Snap peas are one of my favorite early spring veggies. One year we were enjoying fresh peas every day until one day we ventured out and all of our 8 foot plants were dead. It turns out a rabbit had the munchies and snacked on the bottom three inches of our pea plants effectively killing the rest of them.
Ever since then we’ve been planting our peas under plastic, upside down cups with the bottoms cut out. These make shift rabbit guards project the plant from unwanted snackers without chemicals and for only a couple pennies.
What are your favorite pest control tips? We’ve been especially out smarted by squash bugs and cucumber beetles.
If the cucumber beetles and squash bugs become too much of a nuisance, you can also spray the leaves and stems (but not the parts you eat) of the plants with tobacco water. This works as a neuro-toxin to the bugs, and kills them. Just buy a can of the cheapest tobacco you can find in a smoke shop, and brew “tea” with it. Fill it into a (well labelled!) spray bottle, and generously mist the plant. This works against afids and pincher bugs (ear wigs), too – it saved my clematis.
Katie and Kazia,
We’ll definitely try these next year. Thanks!
For cucumber beetles, we plant marigolds, radishes and oregano near the cucumbers and other plants the cucmber beetles love.
For squash bugs, you can sprinkle kelp meal around the plant, which also feeds the plant. You can also plant the same companion plants that deter cucumber beetles, and also try garlic, chives and onions.
I’ll be using the cup trick for my peas.