SOPHIE: Insects are always a part of a garden,
and it's only natural that some of them
are gonna want to share in your produce.
After all, if YOU think those tender new shoots are yummy and delicious,
so will they.
Now, to some extent, I don't mind a bit of damage,
the odd hole in a leaf,
but if you end up with more hole than leaf,
then it's time to take action.
A good pest control strategy deals with one culprit at a time,
because what works for one is unlikely to work for another.
It's the opposite of the broad-spectrum approach.
So the first step is to become a garden detective
and work out what you're dealing with.
Before you swing into action,
spend some time investigating your garden.
Look at your patch at different times of the day, including at night,
to see what visitors you have and what evidence they're leaving.
If you're finding trails left by slugs and snails,
there are a few things you can do.
They're likely to only attack your patch at night,
so check out the places they may hide during the day -
down the bottom of the foliage or even under some leaves,
dark nooks between bricks or rocks, or even around your compost bin -
and also search your plants, looking for caterpillars themselves
or even the poo they leave behind.
Creating a barrier around your plants
has long been the go-to method of keeping pests away.
For years, crushed eggshells and coffee grounds
have been used to deter snails,
but if you've found
that it wasn't particularly effective in your garden,
well, you're not alone.
Recent studies show that it's actually pretty ineffective.
But there are some barriers that can be useful.
One option is copper tape.
When installed around a garden bed as a continuous barrier,
it will deter snails and slugs
by giving them a reaction like a mild electric shock as they cross it.
It's not a good idea to put it on a corrugated iron bed, though,
as it can cause corrosion.
You can buy this copper tape from the hardware store,
and it does come with its own adhesive backing,
but if you're putting it onto a wooden bed,
it's probably worthwhile securing it with some thumbtacks
to keep it in place.
Now, make sure there are no overhanging plants
that the snails could use as a bridge to get into your garden bed.
If your tender young seedlings are being ringbarked,
well, probably slaters or pill-bugs are the culprits,
and you can use another type of barrier to protect young plants.
So, what I use is old plastic pots that I've cut the bottom out of,
or you could do a similar thing with plastic drink bottles.
Simply put them around your plants
and push them about a centimetre into the ground.
Now, if snails are also a problem
as well as slaters, you could even put a bit of copper tape around that.
Now, slaters are really only interested in your seedlings
when they're young and tender,
so if you do this for the first couple of weeks,
usually once the seedlings get big enough,
you can take these barriers off and the plants will be fine.
To have a multi-pronged attack, it's also worthwhile
setting up some traps.
Now, snails and slugs are attracted to the yeast in beer,
but it's worthwhile using out-of-date beer
so you don't waste anything that's still good and drinkable.
Now, use a shallow container, like a takeaway dish,
and add a centimetre or two of beer.
Now, the smell attracts the snails and slugs and they fall in and drown.
If you live in Western Australia or South Australia,
you may even have a problem with these tiny little rural snails.
I find them quite a challenge to deal with,
and the best way to handle them is actually to let my ducks manage them.
Now, the ducks work great out in the garden,
but they're a bit of a problem in my vegie patch,
'cause they love my tender brassicas as much as the snails do.
So, what I try and do between crops is to bring the ducks in,
fence off an area, let them clean up the snails,
and then I can replant and keep the ducks out.
So that's covered observation...
..traps...
..barriers...
..and the odd duck predator.
The final weapon is a natural deterrent spray.
Sprays that aim to kill pests can be deadlier than you want them to be.
Even natural things, such as homemade pyrethrum sprays
or garlic or chilli sprays,
kill indiscriminately,
and seemingly harmless things like soapy water act as desiccants
and kill any insect they come into contact with,
including bees, ladybirds and hoverflies.
Instead, make a spray that is a deterrent, rather than a killer,
and use it in conjunction with your traps and barriers.
Mix up a spray of coffee and spray it on the leaves of your plants.
Snails will hate it.
At the moment, I have a real outbreak of whitefly.
It's tough to control them
without killing other insects at the same time.
So I choose to live with them in my garden
and kill them in my kitchen instead.
If I've got any worries about my produce,
I simply add a glug of cider vinegar to a sink full of water
and soak my vegies for about 10 minutes while I'm preparing dinner.
No single pest-control strategy is gonna work on its own.
You've got to find out what works best for you in your patch.
For me, I'm not looking to eradicate pests.
I'm just trying to minimise their damage.
And if you get a little bit of nibble marks,
well, that's not gonna stop me enjoying my beautiful produce.