Natural PEST CONTROL Tricks for Vegetable Garden Success 

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I know a woman who bought 2 old chest of drawers at an auction for €2 each. They were in bad condition but the drawers were ok. She knocked the bottoms out and was left with 8 wooden frames which she then used to make 8 raised beds. 🙂

I found a Gray tree frog in amongst my rhubarb plants. It stayed there for about 3 weeks. Turns out, it found all the garden slugs and was enjoying the buffet!

“These things called CDs” why do I feel old hearing that? 😂 Awesome video Huw as usual. Robins are on our strawberry patch every day so will these things called CDs 😄

The reason hanging CDs deter birds is not so much the flash directly in their eyes. It's more that the disks create moving spots of light on the ground, darting in random directions. This mimics the movement of a ground predator seen out of the corner of the bird's eye and it makes them too nervous to stay. Brilliant!

For strawberry protection I paint rocks to look like strawberries, then set them put a week or so before the first berries get ripe. Birds peck at them and figure it out right away. Keeps them almost entirely out of the crop.

I dig a shallow dish into my garden so it’s close to soil level, I fill it with water and dissolve a teaspoon of dried yeast in it. The nest morning it’s half full of slugs. I tried this because I didn’t want to waste beer so thought I’d try the yeast and it works

Lol. The look you give to the hacker, and then the middle finger. I would definitely subscribe to a “Spicy” Huw Richards channel as well. You’re my favorite

Love your videos. Here is a tip to prevent slugs and snails. They are repelled by caffeine. Save your used coffee grounds and sprinkle them on the garden soil. I haven't seen a slug or snail in the garden since I started this. About a quart of used coffee grounds does my 200 sq. ft. vegetable garden. One application in the early spring lasts all year.

haha loved the computer hacker scene - it cracked me up! also loved all of your tips on pests as its always an issue in my garden

I really love your videos for all it's (amazingly) high quality gardening content🌱- but I have to say...that sketch about your sponsor (and especially the way you connected it to the rest of the video) was just so brilliantly done!! 🙌🏼 Thanks for the all around great video Huw!🌻

So many good ideas, most of which I have used during my decades of gardening, but newbie gardeners need this kind of information, so great video!! Putting a seed tray table legs on blocks set in pans of water is something others have used and is the gardeners version of what I had to do in my house during the 10 years I lived in Arizona (US) and something pioneers in the old west did in their log cabins. I put the 6 posts of my bed frame up on glass blocks set in glass pans of water so *bark scorpions* could not climb up into bed with me! The tarantulas I had to trap with a large butterfly net and toss outside...it was an interesting life.

Huw, you don't have a slug problem you have a duck deficiency problem.

That little, raised salad bed is a great idea! If the slugs are getting too plentiful, you can open a slug saloon. A pie pan of beer will attract them and then they drown. You could cover it with another foil pan with little openings cut all around, if you're concerned about other critters drinking it.

Your channel is giving me so much inspiration through freezing Australian winter - not long now until seed sowing time though! You have so much knowledge and I appreciate it so much. I was saying 'huw on RU-vid says.... ' so much my partner has dubbed the channel 'HuwTube'

This year I managed to deter all slugs from my lettuces and seedlings by growing them on multi tiered shelves in pots/trays and using double strips of copper tape around the legs of the shelving. It has been my best year for lettuces

😂 cheeky man! Used to be used for films! 😂

He's just lovely isn't he? And he has great ideas...!

😁Yo. Your Pivot from Pest to Malware Was Supreme 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾

Your garden is stunning. Wales is one of the most gorgeous places I have been.

Your garden is so beautiful and diverse, it looks like you've achieved a nice balance. I hope to get there eventually.

That blackberry cane slug prevention trick seems pretty genius 🤔 will defenitely try it!

Dude! That transition from the slug fence to the vpn and pest/ hackers. Smooth!

