10 Natural Ways to Control Garden Pests

Originally published in 2019. Updated for accuracy and freshness in 2025.

Are pests invading your garden and ruining your hard work? Don’t reach for toxic chemicals just yet. There are safer, more effective natural garden pest control methods that can protect your vegetables and herbs—without harming the environment, your family, or helpful pollinators.

Using non-chemical choices is always better for the environment and better for you, your family, and the good bugs that live in your garden. These methods can be very effective if you are diligent with their application. In fact, in some cases, these solutions are more effective than the more dangerous chemical solutions.

Top Natural Pest Control Methods:

Remove pest hiding spots
Weed regularly
Use homemade slug traps
Attract birds, frogs, and toads
Companion plant with garlic, catnip, and marigolds
Use hot pepper spray
Handpick pests at night

Why Use Natural Pest Control in Your Garden?

Using non-chemical pest control options is not only better for the environment but also safer for you, your family, pets, and beneficial insects like bees and ladybugs. Many of these natural methods can be just as effective as synthetic pesticides when used consistently and correctly.

Know Your Local Garden Pests

Every region has its own pest problems, and they often change with the seasons. Knowing what you’re up against can help you choose the most effective solution.

Slugs and Snails

Spring rains often bring these slimy intruders. They love munching on new plant growth and hiding in dark, damp areas.

Grasshoppers and Crickets

Summer heat draws these pests into gardens where they feast at night, hiding in tall grasses during the day. In some places, like Texas, they can grow up to three inches long and do significant damage in just one night.

I had a sturdy Moringa tree chopped right off by a grasshopper in just one night. All that was left were four bare stumps!

Effective Non-Chemical Pest Control Methods

1. Remove Pest Hiding Spots

One of the fastest ways to reduce pest populations is to eliminate their hiding places.

Weeds and Tall Grasses

Weeds and tall grasses attract pests and shelter them. Regularly pull weeds by hand, especially after watering or rain. For larger patches, boiling water can kill weeds on contact. Be careful to avoid nearby plants and beneficial soil life.

Effective Non-Chemical Pest Control Methods

1. Remove Pest Hiding Spots

One of the fastest ways to reduce pest populations is to eliminate their hiding places.

Weeds and Tall Grasses

Weeds and tall grasses attract pests and give them shelter. Regularly pull weeds by hand, especially after watering or rain. For larger patches, boiling water can kill weeds on contact. Be careful to avoid nearby plants and beneficial soil life.

2. Set Slug Traps with Beer

Slugs and snails love damp, dark places. Remove boards, rocks, and debris around your garden. If that’s not possible, trap them using beer or a mixture of jam and water.

How to Set a Slug Trap:

Fill a shallow plastic container with stale beer or a sugar-water mixture
Bury it in the soil, leaving the rim about half an inch above the ground
Check and empty daily for a week

Tip: Slugs are attracted to yeast. Malt beers may work better, or use a homemade yeast-sugar-water mix. Which kind of beer should you use? Slugs are attracted to the yeast in the beer, so malt beers may work better than others. You’ll have to experiment. A mixture of sugar, yeast, and water would also be effective.

In the morning, dispose of the slugs trapped in the container. Dispose of the pests as you best see fit. Feed them to your chickens or throw them in the trash. Do this every night for one week, and your slug population will be reduced.

3. Encourage Natural Predators

Bring Birds to your garden.

Birds

If you’d like more birds in your garden, you can put up nesting boxes on walls and in fences. The key is to find the birds that are naturally in your area and cater to their nesting needs. You can also add nesting boxes to trees as long as they are facing the right way to provide shelter for birds. Use this easy bluebird house pattern made from one 1×6 board. Even if you are not “handy” with tools, you can make this birdhouse.

Raptors and Owls

Explore the idea of creating a raptor perch for local hawks. They will keep your garden free of grasshoppers and rodents. Another option is an owl nesting box for a nighttime hunter. You can get owls to take up residence on your property by giving them a home that is cozy, warm, and safe. Many barn owls live in rafters, tree cavities, and in barns because they do not build nests.

Frogs and Toads

These insect-eaters need shade and moisture. Provide a cool rock crevice or an upside-down terra cotta pot to make a toad home.

Garden Snakes

Even small garden snakes are effective at keeping slugs, snails, rabbits, and rodents out of your garden. For some people, the thought of attracting snakes to the garden would seem absurd, but they are the perfect solution for die-hard gardeners with a slug, snail, or small mammal problem. Garter snakes, for instance, can, in fact, be a gardener’s best friend. Read more in the article Providing a Garden Snake Habitat – How to Attract Snakes In a Garden.

4. Keep Your Garden Clean and Healthy

Remove Weak Plants – When any plant succumbs to bugs, the best thing to do is to remove the weak plants, keeping only the more vigorous, more resistant plants.

Build Soil Organically – Having healthy soil is one of your best defenses against pests in your garden. Build up your soil for the type of plants you’re growing using natural means such as manure and plant matter.

Keep Foliage Dry – Water the soil of plants in your garden, not the leaves. A good way to do this is to build an irrigation system that allows you to water the garden without getting all the leaves of the plants wet.

Use Soap Spray – Mix 1 tsp natural liquid soap with 1 gallon of water and spray on soft-bodied pests like aphids.

5. Use Plants Against Them

Grasshoppers are averse to the smell of onions, chives, and garlic. Rather than planting these helpers all together in one garden bed, intersperse them throughout your garden area. The scent from these plants will often keep them from snacking on the vegetables you are growing.

If you have a problem with chipmunks raiding your garden beds, plant a border of nasturtium, marigolds, or mustard around the perimeter of the area. Squirrels do not like the smell and will stay away.

Believe it or not, while your cat may love it, bugs do not like catnip. What’s great is that catnip will not harm humans or pets but it will repel bugs. This is another perimeter planting. It will become invasive in the garden beds and will also attract your cat, which may become a pest itself.

Trusted Hot Pepper Spray for Deterring Garden Pests

Ingredients:

2 cups of water
2 garlic cloves
1 teaspoon of Dr. Bronner’s liquid soap (any scent)
1 teaspoon of canola oil
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper or 1 large jalapeno pepper

Directions: Puree all ingredients in a blender. Strain and pour into a spray bottle. Apply to infested plants up to 4 days before harvesting. Reapply if it rains. Use gloves while preparing this spray, and make sure you do not spray hot pepper spray against the wind, or on yourself!

7. Handpick Pests

It’s old-school but effective. Head into your garden at dusk with a flashlight and manually remove pests. A few weeks of daily diligence can drastically reduce the pest population.

Final Thoughts on Natural Garden Pest Control

You don’t have to rely on harmful chemicals to protect your garden. With some diligence and a combination of natural pest control techniques, you can maintain a healthy, thriving garden full of life, without the unwanted bugs.

Don’t let garden pests drive you crazy! I got together with a couple of my gardening-knowledgeable friends to answer some of our readers’ most pressing garden pest questions and pain points.

If you would prefer not to watch the whole video, here’s a timeline where we begin to talk about specific garden pests:

0:07 Welcome
1:04 Natural Remedies for Pests
3:25 How to Get Rid of Grasshoppers
6:25 How to Get Rid of Roly Poly Bugs and Slugs
8:27 Sources for Beneficials
11:05 Chipmunk and Squirrels
13:47 Japanese Beetles
16:55 Diatomaceous Earth in the Garden
21:16 Stopping Deer from Eating Your Garden
24:29 Flea Beetles