How to Solve the Bug Problem: A Little-Known Perspective That Could Revolutionize Your Garden

Let’s face it – most if not all of us have problems with bugs in the garden. Watch this video to find out a little-known perspective to bug control that could literally revolutionize your gardening experience.

If you haven’t checked it out already make sure to go over and like my facebook page (it’s a great way to stay connected). And I’d love to hear about your experience with bugs in your garden. Have you noticed any difference when you focus on the soil instead of the pest?



18 Comments

  • lynn hoag

    Reply Reply July 4, 2013

    Thank you.

  • Irvin Wells

    Reply Reply July 5, 2013

    Paul, you need a better audio pickup, one protected from the interference of wind (OR a better “studio” ITSELF, somewhat out of a windy area. I think there are foam caps that cover the microphone that significantly reduce this interference from wind. Also, in case someone on the camera is handling the mic, he should not touch it because the mic picks up that handling and sends noise to your video recording. Thanks for sharing your bug experiences.

    • Paul

      Reply Reply July 5, 2013

      Thanks for the thoughts Irvin! You are absolutely right… sorry about the quality on this one. πŸ™‚ Unfortunately I don’t have the wind cap for the microphone yet – but will definitely put it on my list of needed equipment.

      Thanks again! πŸ™‚

  • Jacquie

    Reply Reply July 5, 2013

    Hi Paul,

    Thank-you for addressing this topic. Building up the soil, thereby producing healthier plants, sounds like a good idea–will try to work more on that over time. Something I saw online and tried with the squash bugs is using masking tape to remove the eggs that they lay on the leaves. Also use the tape to catch/remove all stages of squash bugs, from freshly hatched to full grown. It does take time, but definitely goes faster to use a wide piece of tape and capture many of them at once, rather than trying to pick them off one by one. We also use masking tape to catch ticks. They slip through your fingers so easily when trying to flatten them, whereas tape immobilizes them permanently.

    • Paul

      Reply Reply July 7, 2013

      Great tip Jacquie! I’ve used the tape for ticks before (specifically those little seed ticks…) but not for the squash bugs. Great idea – thanks for sharing! πŸ™‚

  • Buggy

    Reply Reply July 6, 2013

    Also use sticky tape for fleas…

  • Teresa

    Reply Reply July 7, 2013

    Paul, Thank you for the helpful info about the pesky bugs, including safe products that can be used when necessary. P.S. I love your living studio — seeing what is growing in the greenhouse, and hearing the chirping of the birds. (The wind sound is a bit distracting though.) πŸ™‚

    • Paul

      Reply Reply July 7, 2013

      Yes… while nature is beautiful, I’ll have to agree that the wind is a little much. I’ll need to get a better wind protector for the microphone. πŸ˜‰

  • Shelly

    Reply Reply July 10, 2013

    Paul, I would worry one bit about your studio!! Natural is better and the sound disturbance was so minimal . . . keep it natural, everything these days is too commercialized; real is better! Anyway, good info; thanks. But I still don’t know how to get rid of my bugs. If soil is the problem, then perhaps you could tell how to make a good soil. I live where I can only container garden right now and its been a challenge. Seems the virus’/bugs love my plants more. My basil and mint are doing well tho. πŸ™‚ Tell me about soil. Again, thank you for the info . . .

    • Paul

      Reply Reply July 10, 2013

      Hey Shelly – thanks for your encouragement. πŸ™‚ Yes… and keep your eyes out because I’ll be posting a new video on soil soon with some practical ways you can improve your soil. Until then – for starters the best thing you can add to your soil is a quality compost (at least 2 years old) or worm castings. Be careful of what you buy in bags from the store though as they can often not be very good quality with large amounts of wood chips that aren’t going to benefit your soil right away. You want a compost that looks and feels like dark rich soil.

      As for your containers… you may need to recharge the nutrients in them. Plants will use of the nutrients quickly in containers and they will need a recharge of nitrogen and micro nutrients. Here’s a link where you can get an organic booster mix that has a really good rating – http://www.gardeners.com/on/demandware.store/Sites-Gardeners-Site/default/Product-Show?pid=31-571

  • Shelly

    Reply Reply July 10, 2013

    oops! I meant DON’T worry about your natural studio πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚

  • Judy

    Reply Reply January 27, 2014

    Enjoyed your video very much! Especially, your attitude toward your garden being a place you love to go … and reminding your audience of the importance of giving. You’re a good teacher! Keep it up! (I live in a small apartment … am considering planting a few plants on my tiny patieo … maybe sugar snap peas, on a trellis).

    • Paul

      Reply Reply January 27, 2014

      Hi Judy, Thanks for your kind words. πŸ™‚

      Yes! Glad you’re considering growing something. Keep your eyes out here… I’ve got some neat things planned for growing in small spaces coming up this year. Stay tuned and let me know how you’re sugar snaps do (if you end up growing them of course πŸ˜‰ )

  • Angela

    Reply Reply May 12, 2015

    Paul,

    What should I do with pill bugs? There are about a1000 of them in my grape vine container. I hate them! Thanks for this video.

    • Paul

      Reply Reply May 15, 2015

      Hi Angela,

      Great question and thanks for asking! Honestly, the truth is that they most likely aren’t doing any damage (although under the right conditions they can – but rarely and I think only on seedlings). If it’s a matter of simply wanting to rid yourself of them because you don’t like them – I totally understand.

      One thing to consider is that they need a moist environment to live. You could try only watering in the morning and letting the container try out during the day (or couple days) before watering again to see if you could drive them away that way.

      You can also try trapping them. Here’s an article you may want to check into.

      Let me know if you get rid of them!

  • Steve Dragoo

    Reply Reply September 2, 2015

    Paul – have you tried compost tea to strengthen the plant and enhance the soil? Steve

    • Paul

      Reply Reply September 3, 2015

      Hi Steve, great question! We haven’t tried it like we would like to yet. We did get a compost tea maker and would like to do more of it. I’ve heard great results. Even just heard of some good results from one of my gardening course members. Thanks so much for asking and it’s something I’d definitely encourage!

  • Barbara Hagele

    Reply Reply January 18, 2016

    You talked about a product you called “Dipel (sp?)” that is a bacteria that destroys worms stomachs when they eat it. What is the exact name (as you can see I guessed at the spelling)?

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