Vegetable Pest Control

Don't let vegetable garden pests spoil your crop or your excitement. By adhering to a few basic guidelines, you should be able to navigate through any pest control issues that spring up in your garden.

Prevention

• Healthy, robust plants may outgrow pests on their own. Green paprika growing on the kitchen garden image by Mykola Velychko from Fotolia.com

  The best way to control vegetable pests is prevention. To discourage pests and disease, make sure the soil is fertile, use native plants, and avoid wetting plant leaves or fruit when watering. Check plants often for signs of pests to stop them early.

Traps and Barriers

• Cut off the bottom of a plastic bottle to make your own cloche. Container of milk. Plastic milk bottle image by L. Shat from Fotolia.com

  Use traps and barriers to encourage pests to congregate away from plants or to keep them from being able to reach the plant. Glass/plastic cloches and row covers provide effective barriers.

Identification

• Closely examine the undersides of leaves to help identify pests. a leaf image by timur1970 from Fotolia.com

  If encouraging healthy plant growth and using physical barriers doesn't work, then closely examine the plant to identify the type of damage. Look for signs of chewing, piercing or other evidence such as a trail of slime to help you target your pest control solution.

Biological Intervention

• Lady beetles feed on common garden pests. Ladybird Beetle image by Jon Yuschock from Fotolia.com

  Choose an organic or inorganic pesticide that is tailored to the specific pest that is targeting your plant. Use store-bought or homemade products but remember to carefully read labels and follow instructions. Introduce beneficial insects that prefer to feed on the pest that's plaguing your garden.