Loved this video Huw, you manage to make a film about pests both beautiful and funny. You missed my nemesis pest though - moles! Actually for us it's moles and voles and it's sometimes hard to figure out which of the two has just rummaged through a newly planted bed and turned our heavy clay, well composted soil into fluff and upended all my carefully planted out seedlings. I think moles are the worse culprits of the two, and the more moist and compost-rich the soil is, the more they love it and I can almost guarantee that they'll find a newly planted bed within a couple of days. They don't eat the plants, they just tunnel in search of nice juicy worms but in the process they do so much damage that some crops fail completely - I lost almost my entire crop of onions this year. I have to re-plant the uprooted seedlings and firm down the soil with my fingers and sometimes my boot - it can look not too bad until I get my hands in there and feel the tunnels collapse as I firm the soil down again. If I don't find the damage quickly enough the young plants dry out and die, so it can be a huge problem. I can't sow any seeds direct into the soil at all or they just end up in a mole tunnel, so I have to grow carrots in pots. A few weeks ago I planted out some young beetroot plants, and I was counting my lucky stars that they'd been left alone - maybe because of the hot weather, though I was watering the seedlings. But that all changed this week when a mole moved in - I replanted those beautiful healthy young beet plants 8 times yesterday alone!! I've tried those solar powered sonic deterrents (the moles tunnelled right next to them!) and I've tried to avoid trapping but I think we might have to resort to live traps. We have an orchard they can be released into, but I have a sneaky feeling they'll just laugh at me and move straight back into my cushy veg beds!

Lmao! Oh Hew, was a little sad at having to listen to a commercial, until you flipped the hacker the bird. Totally unexpected and prompted a solid LOL! Thanks for the info AND the laughs!

I have always succumbed to the carrot fly until this year. I grew my carrots in buckets and put them on the flat roof of our extension. It has worked a treat. For the first time I’ve got beautiful healthy carrots! The carrot fly couldn’t fly that high!

Thank you again, Huw, for the information! Short and sweet, but condensed with lots of important stuff.

Thank you so much for the CD suggestion. This morning I woke up to my garden being decimated from turkeys. The turkeys outnumber the people 50 toone in my area. So I hung a bunch of CDs up and I haven’t seen any turkeys yet.

"Films used to be on them" I'm so old 😩 🤣🤣

Great video. Love the spikey canes trick to protect against slugs. Off to the allotment now to try it.

Channel your inner slug!!😂 What would a slug do🤔 genius

Enjoyed this video Huw. Great to see the garden filled with so many flowers!

Slugs have decimated 90% of all my garlic’s leaves and I also found some of them beginning to munch on the garlic bulbs too 😱 So I had to dig them up before I would have liked, so my very first garlic harvest is very small this year… Onion fly got to that part of the raised beds and destroyed that. 😭 I am grateful for volounteer potatoes and self sewn gooseberries in a part of my hedge right now!

that segway was on point

Huw that was a great video! Nice way you filmed the add. 👍 A LOT of work went into this. Sooo much extra footage.

I had chickens but earlier this year but decided to let them go. I had a friend with a farm and she was happy to take them. I still see them and have their eggs. I converted the main coop into a poly box but the small ark coop I turned upside down, lined and added a couple of feet and now have a very large trug and it’s snail free. The slugs and snails just don’t seem able to climb up that far. It was almost new and I would never have got my money back but the conversion is excellent. A pest free zone at waist height which is so much nicer for my back.

that was the funniest product placement ever

easiest way to deal with slugs is to have no rain for basically 4 months like we have had this year in my part of the UK haha. Good for blight though.

Flee beetles destroyed my eggplant transplants before I even got them in the ground. I was in the stage of acclimating them to the outside. Within a few days, the tiny leaves were almost completely eaten. Most of my okra was destroyed too

Rodents, like voles, rats can taste hot chili powder. I used some in the spring around the holes, near any vegs they were going after. Just a sprinkle on any vegs will make them turn away. I think I found a female hole, was more lavish with the hot powder so the young would have trouble nursing, and she'd need to move them.

Thanks Hew great video. we all need a little reminder of the basics occasionally. Your garden looks lovely

This spring, I had a pest completely devour my brassica roots. I suspected cabbage root fly but found absolutely nothing in the soil. It also demolished my garlic roots and onion roots. Again I found nothing in the soil. Where I did discover root maggots, was in my daisy plant whose roots were also completely devoured. In 35 years of gardening, I’ve never seen such destruction in the garden with no apparent culprit.

That was awesome, you briefly plugged in Mark's channel. Great info, I really enjoyed this video.

Thank you I'm going to try them all except one.. I love birds and even if they eat my fruits I don't mind, after all they won't eat the whole lot I guess.. I love sharing with birds..

