Here are a few basic tips for dealing with pests in your Texas garden:
1. Educate yourself about pests and plants. Knowing what to look for can help you quickly identify and treat the problem.
2. Use organic compost and mulch. With mulch and compost, your plants will be healthy are more resistant to pests and diseases.
3. Use companion planting. You can actually repel common pests by growing certain plants in combinations in your garden. Learn more about companion planting here.
4. Carefully read the instructions on any chemical pesticide that you use. Better yet, try using natural pest control products in your garden.
While many Texas gardeners suffer from a serious problem with the red imported fire ant, it’s great to know that Texans themselves have come up with the solution. And the great thing is that it’s natural and safe for your family. It’s called the “Texas Two Step” method of fire ant control.
The red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta Buren (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), is a common pest for Texas gardeners. In addition to their painful bite, they can make large nests in your turf and can find their way into your home, compost piles, gardens, and even electrical equipment. Texas A&M University recently invented a method to deal with this common pest that is fully organic.
With a $2.5 million grant for red imported fire ant research, the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station, Texas A&M University System, the University of Texas, Texas Tech University, and the Texas Department of Agriculture came up with this unique system. First, you use a non-toxic bait insecticide spread throughout the infected area. Then you treat the individual mounds with step two.
After step one, the ants actually carry the bait back to the nest, where the queen becoming infected, dies, or become infertile. Step Two involves using a non-toxic, organic liquid insecticide product on individual mounds to kill any remaining ants that were not killed by the bait.
Please see this website for more details and instructions for applying the Texas Two Step to your garden or yard.
One of the best ways to deal with pests in your garden and lawn is to educate yourself about the common pests in your area and which pests may attack your specific plants. This way, you can minimize guesswork and quickly and easily identify and treat the problem.
Texas A&M University has a great field guide to insects so that you can learn more about common pests in your area of Texas: http://insects.tamu.edu/fieldguide/index.html