Healthy hedge plants attract all kinds of pests and insects. These garden pests come in all sizes. For example, they can attract rabbits, raccoons, and beetles. But we are going to focus on insects in this text. They can make gardening a massive challenge for anyone. But, first, you have to make sure that you keep your soil healthy and your pH levels well-balanced. We have developed this guide, to help you fight pests in your hedge plants and enjoy your healthy-looking garden.
Ways to Fight Pests in Your Hedge Plants
· Get help from birds
Birds love to eat insects, and they are naturally attracted to gardens. So, you can lure some bug-eating birds to 
your hedge area with a birdbath filled with fresh water. It will also deter them from picking your tomatoes for their juice and seeds.
Furthermore, you can place a bird feeder close to your hedge and keep it filled with seeds. You can keep it there from late autumn to early spring. It will make your garden their heaven, and when the summer comes, they will start feeding on insects.
Eastern bluebirds and Guinea fowl can snatch up beetles, hornworms, and ticks. Furthermore, most of them will not scratch or ruin your plants. This makes birds welcome guests in your garden. If you want to keep other, uninvited animals out, check here.
Veggies could help you get rid of some pests
· Cayenne peppers for loopers
Deterring those cabbage loopers from eating Brussels sprouts, kale, and cabbage leaves is easy. First, you need to make a mix of three teaspoons of cayenne pepper in one-quarter of water and put it in your spray bottle. Next, spray this mixture on those stems, leaves, and the ground that surrounds each plant.
· Pepper and onions for grasshoppers and aphids
Grasshoppers and aphids can damage your flower beds and vegetables. Therefore, you can blend two to four peppers, a mild green pepper, and a small onion with a quart of water. Put this mix into a spray bottle and start applying it on the leaves and stems, along with the ground that surrounds your plants.
· Garlic and onions for all-purpose insect prevention
Garlic and onions are natural insect deterrents. You can plant them around your hedge or plant them in-between. Your hedge will remain safe from a majority of insects by doing so.
· Onions, again for borers
If you have fruit trees around your hedge plants, use onions to prevent fruit tree borers from damaging them. These borers can dig into the base of your fruit trees. Therefore, you can plant garlic and onions around the tree. If you do not do this, your hedge plants are at risk of attacking other insects.
· Use bush beans and potatoes to keep beetles away
In your hedge garden, you can plant alternate rows of potatoes with bush beans. BUsh beans keep potatoes safe from Colorado Potato Beetles. On the other hand, potatoes keep bush beans safe from Mexican Bean Beetles.
Plants Are Your Friends
· The radish rescue
Radishes are excellent hedge plants that can deter beetles. You can plant them around your crops of squash, peas, beans, cucumbers, and melons.
· Basil protects tomatoes
You can plant basil alongside tomatoes to protect them from any attack by those harmful insects. It will also prove to be beneficial for the growth of your tomato plants.
· Rosemary safe havens your veggies
Rosemary is an aromatic herb that can keep your vegetable and hedge garden safe from cabbage moths, carrot flies, and bean beetles.
· Catnip is not just for cats
If you interplant catnip, along with tansy, cucumbers, and zucchini in your hedge garden, it will significantly reduce the population of cucumber beetles.
Fight Pests in Your Hedge Plants With Flowers
· Petunias to deter beetles
Petunias are highly effective if you plant them around your potatoes and beans in your hedge garden. They can keep potato beetles away.
· Tansy can keep ants at bay
Ants and aphids can be very stubborn. But you can keep them away from your hedge plants if you plant tansy around your garden and your house.
· Chrysanthemums work wonders
You can plant chrysanthemums right around your home to keep bed bugs out. Apart from that, they effectively deter fleas, roaches, lice, ants, and many other similar insects. Moreover, chrysanthemums also repel spider mites, ticks, Japanese beetles, and various other garden insects.
Here are the best cordless hedge trimmers, that will ease you maintain the hedges
Chemistry Can Provide Solutions
· Use a DIY bug spray
You can make an all-purpose pest-control spray at home pretty conveniently. Just add a couple of teaspoons of liquid dish soap to your spray bottle with warm water. Make sure to add your soap after you have filled your bottle with water to prevent bubbling.
· Diatomaceous earth for crawlers
You can also go for diatomaceous earth to get rid of stink bugs and various other crawling insects. It is an effective and abrasive barrier for them. However, make sure you only go for food-grade diatomaceous earth as it is organic.
Sprinkle some of this powder beneath your fruits and vegetables resting on your ground. Apart from that, you can also sprinkle it on your leaves.
· Garden lime for Japanese beetles
You can dust green beans, along with garden lime, to get rid of those Japanese beetles from your hedge garden. This is an effective remedy to repel these beetles.
Read more about the best lawn scarifiers and aerators.
FAQs
How do I kill bugs in my hedge?
If they have already invaded your hedge, you can spray your hedge with a hard stream of water using your garden hose. It will knock the insects off from the foliage. You can repeat this for two to three days. After that, get rid of the areas with the heaviest infestations. Moreover, destroy and cut to kill those insects.
How can I get rid of bugs without killing hedge plants?
You can mix one percent soap solution from one quart of water and two teaspoons of a mild liquid dishwasher. Then, put it in a bottle and spray it on your hedge plants. It will instantly get rid of aphids, mites, mealybugs, and other soft-body pets.
How can I kill bugs in soil?
You can use one part of hydrogen peroxide and mix it with three parts of water. It is a natural substance that is not harmful to your hedge plants. Instead, it will kill bugs and release oxygen into your soil. Your plant growth will boost with this oxygen release.
Fight Pests in Your Hedge Plants Consistently
There are various remedies to krill bugs in your hedge. These solutions are not harmful to your hedge plants and will add to the overall looks of your garden too. However, you will have to be consistent with these remedies because these bugs can return anytime.
Caring for hedges is everything but easy. You should know when to plant them, how to care for them, how to keep them good-looking, and so on. The list of tasks is endless, but the end result is beyond rewarding!
