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Insects
- Combat & Control |
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| Insects
will enter your garden, eat, reproduce, and thrive. |
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| Insects
will enter your garden, eat, reproduce,
and thrive. Bugs can be prevented, but once
an infestation has started, sever methods
of control may be necessary. |
| When
dealing with pests proactive growing practices
are best, tackling a problem before it becomes
a problem. For example if you don’t
notice you have a spider mite problem until
there are webs covering your plants, the
damage has already been done, your plants
will be severely damaged even if you manage
to remove the insects. |
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| Discovering an insect
infestation before it gets out of hand is a matter
of constant checks, place yellow sticky traps
in your garden, this will alert you to the presence
of any flying insects. Physically check your plants,
at least weekly, examine the plant closely, under
and on top of the leaves, look for damage to the
leaves, as this is often where you find the first
signs of insects. |
| Of course once you
discover pests in your garden elimination becomes
a top priority, the first and most important step
is to discover exactly what you are dealing with,
once you understand which insect is causing your
problem an effective solution can be implemented. |
Switched
on Gardener supplies jewelers eye loupes that
have a 20x zoom which are great for getting
close up and identifying those pesky insects. |
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| Perhaps
the best way to determine what insect you
have is to examine the leaves with a powerful
magnifying glass, it can be very difficult
to check leaves for living insects they
tend to move about making identification
tricky. |
| To
make the whole process a little easier,
choose a leaf on the plant that has signs
of insect habitation, place a plastic resealable
bag over the leaf and cut the stem, seal
the bag then place the bag in the freezer
for a couple of hours, this will kill the
insects without damaging them, you may then
inspect the insects at your leisure. |
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| Once the type of pest
is identified you must choose an effective method
of control, the stage of growth your plants are
in may determine the best course of action, you
should avoid spraying pesticides on fruiting or
flowering plants as damage caused by spraying
may damage delicate flowers. |
| Once the type of insect
has been identified and the method of control
has been selected application must be effective,
most insect varieties due to their very short
life cycle (3-4 days) can become quickly immune
to a pesticide improperly applied. Be sure to
cover the entire plant, pay particular attention
to the lower branches and the undersides of leaves.
Reapply the pesticide a second time 2-3 days after
the first application, then perhaps again 2-3
days later. |
| Prevention is always
better than the cure. Spray your room for pests
between each crop cycle. The indoor gardener has
many options open for insect control. Prevention
and cleanliness are at the top of the list. |
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