Only a few things can ruin a perfect crop of apples, oranges, or strawberries and send your profits into a downward spiral. The list of possible problems is long and varied, but among the worst offenders are insects, birds, and small mammals.
These pests are not annoying to have around, but they can be very harmful to your farm if they’re not dealt with right away. Therefore it’s important to keep the following tips in mind when trying to deal with pests on your farm.
Bird Repellent
One of the most common ways to get rid of birds is by installing netting over your crops. Birds will not fly into the netting because it looks like an obstacle in their path when they’re flying around looking for food. They don’t want to waste time looking for food that’s behind an obstacle that could potentially be fake or dangerous, so they move on instead. You could set up a scarecrow in the area you want to protect too. This might be more effective than using netting since you won’t have anything blocking the path of the birds in the event they deter from their chosen path.
Keeping the area around your crops clean will also help to keep away birds since they won’t want to come near anything that reeks of chemicals or looks like junk piled up in a corner. One of the most recent options seen at avipel.com is a nontoxic and corn seed treatment that effectively stops birds from eating corn seeds. The birds not only stop eating seeds, but they also stay clear of the area where it’s applied.
Dealing With Rodents
Rodents love to eat just about anything, so keeping them away from your farm can be a real challenge. Since rodents are small and usually live near the ground, you’ll have to get organized if you want to block out these pests from getting into your crops.
One of the first things you should do is place small pieces of gravel around the perimeter of your crops. Rodents don’t like walking over sharp stones that hurt their feet because it hurts similar to stepping on a nail or a pin. This will keep them from coming up onto your farm in search of food, but an even more effective pest control treatment against rodents would be putting down fish oil pellets near your crops. These pellets are made with fish oil and other chemicals, so they’ll give off an odor that rodents can’t stand. This will keep them away for good.
Another way to keep rodents from coming onto your farm is by planting hedges around the border. You don’t have to plant a tall hedge, but you should plant a type of shrub that smells strongly and would be displeasing to mice as they’re trying to get through it to reach your crops. You can also hire the assistance of mice removal experts, as their expertise on mice pest control would provide a more effective solution.
Insect repellents
Insects are arguably one of the biggest problems you’ll face when trying to grow your crops at home, but there are ways to fix this problem too. There are many different types of insects that might go into your farm, but among the most common would be grasshoppers, ants, slugs, beetles, crickets, etc. Your best shot at keeping these pests out is by using traps filled with water or beer inside. Insects will head towards anything wet or shiny whenever they’re looking for food since it’s likely to have food inside.
Insect repellents are also commonly used ways to drive off insects from an area where food is being grown, but let’s talk about organic pesticides first. These pesticides use natural ingredients instead of chemicals to kill off insects, which makes them a much safer method than using chemical-based pesticides because there won’t be any harmful residue leftover on your crops once the pest has been eliminated. Organic pesticides can come in the form of garlic extracts and even neem oil, and they’re sold at organic-pest-control.com amongst other places.
It’s also recommended that you use netting to cover your crops instead of trying to set up traps or using chemicals. Since insects are small, it’ll be hard for them to get past the netting unless they crawl under it into the field. This will keep bugs like grasshoppers away since they can’t fly very high off the ground. Also, they can’t walk over the netting without their feet getting tangled up in it.
Take Care Of Your Animals
In the event you have farm animals at home, they’re likely to attract more pests if they’re roaming free instead of being in their pens. Birds may see your chickens as a nice place to perch on, and rodents might consider a pig’s pen a perfect place to build a nest. With this in mind, you should make sure your farm animals are protected from whatever pests you might be worried about by giving them secure pens or cages where they’ll be safe from any predators that want to kill for food or just for fun.
Some small mammals like chipmunks will try to steal bird feed as well which makes it important you keep those away too since there could be an accident anytime between birds and them if one is careless enough. Also, if you have any bird feeders at home, make sure they’re not located near your crops. Birds are likely to fly over to sit on them if the feeder is high enough, and this will mean that there might be a chance of dropping something where it shouldn’t, which will lead to bugs or other pests coming up onto your farm.
Put Away Any Leftover Food
Make sure you have no leftover food lying around! If there are, rodents and bugs will be more attracted to your farm. Keep your animals healthy by feeding them properly and keeping their living spaces clean. Remember that rodents carry various diseases, so it is highly advisable to use traps for mice or rats if you find any signs of infestation. You can also use natural solutions such as red chili pepper flakes or garlic instead of buying pesticides from the store. The last thing you want to do is expose your family members, pets, and farm animals to chemical farming products that are harmful to humans.
Remember, the key to keeping pests from coming onto your farm is to make it uncomfortable for them. Using a combination of the tips above will keep most pests away, and you’ll find yourself growing more crops than ever before! Just don’t forget to take care of your animals and feed them properly so they don’t become a host to pests.