Tomato Hornworm Control That Costs Almost Nothing
Tomato hornworms can strip a plant overnight and stay invisible the whole time. Here’s how to find them using frass, stripped stems, and a UV flashlight, plus free controls that actually work.
-
-
Cheap Bird Netting Blueberries: Skip the Kit
Birds will absolutely clean out your blueberry bushes before you get a single handful. Build a simple frame from PVC or bamboo, drape it with thrift-store sheers or tulle, weight the edges down, and skip the overpriced netting kits entirely. Also: scare tactics don’t work, and I have the crow-on-owl story to prove it.
-
Flowers That Attract Beneficial Insects: Free Pest Control
I spent two summers hand-squishing aphids before someone pointed out I was doing a job nature already had covered for free. Planting a few cheap, easy-from-seed flowers and letting some herbs go to bloom brings in hoverflies, lacewings, and parasitic wasps that handle pest control without costing you a thing.
-
Slug and Cabbage Worm Control on the Cheap
June in Redmond means slugs are everywhere and white butterflies are shopping your brassicas. Here’s what actually works cheap for slug and cabbage worm control in the PNW, and what the internet keeps getting wrong.
-
Strawberry Patch Management in June (Birds Eat Everything)
Birds ate my entire strawberry harvest overnight and I have thoughts. Here’s how to protect your June patch without spending much, when to pinch runners vs let them go, and what the difference between June-bearers, everbearers, and day-neutrals actually means for your harvest.
-
Squash Bug Control: Stop Pests Before They Wreck Your Garden
Squash bugs, cucumber beetles, and squash vine borers can wreck your cucurbits fast if you’re not watching for them. Here’s a frugal field guide to stopping them with hand-picking, duct tape egg removal, stem collars, row cover, and a yellow bowl trap, starting now in June.
-
Cheap Spring Pest Control for Slugs and Aphids
April in the Pacific Northwest means slugs, aphids, and something chewing your seedlings overnight. Here’s how to handle the most common spring garden pests without spending much money.
-
Slug Season: Winning the Slime War for Cheap
April in the Pacific Northwest means the slugs are back and hungry. Here’s how to protect your spring garden from slugs, aphids, and cabbage worms without spending much more than a few minutes and a little dish soap.
