6 ways to glam up your garden without using pesticides

If your garden is looking a little overrun with weeds and like it could use some attention, your first port of call might be to head to the garden centre to pick up a bottle of ready-mixed pesticide. While this might seem like an easy solution to tackle weeds, pesticides can have harmful effects on our environment and health if used incorrectly.

Using pesticides requires a lot of caution to make sure you’re using them correctly, or you could be putting yourself, children, pets and the environment at risk. Why not try eco-friendly alternatives first (all of which use ingredients you’ll very likely have at home already) to see if you can tackle those weeds without the need for pesticides?

So whether you want to rid your patio of weeds or deter unwanted insects from eating your plants, here are some easy recipes which may help you.

Weeds, like dandelions and clover, are some of the most common culprits when it comes to spoiling a garden's appearance. But weeds can be managed using things you’ve probably already got in your cupboards.

1. Salt Solution

Killing weeds with salt is an effective and inexpensive solution that works by dehydrating the weed.

Instructions:

1. Dissolve 1 part salt in 8 parts hot water

   Top Tip: You can increase the amount of salt up to 1 part salt to 3 parts water if you don’t feel the solution is killing the weeds.

2. Add a small amount of liquid dish soap to help it stick to the leaf surface

3. Pour into a spray bottle

4. Apply the saltwater solution directly to the weeds to make sure it doesn’t damage any other plants

5. Once you have applied the solution, water any nearby plants well to wash any spray residue off them

2. Vinegar Solution

Vinegar can function as a natural weed killer because of the acetic acid; the higher the acetic acid percentage the stronger it will be.

Instructions:

1. Add supermarket strength vinegar (5% acetic acid) to a spray bottle

2. Spray as close as you can to the targeted weed and don't let it come in contact with other plants or grass. If it does, water the affected area well.

Some insects such as bees and butterflies are beneficial to your garden’s ecosystem, and some pesticides application could cause them harm while you’re trying to tackle other unwanted pests. Before you reach for an insecticide, try a simpler cost-effective solution:

3. Garlic Spray

Garlic doesn’t cause harm to insects, it simply works by repelling them due to the pungent odour, which makes the plants an undesirable place to eat or lay eggs.

Instructions:

1. Take two whole bulbs of garlic and crush in a bowl

2. Pour 120ml of boiling water over it, cover it and let it steep overnight

3. Strain it before you put it into a spray bottle so that garlic pieces don’t clog the nozzle

4. Spray the bottom leaves of plants, flowers, fruits, vegetables or herbs, where a lot of pests like to lay their eggs to repel them. For prevention, spray plants once per week, if you have a pest problem, spray daily or whenever you see pests.

Top Tip: Consider putting a cover over the garlic liquid or letting it steep in a shed or greenhouse overnight to avoid a strong garlic smell filling your house the next day.

4. Citrus peel

Placing citrus peels in your garden will attract slugs and snails because of their scent, which will allow you to divert them from your plants and remove them from the garden.

Instructions:

1. Save your lemon, lime, orange or grapefruit peels ready to be placed in your garden

2. Scatter the peel with the inside of the peel facing up in your garden before nightfall

3. In the morning, you will likely find a good portion of your slug and snail population has found its way to these zesty treats

4. Collect them and move the snails and slugs away far from your garden.

5. Eggshells

If slugs crawl on the sharp edges of broken eggshells they’ll get hurt, meaning this is an effective way of deterring them from your plants. As an added benefit, eggshells will eventually break down and add nutrients to your soil.

Instructions:

1. Break up eggshell into small pieces

2. Sprinkle them around your plants or the edge of your flower beds with the sharp edges of the shell pointing up.

6. Tomato leaf spray

A spray made from tomato leaves is effective in killing aphids (small sap-sucking insects) and mites. It works because of the alkaloids in the tomato leaves.

Instructions:

1. Collect a handful of leaves from a tomato plant

2. Chop up the leaves and add 120ml of water

3. Let it sit overnight

4. Strain the leaves from the water using a fine sieve

5. Add another 60ml or 120ml of water (depending on your bottle size) to the liquid and pour it into a spray bottle

6. Spray the stems and foliage of the infested plant.

How did you get on?

Let us know how you get on trying these alternatives to pesticides and share your own recipes with us by tagging us @DwrCymru on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and using #PestSmart.

* Be aware that using household chemicals as a pesticide is not always without risk or always legal. Refer to Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE) website for more information.