Container Gardening For Dummies, 2nd Edition
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After investing time and money in your container gardens, the last thing you want to find is bugs or other pests munching on the plants in those containers. Here are some ecologically sound ways to prevent pests from feasting on your flowers and vegetables.

  • Choose pest-resistant varieties that are adapted to your climate.

  • Keep plants healthy by making sure they’re getting the right amount of sun, water, and fertilizer for optimal growth.

  • Invite beneficial insects into your landscape to help control pests by planting a diversity of plants and minimizing pesticide use.

  • Inspect plants frequently so you catch problems early.

  • Identify the culprit before taking any control measures.

  • Use barriers, like row covers, to prevent pests from reaching plants.

  • Spray repellents to keep critters at bay, such as neem oil for Japanese beetles and predator urine for deer.

  • Trap pests like slugs to reduce their populations.

  • Hand-pick insect pests or wash them off with a blast of water.

  • Choose least-toxic pesticides, preferably ones that target only the pest and don’t harm other organisms.

About This Article

This article is from the book:

About the book authors:

Bill Marken is the author of the first edition of Container Gardening For Dummies and coauthor of the second edition.

Suzanne DeJohn is an editor with the National Gardening Association.
The National Gardening Association is the leading garden-based educational nonprofit organization in the United States, providing resources at www.garden.org and www.kidsgardening.org. The National Gardening Association offers plant-based education in schools, communities, and backyards across the United States, through the award-winning websites garden.org and kidsgardening.org.

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