Home Made Pest Control Solution(s)

I'm really not a big fan of pesticides or chemicals. Actually, that's putting it mildly...I hate pesticides. They are almost always used too liberally, and often used as a preventative measure rather than to get rid of a problem. But at the same time, I'm not a big fan of caterpillars shredding my fresh new cycad leaves, or aphids sucking the life out of my new buds or snails devouring my lettuce leaves before I get a chance.

So what do we do? Where is the middle ground? Am I supposed to console myself with the fact that I have well fed snails? What do I do while I wait for the birds to get off their feathered behinds and do their job eating the insects that I'm restraining myself from spraying? When do these natural ecosystems kick in?

Before we begin, its important that you ask yourself these very important questions!

The first step is to figure out whats behind the carnage or the ailing plant.

Plants are usually pretty good at fending the insects or diseases off themselves. A healthy, well looked after plant is not likely to be affected by insects or diseases. So firstly, make sure that your plant is getting the optimum combination of the 3 essentials - light-water-food.

Once you're sure you're not under or overwatering, or you know the plant is in the right place, and you've fed it with a good nutrient-rich compost then maybe its time to get off defence and plan your attack.

Health problems in plants can be divided into 2 categories - Pathogens that cause disease, and Parasites that eat the plants.

So, before reaching for the pesticide spray, take a look at these natural remedies for getting rid of pests and diseases. These are the most common problems that I have seen throughout the years, and the home made remedies that go a long way to getting rid of them:

Pest Problems:

Aphids

These are tiny green or light brown insects often clustered around new buds. They suck the sap out of the plants, and can spread plant viruses. Often the most obvious sign of aphids is an abundance of ants, and a black sooty mould on the leaves and ground. This ants are actually milking the aphids which secrete a sugary substance which is what forms the black mould. (Soap Spray, Garlic Chilli Spray and Horticultural Oil)

Caterpillars

Caterpillars vary in size and description, and love all kinds of soft leaves and juicy plants. They are often found hiding on the under sides of leaves. Evidence of their presence is usually their little black poos on leaves and around the base of plants (Garlic Chilli Spray and Horticultural Oil)

Mealy bugs

Mealy bugs are small cotton woolly insects that hide along stems and midribs, and similar to aphids, encourage ants with their sugary sap that they produce. Black sooty mould is often present. (Soap Spray, Garlic Chilli Spray and Horticultural Oil)

Red Spider Mite

These tiny almost microscopic little spiders are more easily spotted by their tiny cobwebs on the underside of yellowing leaves. They thrive in dry windless environments like indoors or sheltered spots near buildings. (Water, Wind, Soap Spray, Garlic Chilli Spray and Horticultural Oil)

Scale

Often look like tiny waxy bumps along the midrib of leaves or around soft stems of plants, they can be black, brown or white, and also encourage ants to feed off the sticky sugary substance that they produce. (Soap Spray, Garlic Chilli Spray and Horticultural Oil)

White fly

These are extremely tiny little "flies' that are actually more similar to aphids. They congregate in their thousands often on the underside of new leaves and fly away quickly when disturbed. It is best to do follow up sprays every 2-3 days. (Soap Spray, Garlic Chilli Spray and Horticultural Oil)

Snails and Slugs

Often found hiding in the cool undersides of leaves or rocks. You can often spot their silvery trails around the plant or soil beneath. (Beer, Grapefruit halves, Egg shells)

Pest Control Solutions:

Soap Spray – Dissolve 3 teaspoons of liquid soap or washing detergent in 2 cups of water into a spray bottle and use it to control aphids on roses, citrus and other plants. The soap removes the aphids waxy coating and dries them out. Also good for mealy bugs, ants and whiteflies. 

Garlic-chilli spray – Chop and boil 4 onions, 4 hot chillis and 2 garlic cloves in 2 litres of water for about 15 minutes. Let the liquid cool overnight, then strain into a jar and add 2 tablespoons of liquid soap. To spray, mix 10ml of your concentrate in 1 litre of water in a bottle and use to control aphids, caterpillars, whitefly, and other pests. 

Horticultural oil – Use 2 cups of vegetable oil and 1/2 cup of liquid soap. Shake together in a jar, where the mixture will turn a milky colour. Add 2 tablespoons of this concentrate to a litre of water and spray.  This controls most insect pests, including scale, aphids, white fly, leaf miner, mealy bug and mites.

Hollowed out orange or grapefruit halves placed upside down overnight - These attract snails and slugs inside them. These can then be collected from the garden and thrown away.

Glass of beer - Snails and slugs are a sucker for a good glass of beer, into which they crawl in and drown. At least they die happy?

Crushed-up egg shells spread around the base of plants deters snails and slugs. They are too sharp for the soft undersides of these creatures.

