I've read about putting straw or mulch down below your plants to create a home for spiders and other bugs that eat bad bugs. Anyone know about this or other practices that might help out?
I've released ladybugs, and they seem to work on some bugs, but not all. I have a number of them and some adolescent ones hanging about.
I've also read about spraying your plants with soapy water, something about it clogs up the exoskeleton of insects making it hard to breathe and they just die. Sounds good, but I don't want to kill the ladybugs.
Then I heard about putting down oats, something about it makes slugs get sick, but I'm worried that it will attract the rabbits and squirrels.
In the apple orchards that I visit, they put pantyhose on the apples to prevent pests from burrowing into the fruit.
There's also a bug called an Aphid Eater, it's a wasp that likes to sting and paralyze aphids and stuff 'em into a teeny tiny hole so the baby wasps have live food when they emerge.
Are there any weeds that all the bad bugs are attracted to that I could plant, so that they leave my garden alone? For that matter, are there any plants that deter bugs. I'd gladly sacrifice my time and some plants that I don't care about to protect everything I do care about.
What are the things that you've tried, that you swear by?
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