The garden is looking fabulous Huw. Local conditions vary too. For instance I’m in southern Australia and my Garlic got hammered by aphids/black fly last year, also red spider mite devastate Beans and Cucumbers in my garden. I also avoid certain pest issues with TIMING. I can’t grow early Beans or Cucumbers because of spider mite but they are not affected if planted later in the season. Same with Brassicas and Cabbage Butterfly, I plant in the cool season when the butterflies are dormant and avoid the Spring/Summer.

Excellent video Huw.

Thank you!

That add transition was brilliant.

I had a perennial kale plant just infested with aphids and eaten to practically nothing and I saw on another video to hard (jet) spray it with a bottle or hose. It said if you get them off they don't climb back up. I tried the hose and the plant is thriving again.

Not only are you a great teacher for all things gardening and time / project management, now I finally understand why VPN is so useful - you are amazing! (very clever and funny “ad” too and great acting)! Your garden is looking soooo beautiful, just like the photos in your new book. And great videography too!

This was worth watching just to see mild mannered gentleman Huw flip that hacker off. 😂

Can't wait to try that blackberry cane idea, that's brilliant👍

Awww but the Flea beatles like you look at the holes they made... Some are Heart Shaped 💕😍🤣

Loved the cafe video section really made me laugh xx

Thanks for the tip of using blackberry canes to limit slug damage. I will give it a go👍🏾

That's a great idea with the blackberry canes. I'll be doing that from now on.

Flea beetles decimated my eggplants for 2 years in a row. Completely skeletonized the leaves. This year, I had to keep applying DE until the plants were flowering and could finally fight them off. Got my first homegrown eggplants a week ago

For scaring away rabbits it helps me on my field to have a vertical stick in the ground over wich is put an empty compost bag. Fix it only at the top so the bag is moved by the wind and makes some noises wich scares these animals . Now carrots can grow on👍🏼

Another great video Huw. You have such a beautiful garden. I’m not too keen on the new advert in the middle but I suppose it pays the bills.

Thank you so much for sharing!!!

"Think like a slug" also smooth af ad transition there Huw! :)

Vraiment magnifique bravo

Thanks for this informative video. A note on flea beetle, you mentioned they never an issue. I would love to send you a photo of the damage these flea bettle caused on our broccoli, kohlrabi and the like. Unsure if any harvest will be there. I assume it's to do with the climate as it is hot and dry here. Always looking forward to hearing about your experience and knowledge.

Hey, thank you for the video. Could you also highlight strategies for fighting with ants? Allmost no one ever mentions them when talking about pests, but they are often a real nightmare in raised beds. Thanks in advance! 😉

Tanks a lot for your inspiring Videos!

Yes thanks for this vid

thanks Huw love your creativity have an awesome weekend greetings from the Netherlands

Perfect timing mate! My cantaloupe and cucumbers are getting some rather unwelcome guests. Also that dig on CDs hurt my soul.

Vine weevils are a scourge in my part of the country. They eat the roots and the plant is destroyed. I apply nematodes twice a year (April and September); they are the most effective remedy.

Do you have any issues with roly-poly/pill bugs? I have many issues with them. They're like lumberjacks cutting down my bean stalks.

I use old CD's to hang in the arbor to deter birds. I had a large arbor between two raised beds to grow pole beans, peas, cucumbers, etc., and birds love to ravage them. I can pick up old CD's at the thrift store for almost nothing, and they work great to keep out the birds.

some very useful information am going to be using the CD trick I do hope it works on wood pigeons .

Soak stinging nettles is water for 3 days and spray on aphids. Works on lots of the horibillies.

I've just started my 1st ever vege garden and I'm so grateful for your videos, I've learnt so much. Thank you. I just have 1 big problem 🤦‍♀️ Ants. I'm from NZ and i get alot of problems with ants, Could someone please give me some hints on how to control them?

My mum always used the water from doing the dishes to get rid of greenfly etc

This was very helpful, including a number of ideas I hadn't heard of and offering a context/way of thinking more broadly that supports all the tips including prevention. Thanks!

😃 good Tips, Thank you!👏👍 just a slight correction on the "rabbit proof" fence. Well I do agree with the shabe and all that, that really works. but that type of mesh/fence material... can be chewed thru... my Rabbit did it just last week, and has now the whole balcony instead of just his enclosure...😅🙈well until I fix that hole anyway...

