Add molasses to your pest control kit
2010-07-06T00:39:24+10:00
Molasses makes a handy addition to any gardener’s pest control kit. You can use it to manage chewing pests like caterpillars as well as root knot nematodes. Here's how.
Check your kitchen cupboards for molasses and move it to your garden shed so it’s handy for controlling pesky pests such as caterpillars as well as nematodes.
Caterpillars
To make a spray that will control caterpillars, simply dissolve one tablespoon of molasses and one teaspoon of dish washing liquid (or pure liquid soap) into a litre of warm water. Let it cool then spray it regularly over the leaves, top and bottom. Chewing insects find the solution far too bitter and go elsewhere.
Nematodes
To control nematodes that attack the roots of tomatoes, potatoes, silverbeet, carrots as well as lettuce and zucchini, dissolve one litre of molasses in four litres of warm water. Allow it to cool and drench the soil. A word of warning though… while this may kill the nematodes and save your crop, it will also kill some of the good guys in the soil like worms. Don’t use it long term, regard it more as a last resort quick fix.
It’s important to adopt long-term strategies to control this pest. Increasing organic matter in the soil is a big one, so is practising crop rotation to avoid a build up of the pest. Planting things like marigolds and mustard will help too, but they need to be chopped up and dug into the soil to be effective. It’s the gas they release as they break down that keeps nematode numbers low.