Other Home Remedies:

Baking Soda is great as a preventative measure against powdery mildew on plants. Mix 1 tablespoon of baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon of liquid soap and 3 litres of water. It can burn the leaves of some plants so water plants well before use and don’t apply in full sun. Try and get the under side of the leaves too.  In very humid conditions, Powdery Mildew can also be prevented by watering the soil rather than leaves.

Vinegar, or Boiling Hot water can be poured into paving to kill plants between bricks or pavers.

Milk Spray Fungicide – Also works best as a preventative measure or in the early stages. Mix 50ml milk into 450ml water and spray onto the leaves. Re-apply every time it rains. Not effective on badly affected plants.

Making Mountains Out Of Moles

So...your lawn is looking amazing.  The grass has just been manicured...it looks like an immaculate green carpet out there. You couldn't be more proud of the kingdom you survey. Suddenly, you start to notice little piles of earth being pushed up around your pristine lawn. The ground becomes soft and uneven in places. Where there was once perfection, little brown piles now punctuate your sea of green, taunting your obsessive compulsive side. This means war! How can I get rid of these damn moles!

But before you begin, its important that - in the words of Sun Tzu - you know your enemy.

The first thing you should know is that (if you live in South Africa) there are no moles in your garden.

"But wait!" I hear you say, "I'm definitely not imagining this mess in my garden." Thats true, but moles are not native to Africa. They are a resident of North America, Asia and Europe. What you are actually seeing in your garden is one of either two groups of mole-like creatures that are found in Southern Africa - Golden Moles, or Mole Rats.

Take a look at this cute little Golden Mole (picture credit)

Golden Moles are a distant relative of the hedgehog, and are mainly insectivores, with a predilection for termites. They range in size from 8-20cm, and are covered in a moisture and dirt repellant, black/grey/yellow fur. Their eyes are non-functional, and their ears are just tiny holes, so their sense of touch is highly developed to the point where they can feel termites and other insects nearby. Golden Moles are generally solitary creatures, and can travel great distances (up to as much as 6km in the case of the Grant's Golden Mole) in search of food.  Sadly, 11 of the 21 species of Golden Moles are now threatened with extinction.

Mole Rat caught pink handed (picture credit)

The name Mole Rat is a misleading title, as it is neither a mole, nor a rat.  It is possibly a closer relative to a porcupine. They're herbivores, and enjoy munching on bulbs and grass stolons. Very often eating but not destroying the bulbs that they feed on. They tend to live in family units of up to 14 individuals. Their tunnels are quite extensive, and can go down as much as a 80cm below the surface. Tunnels have been found to be as much as a kilometre in length. They can be quite grumpy little creatures if they are cornered, so take care when handling them.

The second thing you should know about these 2 groups of creatures that we have up till now been mis-calling moles, is that they also perform an important function of aerating the soil, improving drainage, and essentially tilling the soil from underneath.

Thirdly, and most importantly, based on my experience, it is very difficult to get rid of mole rats in particular. I have employed most of them - sonic devices, spinning plastic coke bottles, garlic solutions, urination (not me personally), Jack Russells, and I'm sad to say that when I was younger I even used pesticides. None of these solutions have worked for more than a couple of months, and most didn't work at all. Pesticides seemed to work the best, but you have to weigh up the long term damage that you are doing to the environment. The chemicals are highly toxic, heavier than air and will poison the groundwater, all the surrounding soil, and in the process killing off all the life in the soil. In the long term your grass and plants will end up suffering, as the symbiotic relationship they have with the myriad organisms in the soil will be destroyed.

There are 2 solutions that I have as yet not tried. The first is the use of wire mesh. This involves, essentially spreading galvanised wire mesh over the entire area about 15cm below the surface. The problems with this option are that the wire mesh would have to have a tiny aperture to prevent the moles from squeezing through, it would be quite an expensive option especially for larger areas, and there would be nothing stopping the mole from walking along the surface, and burrowing into the newly fenced off area. But it still may be a good option worth exploring. I would imagine the key would be finding the right depth for the layer of wire to be spread out at.

The second solution is in my opinion the best. At one point I heard about someone who traps moles/mole rats/golden moles alive, and then releases the animals back into the wild far away.  I was never able to get hold of his details. I would have been happy to send him lots of work.

At the moment, the advice that I most often give my clients is more of a remedial one. Prior to regular mowing, any mole hills, and and any surface tunnelling, should be stamped down.
Then during your annual top-dressing, the loose soil can be stamped back down, rolled and then top-dressed to deal with any minor unevenness.
This essentially gives the lawn a fresh start, but the moles will still be there and will eventually work your lawn back to its previous bumpy self.

As with most garden problems that come about from our attempts to control our environment, I believe the best mindset is to work with nature and not against it. The Japanese have a way of thinking called Wabi-sabi, which essentially means embracing imperfection. Something we obsessive compulsive westerners would do well to learn.