I live in New Jersey and have honestly never seen a slug in like 30 years

Hmm I must have strange pests. Coriander and fennel and dill are pest attractors in my garden. Aphids and other small pests seem to adore them. It doesn't prevent me from having seeds later to collect, though I leave them to dry outside, so the insects can leave, die or get eaten. As pest attactors, they are also good pest predator attractors and nurseries. Right now, my preying manti have taken up their territories around the garden, and that seems to help a lot. Also the heat keeps the aphids down. I don't really have slugs here, but if spikes work, do slugs eat fuzzy squash leaves? Maybe make those into rolls along the sides of beds with crops the slugs like.

I have slugs and snails living their best life on my potatoes 😭. Will be giving some of these tips a go - we just cut back some brambles last weekend.

I've been watching your videos for a long time. I see you putting out seedlings a lot... In my garden I have much better luck doing direct seeding. My seedlings never do well if they make it at all. What soil do you use to start your seedlings? Unfortunately the flea beetles often get my brassicas before they can get a head start.

I used pieces of wild blackberry cane in my beds to deter squirrels and chipmunks from digging up my pepper seedlings. I figured they would hurt their grubby, digging little feet. Here in Canada , squirrels, chipmunks and bunnies are cute yet loathed by veg gardeners.

For carrot fly, my step mum swears by planting calendula by the carrots to deter the pests.

I heard electroculture (working with copper) works like a charm against pests. The crop becomes healthier, bigger etc. Becomes more resistant against pests. Would love to learn more about that.

Out of all the pests flea beetles are the ones I really don’t like, they totally destroyed my brassicas bar a few little florets. As they live dormant in the ground over winter I’m not sure how to manage this for next year, I will be planting dill, as they don’t like the smell, but I really don’t want to loose so much next time x

Great vid! Where do you buy your seeds?

Hi Huw, not a pest question! I just need to know if I can plant leeks where I have removed my onions? I have tried Google but no luck! I do hope you can help please

Can you please advice how to treat early blight on tomato plants? We are in Boston, USA, 6b zone. Thank you!

Very interesting and informative as always, thanks. No mention of dealing the caterpillar though? Btw, never seen so match product placement in your videos, im guessing Gardena sent you a big box of freebies 😀

Any suggestions for earwigs? They are an introduced species here and running rampant.

Nice Segway lol 😁

My nemesis are slugs. Will try with Blackberry branches

Apparently (so mossy bottom says) ducks hoover up slugs

FYI. Do not use the brambles tip. Slugs are not deterred by the prickles, and if you use fresh brambles you run the risk of the cuttings rooting into the garden. This tip just creates a prickly, potentially weedy mess that doesn't stop slugs at all. If you don't believe me, before trying this method, find a slug and surround it by a ring of brambles. See how long it stays in the ring.

3" copper mesh stapled to raised beds will prevent slugs from entering the beds. even without the 12v battery. 50% cornmeal 50% baking soda, will effect digestive tract of mice/voles, but not pose a threat to hawks and owls.

Have you upgraded your camera? The video quality is amazing!

okayyyy so i didn't realize i was 600 yrs old "these things called cds" so mad rn.

Hi Huw, I’ve had something, grubs I think, burrowing onto my turnip roots. Any ideas for treating this problem?

Im definitely trying the plank trap tonight! Aphid question though - with the soap technique, does the soap harm other predators? I heard that it can and was worried

I‘m a first time gardener and two days ago all of my brassica varieties were completely destroyed by the cabbage bug (Eurydema oleraceum) in just ONE DAY. I never heard of them before. The first day you see them pairing on a leaf you think „oh, how sweet & beautiful“, the next day there are hundreds an you see white lines in the leafs and you think „shit, these are from the bugs“ and the next day they were ten thousands everywhere… when they are ready the leafs are completely dry and crispy and the stems have brown lines… it was like in one of these horror films about clouds of insects come and eating a whole field within minutes… 😢 We‘re here out in the nowhere, in Slavonia/ Croatia close to the hungarian border, close to a Natural forrest reserve park, here‘s no intense farming and pure nature all around and it seems these bugs don‘t have any natural enemies…