nice too. We're hoping this is true, because the gophers are taking over every square inch they can get to.
Vinegar used as an herbicide will top kill a plant, but the plant will grow back, so at best it's a temporary solution, you will have to re-spray the offending plant.
Cocoa hull mulch can be deadly to dogs, so if one has a dog, I highly recommend not using it.
Here is a website that has many pesticide recipes that you can make with ingredients found in the home:
http://wiwi.essortment.com/homemadeorgani_renu.htm
I don't advise using tobacco as a pesticide..it is one of the most poisonous substances on earth, and can also cause a disease on some plants called nicotinitis(I think). April
Regarding herbicides:
Here's a radical idea. Since grass is a weed, let the other weeds grow with it rather than trying to kill them with herbicide - organic or other. It all looks the same unless you are up close and what you are killing may be a food source for another species.
I noticed that since I let my lawn go au naturel, that lots of interesting things have crept into it. Some of which provide food sources to other creatures, like skippers and beautiful butterflies. I'd hate to think I was responsible for eliminating another species natural food source because of my lawn obsession.
Thanks for the tips. I will follow the links. I'd like to grow the yard natural but I live in a neighborhood with restrictions and if I dont follow I pay. I do have a dog so I can't do the cocoa thing and I have kids so I have no choice but to get rid of the ants, at least in the area that they play. Right now the ants and slugs and weeds are taking over everything.
www.americaninventorspot.com/gloriacampos
Another good site is
www.askthebugman.com
Our obsession with perfect lawns is killing ecosystems and sucking up a very precious resource: water.
Mow high and leave grass clippings on the lawn as natural mulch. Tolerate some weeds. There is really no such plant family "weed", a weed just means a plant that is growing that you don't like or don't want. Weeds are in the eye of the beholder. Check out the National Wildlife Federation's backyard habitat web site: www.nwf.org for more ideas on natural weed and pest control.
Controlling plants that show up where you don't want them is standard gardening practice. And a lot of people live in places that have homeowner's associations where you just are not allowed to let your yard go "au naturale."
Vinegar is not going to do anything dangerous to the environment. It might acidify the soil if you drip some on the soil.
I work as a volunteer at the local state park doing prairie and wetland restoration, and we use glyphosate.
I have a funny 'pest' problem and a desire to control it humanely--though it's slightly OT. How about keeping cats out of my toddler's sand box. They have a sandbox in my backyard that I would prefer the neighborhood cats NOT use as a litter-box. Suggestions? Please help!
Cats using sandbox as litter box:
1. put a cover on the sand box when the kids are not using it. My brother made one out of plywood for his kid's box
2. Supersoaker to shoot the cats with water when you see them. You could also get "the scarecrow" a motion detection device that hooks up to a garden hose and shots water at intruders. Be sure to turn it off when you are wanting to use the area though ;-)
Thanks! Good ideas!
Get a dog. Since I got a dog the cats are gone. Well at least they don't come to the back yard. I love cats but I don't like what they leave behind. :)
My kids love the dog. He wont poop where they play. I dont know why, but he just doesn't.
www.americaninventorspot.com/gloriacampos
How do I keep neighborhood kids out of my yard? I tried poison, but it didn't work. :)
Glyphosate is a toxic and persistant pesticide. Even the EPA has warnings for over exposure in drinking water.
http://www.epa.gov/safewater/contaminants/dw_contamfs/glyphosa.html
There are numerous sites that list it as much more toxic. Monsanto has also brought the world Agent Orange, recombinant bovine growth hormone, etc.
http://www.mindfully.org/Pesticide/Monsanto-Roundup-Glyphosate.htm
With that said, you can always find someone to say its safe. I once took a gardening course where the PhD instructor said she thought that Roundup was "just about safe enough to drink." Although when pressed on the issue, she said she wore protective gear when applying it and wouldn't let her children in the yard after an application. I like to err on the side of caution. Once the toxins are stored in your fat cells, they are part of you.
The natural world is in deep decline due to the unsustainable practices of humans. I know that HOAs are slow in changing what they deem an acceptable practice, but as new ideas catch on and spread, like the NWF backyard habitat program, we can talk to our neighbors and friends and lobby our associations. Most change comes from grassroots efforts, even things that seem impossible can happen with effort of a small group of people.
Glyphosate is not a pesticide. It is a broad spectrum herbicide.
Glyphosate application is the only way to restore large prairies. And a much more environmentally tolerable way to get rid of buckthorn, for instance.
