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Eggshells as pest control by GetBusyGardening.com
Saw this and thought it was a great tip for gardening. Everyone knows how to use egg shells crushed
up and mixed into potting mix as a natural fertilizer. The nutrients in the shells act like a
natural fertilizer for your garden pottery and planters.
Well if you have ever had issues with flea beetles eating
your growth then here is a natural and simple way to stop them. Diatomaceous earth is a known organic
pesticide which is basically fossilized remains of creatures that are ground
into a fine powder. It gets under the
shells of beetles and acts like bits of glass to cut them up and kill them.
Ground egg shells work the same way. If you eat lots of eggs and most folks do,
this should be an easy DIY garden project.
Prepare shells by cleaning them if they are dirty. If not dirty then
don’t bother. Make sure they are dry and
don’t skip this step. Just lay them out
on a paper towel for a few days.
Once completely dry, ground them into a powder using a
coffee grinder. Once ground use the
powder right away. Store the remaining eggshells or ground shells in a
Tupperware container in the garage or a cool dark place. Sprinkle the powder directly onto the leaves
and pests. The bugs may not die away but
they will eventually so don’t worry if they fly away.
It is recommended that you don’t sprinkle all over your
garden. This avoids killing all the
beetles even the good ones. This is
where potted plants come in. You can
also sprinkle on the tops of your garden planters surrounding the potted plants
and keep the plant healthy without spreading the egg shells all over the
garden. Perfect!
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