Embracing the unevenness, the weeds, the creatures, the yellowing leaves, the non-linear and the imperfect is so hard for us to do, but says so much about our need for control of the world around us. I wonder if it is an outward sign of an impossibility that we expect of ourselves and others around us.

Beauty and the Brithys

There is always a price to pay for beauty...

If your name is Lily, or Aggie, or you go by the name of Amaryllis, or even Clivia, you'll know what I'm taking about. You may not have many enemies, but one of your worst foes is the beautiful-sounding Lily Borer...AKA Crinum borer, Brithys pancratii, or Amaryllis Caterpillar.

I've just finished a garden a few months ago, and having planted several types of rare bulbs, I was keen to see how they were doing. After visiting recently I was upset to find that this voracious little caterpillar was wreaking havoc on several different species of plants in the garden.

Eggs of Brithys pancratii

The moth lays its eggs, usually in clusters on the underside of the leaves.

This is why its sometimes called the Lily Borer

The larvae hatch, and bore into the soft fleshy leaves, often munching their way all the way down into the bulb.

The markings warn any potential predators that it is poisonous

I'm usually a firm believer in letting nature take its course, but sometimes something has to be done. Especially when the life of the plant is at stake.

The caterpillars usually recur regularly throughout the warmer months and less often in winter.  A pyrethroid-based insecticide sprayed onto the caterpillars usually does the trick in killing them - but it necessitates early spotting.

If I don't catch them early enough on plants like agapanthus, I will often take the drastic step of cutting back and destroying the leaves to prevent them from boring into the heart of the plant.

Black Mambas, Ticks and Other Tenants

In this business, you get to meet all kinds of people. You get to see them at their best and their worst. This last week, I met a lady with such inspiring strength. A few years ago, her and her husband bought a plot of land in Forest Hills - an area of Durban that borders on the Krantzkloof Nature Reserve, and proceeded to build a house on it. During the build her husband passed away, but with a determined spirit, she continued on to complete the home.
As we walked around the garden, she spoke about how difficult a process its been, dealing with all the frustrations and challenges that come with the normal building of a home. This place is however, not what most people would call normal - because of its out-of-the-city setting, it has a few extra residents that come with it.

When I first arrived, I recognised the property from my childhood as a place where a friend and myself would explore in the afternoons after school - we would build forts and make paths through the overgrowth. Actually now that I think about it, it was all good preparation for my future interest in gardens and indigenous plants.
Very little had changed since then, just a few more houses in the area, but otherwise it was still very much the same wilderness.

Vine snakes camouflage themselves amongst branches to catch their prey

As this intrepid lady and myself walked around looking at the property from its various aspects, I was excited to see how passionate she was about keeping the property as natural as possible. She was also very keen to make the best possible use of the rocks that had been dug up and stockpiled in a section to the side of the house.

It was as we blithely began walking towards the rocks with the grass up to our waist, that she began to tell me of the creatures she was encountering in the garden. The smallest of which were the ticks, which she warned me to check my legs for when we were done. Sure enough within a few minutes, I was picking the flat-bodied blood-suckers off my legs, and trying to pick routes through the grass that entailed as little brushing against grass as possible. Ticks love to loiter about on grass, waiting for animals (usually 4-legged) to walk past so they can hitch a ride and a meal.

The second account she told me, was how some time before, as she boldly pushed through the grass exploring her beautiful piece of land, she reached out to remove a pine branch in her way. As her fingers went to close around the branch, a little voice told her to look at it more carefully. As her eyes followed the stick along its length closer and closer to her body, up to its end right in front of her chest, she saw that its end was actually the head of a highly venomous vine snake! At this point, she screamed and ran in the opposite direction. I'm sure the snake probably did much the same - with less screaming and more slithering (although they are venomous, they rarely bite). Needless to say, she walks more circumspectly through the garden now, and usually carries a stick to part the grass in front of her.

The story that made me the most nervous though, was how she had been sitting on her verandah enjoying the view, when she noticed the head of a black mamba rise up out of the grass. As she watched, it rose further and further until it reached the lower branches of a tree a few metres off the ground, and then proceeded to make its way up into the tree. Apparently some snakes can use a third of their body to stand up above ground. So that being the case, this black mamba must have been pretty large.

How not to handle an 11ft Black Mamba

Black Mambas are reputed to be territorial, and can be quite aggressive in certain circumstances. Their venom is also some of the deadliest in the world. Fortunately she told me this story when we were just about done walking through the garden. Even if we weren't finished, I might have found a reason to observe the garden from a more "elevated" vantage point.

I left the meeting with an excitement for the potential that I could see in this garden, and a huge amount of respect for a lady who obviously has a lot of guts and determination. That she's able to complete this project in spite of some difficult circumstances, and not waver in her vision for a natural garden where wildlife is welcome. If only there were more people in this world with her indomitable spirit.