Keep Pests Away from Your Flowers

With Valentine’s Day come and gone, you might have some new flowers gracing your kitchen table in your nicest face. It’s also almost time to start planting some flowers outside with spring around the corner. However, where there are plants, there will be pests trying to cause trouble.

Keeping pests away from your flowers, both indoor and outdoor, can be a challenge. Fortunately, it doesn’t have to be much of a chore if you get started early. Here are some tips you should employ to keep pests away from those flowers this year:

Check Plants Before Bringing Them Inside

Whether you’re bringing flowers home from a local shop or fresh out of the garden, always check plants before bringing them indoors. If one of the flowers contains a pest, they’ll quickly make their way elsewhere in your home where they might become a greater problem. 

This can be as simple as doing an eye check and wiping down leaves and petals. While the type of pests that inhabit flowers will be small, you can usually see them with the naked eye. If you do spot a pest, dispose of it quickly and properly. A tied-up garbage bag will work better than flicking the critter outside where it will inevitably get into something else. 

Start Preparing Your Flower Bed

If you plan on planting some flowers on your property this year, now is the time to start making preparations. It’s important to do your due diligence early in the year, especially since flowers are often planted close to your house. With that close proximity, this is the last place you want pests to be roaming about with close access to the inside of your home. 

One of the most effective things you can do is apply somediatomaceous earth to the soil of your garden. This substance is perfectly safe to use for everyone but pests. It dries out bugs that would be digging around your soil and plants, pushing them far away to more habitable locations. Your flowers will be able to grow freely without their presence.

You can even use a sprinkle of diatomaceous earth on your indoor plants. A dusting in your indoor planters will keep your plants safe from any pests that make their way indoors. Just follow the instructions of the product you buy in order to use it properly indoors. 

Grow Some Other Plants

In addition to your flowers, consider growing some other plants that are known pest deterrents. For example, plants like mint, thyme, and basil have strong oils and scents that deter certain insects. Keep a couple scattered around your garden and you’ll likely see fewer pests milling about. These plants also have secondary benefits, such as using them for cooking. 

Many of these plants can also be grown indoors. If you’re worried about having plants indoors, maybe this is your time to try growing a few herbs indoor as well to keep pests away and exercise your green thumb. 

Don’t be afraid to let things bloom. Just keep an eye out for incoming pests and take preventative action and you’ll be able to enjoy a colorful spring.