No herbicide or pesticide is "safe," if the intructions are not followed to the letter. Some are more dangerous than others. Glyphosate breaks down in the soil to it's harmless components within 10 days. It is not poisonous to animals or people. I wouldn't advise drinking it, though.
I am licensed to use pesticides and herbicides. I took hard classes with lots of icki math in them to get my license. I don't use pesticides or herbicides on my property. It amazes me that unlicensed people are allowed to walk into a garden center and use this stuff at home.
How do you keep kids out of your yard? A wrist rocket and some really soft, ripe cherry tomatoes. Works like a charm!
I'm sorry I misspoke, I was thinking herbicide, but was consumed with Monsanto (genetic modification, rBGH, Agent Orange, Roundup) and I wrote pesticide by mistake. No intention to offend.
I thought this blog was about organic and sustainable living and alternatives to chemicals, not promoting them.
Also, I don't think anyone said that vinegar was harmful to the environment. I was just trying to make the point earlier that sometimes things we consider to be weeds are actually part of the native ecosystem.
As for the point I made above about the HOAs...HOAs will change when the majority of the people decide the rules need to be changed. That can come from taking action in your city and county. Lobbying the mayor and county commissioners are good starts.
Organizations like NWF are paving the way with their programs. My city is seeking to become a National Wildlife Habitat community. My county has programs in place to encourage native plants, & reduce water and pesticide usage.
When all those ducks are in order, the HOAs are the logical next step. Lots of discussions of those kinds are taking place right now in my county. Its not easy, you'll encounter lots of resistance, but persistance and it may take years, but as communities we can all make extra strides to live more sustainably.
I wasn't promoting them..just saying that when you are doing large scale restoration of native prairie, judicious glyphosate use(and burning) is the least environmentally damaging way to get rid of exotic invasive plants.
99% of the stuff that springs up if you don't weed or mow is not native. It's usually non-native invasive plants, and if left to go to seed will make more non-native invasives, and on and on. Usually, by not mowing or weeding, one could be actually making environmental degradation worse.
I'm glad that some places are starting to realise the value of not using pesticides and herbicides, and using native plants in landscaping.
Although I don't feel the need for the "perfect " lawn, the dandelions are completely taking over. Does anyone have suggestions for nontoxic ways to deal with dandelions? Also, suggestions for where I can purchase such an item; or a recipe for how to make something to at least cut down on my dandelion population. As I said, I don't need the perfect lawn, but the dandelions are killing everything else and I need something that is at least relatively effective. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
ADD: The big world of wire mesh B area Anping Hebei
Tel: 0086-0318-5289898
Fax: 0086-0318-7533013 PC:053600
E-mail: daolilai@baskets-cages.com
http://www.baskets-cages.com>
MSN: geyali032@hotmail.com>
Dear Mr./ Mrs. Sales Manager,
Having obtained your name and address from Internet and we like to inquire whether you are interested in live animal cage trap, bird spikes, and pet cage. We are the manufacturer of the cages. So I have taken liberty of writing to you in view to get in touch with you for the supply of bird spikes and live animal cage trap. Our products are superior in quality and competitive in price.
If you want to know more, please give me an email.
I look forward to hearing from you ASAP.
Yours faithfully,
Lily
I keep seeing all the natural ways to avoid bug bites, but what is the best way to stop the itch after you've been bit? the little pests love me even when i use deterents. the itches are driving me crazy. the last thing i've tried is preperation H(i wish you had spell check)
it helps for a short time but i don't like using it. any suggestions?
We are Beijing Jinmengxuan Snail Breeding Co., Ltd., located at Mentougou District of Beijing City, We breeding snails more than 17years , from a small farm become the largest professional breeding snail’s farm of china.The snail cultivated by our farm has Helix aspersa. It is a kind of mollusk of abdominal leg family.
we can offer the fresh snails in the four season , important：we breeding the snails in the room in winter, so we have enough alive snails in winter .
Establish the long-term copartner is our destination
We welcome gentleman and lady of all world to visit our farm at any time .
Mr. wang
Tel: 86-10-88807022
email:snaisl8080@yahoo.com.cn
We are Beijing Jinmengxuan Snail Breeding Co., Ltd.,
our right email: wangxiao07022@yahoo.com.cn
snails8080@yahoo.com.cn
We breeding snails more than 17years , from a small farm become the largest professional breeding snail’s farm of china.The snail cultivated by our farm has Helix aspersa. It is a kind of mollusk of abdominal leg family.
Tel:86-10-88807022
PHOTO ALBUMS
Posted by: Maggie | March 21, 2007 at 10:21 AM