It is important for summer residents and gardeners to take a number of pest control measures on their plots before the onset of winter cold. As experienced gardener Irina Mashkina told Rosbalt, autumn is suitable for cultivating plots, since there is no risk of harming the crop and the environment.
After the end of leaf fall, the leaves must be removed from the ground: they can harbor both pests and fungal spores, and only then begin digging. In order to destroy pathogens of scab, powdery mildew and rot, treatment of plants with 3% Bordeaux mixture is indicated.
To combat mole crickets, during autumn digging, several holes up to 50 cm deep are made, into which half-rotted manure mixed with straw must be placed. Mole crickets will crawl into such shelters for the winter. When cold weather sets in, the holes should be stirred up, as a result of which the pests will die from the cold.
Moles do not hibernate, but continue to dig tunnels and eat beneficial worms. Moreover, they can even migrate from neighboring areas. Therefore, mole repellers, nets, and traps will be in demand. You can also try to drive the animals out of their holes, the entrances to which are already clearly visible due to the fallen grass. “You can put fish heads and rags soaked in ammonia in the hole to scare away moles. There are also more radical methods – smoke or sulfur bombs: they must be lit and placed in a hole, and then covered with plywood, tin or a bucket. The smoke spreads along the passages and scares away the animals,” said the gardener.
As Yashina reminded, by the end of October it is necessary to whiten the trunks and lower branches of fruit trees with a solution containing copper sulfate. This will not only help fight pathogens, as well as insects overwintering in the bark, but also protect plants from burns during the February-March sun, which, reflected from the snow, can damage young plants. The trunks are first cleared of old bark, lichen and moss, and the wounds are covered with garden varnish.
Source: Rosbalt
Mario Twitchell is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his insightful and thought-provoking writing on a wide range of topics including general and opinion. He currently works as a writer at 247 news agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
