Because I have tried an experiment of putting leaves, compost, and other things that will decompose in the bottom of large pots so that I can save putting all dirt in the container.

When I have emptied out these containers, I discovered an abundance of pill bugs in the decomposing part. I also discovered them in a hugelkultur garden.

I’m glad to find this article that offers simple solutions to this problem, like putting out water melon rinds (which I have tons of!) and rolled up newspapers which they love to snack on.

Here is a great article about integrated pest management from a permaculture perspective. I especially love the idea of creating ideal habitats for birds so they can eat pests. Thanks to Living Permaculture for this great information.

Hornworms can use specific attention until I get more natural predators. The best suggestions were:

Go out at night with a black light and they can be seen. They do their main munching at night.

I don’t have a black light so I tried this method: Go out early in the morning because they are still fairly easy to see. I usually find them by letting my eyes relax and just gaze at the tomato plants. It is so weird how they almost appear from nowhere and surprise me. They really blend in. These guys are really damaging, and how I wish I had done this when I first noticed the leaves being stripped.

I just did some more research, and this article suggests that I check the plants 3 times a day. I think I will pray for my plants and tune into their needs to make horn-worm capturing more interesting.

It also gives lots of other ideas for getting rid if these pests which have such a alien-like appearance. Did you know they can get up to 4-5 inches long? Scary! I am a vegan, yet I just don’t have a problem destroying these creatures. I feel a sense of guilt–yet I just don’t know what to do with them. One suggestion is to grow flowering tobacco–maybe I will do that, and then send them to that plant. I will also do integrated pest management so that they can be dealt with in other ways besides picking them off the plant–which is my least favorite gardening job.

Here is the article: https://livingpermaculturepnw.com/natural-pest-control-in-the-vegetable-garden-integrated-pest-management/ Thanks again to Living Permaculture for these great ideas.

For some reason, up until now, I have resisted trying to find solutions to garden problems. I need to do some introspection to find out why! Now, when I have a problem, I am going to start looking into solutions right away. I always learn more than I expected, feel inspired, and empowered. I always add the word “permaculture” to my search so I can be sure to get a very integrated approach that helps get to the core of the problem.

What ways have you found effective to eliminate pests in your garden in a natural way?