Pest management and therefore, devising appropriate pest control strategies are something that eats up the better part of home gardening. From weeds to insects, the list also stretches to a few of the species from the wild; while these are easy to detect, an enormous number of pests go unnoticed because of their microscopic sizes. That includes larvae of insects, bacteria, viruses and also certain kinds of fungus.

All these require different approaches if they are to be gotten rid off; seldom there arrive a chance where a single measure can wipe away all. And sometimes, even the pesticides and similar medications take their tolls on the nutrition of your plants and cause irreversible damages. Alongside, it’s also the health of your family members and the pets that receive the repercussions. Thus, to make the best of both worlds, you must opt for a pest control strategy that shall use pesticides and other chemicals the least and shall keep the pests out of your home and garden for a longer period. Just follow a few simple steps.

• Identify carefully the problem before initiating a pest control method. Proper identification ensures that 50% of the work is done. It’s a tricky thing to do because certain damages inflicted by the pests resemble nutrient-related diseases; a wrong diagnosis of the problem may make you inflict more damage resulting from the misapplication of chemicals.



• There are certain pests that can be removed by hand. This method works best if there are not present a huge number of insects and of a considerable size. Just take care to drop them into a container filled with soapy water/oil. Remember to wear gloves and if possible, use a pair of tweezers.



• If the insects are difficult to catch with hands or tweezers, it’s best to spray them off with water or to vacuum them up. However, if money is not a problem, then you can go for the pheromone-based insect traps; these, being extremely specific for each species of insect shall not harm the beneficial species. However, this kind of traps must be setup with all the inlets to your home tight shut; else, they shall draw more insects in. The other option remains using the sticky cards, an effective measure to monitor and get rid of the problematic insects.



• For larger pests like slugs and mites, diatomaceous earth is an effective measure; it stops all soft-bodied insects and reptiles from invading your territory. Sprinkle it on the soil; the grains being sharp and all, cuts/ irritates the soft parts of these organisms.



• If weeds are being a continuous source of annoyance to you, then hoeing, pulling and mulching are the most effective home pest control methods. After you have uprooted them, ask a professional pest control company to treat the ground with appropriate medications to prevent the weeds from growing again.