Have you ever detect that you just ca n’t keep the bugs off certain types of plants in your garden ?
In the same way that Goldfish crackers face more appealing than broccoli to most kids ( and many adults ! ) , some garden favorites are more attractive to dirt ball than others .
If we know what crop a pest insect prefers over , say , your garden Brassica oleracea italica , we can overwork their preferences and use these beguiling plants as traps .
Intercropping marigolds as a decoy.
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ambush cropping is anintegrated pest management ( IPM ) strategywhere nurseryman or farmers use decoy to lure nuisance worm forth from their crops . Once congregate in one spot , they ’re more well dealt with .
Everything you need to know about trap crops and how you could apply them in your garden is lay out for you below !
Intercropping marigolds as a decoy.
Here ’s what we ’ll cover in this clause :
What You’ll Learn
What Are Trap Crops ?
How to Use Trap Crops
Trap Plant Types
Benefits and Challenges
Insects love plant life . But plant of sure mintage and cultivar , and those in sure developmental point , are often more attractive to garden pests than others .
Use this knowledge to your advantage and strategically place more attractive crops in or near the garden to lure damaging pests away from your vegetables , fruits , and flowers . While they ’re busy feeding on the yap , your other plant are safe .
And it does n’t stop there : once the bad bugs have congregated on the decoys , they can be killed with insecticides or by physically remove them .
Just like that , you are trap cropping !
Also known as sacrificial plants or decoys , trap works can be selected from a wide diversity of options , as long as the pests like whatever you ’ve chosen more than your cherished harvest .
This plague dominance method acting minimizes harm and protects your yield , among other things .
voice good ? permit ’s get begin ! There are a few things you need to know before you pop out plant your lure .
There are several methods available to add these decoys to your growing outer space . you could put them on the garden perimeter , or in between the row for a practice known as intercropping .
How do you have it off when to use which method acting ? The conclusion count on the type of blighter you are dealing with .
Perimeter traps are double-dyed for big fields or crop plant in blocks , and for preventing insect from record your garden from the fringes .
This method acting is most effective when you ’re targeting insects that ca n’t fly or cover distance that well , such as thrips , which often affect the edges of the planting domain and do n’t bottom the middle of big fields .
Intercropping is better for point unassailable airman and pests that dwell in the soil , such asplant parasitic nematodes .
In general , intercropping is the go - to choice for those with smaller gardens since they do n’t typically include large mental block of a single crop . rather , you ’re aiming to protect small rows , beds , and mixed plantings .
you’re able to place your decoys in pots or in the ground , though institute in container may not be feasible if you demand a large number of bunker plant .
Consider using pots if you are starting them so early in the time of year that they might need to be taken indoors for hoarfrost protective cover .
How do you cognize how many steerer to add to your garden ?
It count on how many pests you expect , and on how nomadic the given species is . commonly , aiming for a total number of traps that ’s 10 to 20 percent of the total bit of main crop plants is sufficient .
There are a few other point to keep in mind for effective yap cropping :
1. Start Early or Provide Something More Attractive
The sand trap must be usable to hungry louse earlier in the season , or be more attractive to them overall , than your crop that you drive to protect . In general , two weeks is a estimable lead sentence .
Starting the decoys earlier than your main crop is smart , as a heavy bit of pests find plants that are produce bloom , fruits , and seed to be the most attractive to eat and reproduce on .
But if you ’re targeting chuck that are already in the soil and make ready to emerge and feast , tender shoots and leaves might be more prostrate to attack .
2. Monitor and Identify Pests
You need to know which type of pest is likely to infest your crop .
And you ca n’t assume that one ambush harvest will be more attractive to all of the bad guy insects that might pay your produce piece a visit than your veggies or flowers are .
view each on a guinea pig - by - font fundament . Are you worried thosehornwormswill be back to chew on yourtomatoesagain this yr ? Interplantingdillorlovageto entice the larvae forth is the way to go .
But if you ’re concernedColorado potato beetleswill be after your potatoes , sample intercroppinghorseradishor tansy or else .
3. Keep Your Decoys Healthy
Even if they are n’t the main attraction in your garden , it ’s crucial to keep these guy rope healthy too !
Water , fertilizer , and clear thoughtfulness are important for preserve their wellness , so the lure will keep calculate delicious to the pests .
4. Eradicate the Insects
Finally , and most significantly , be sure to vote out the pests that have found the decoys .
Part of the smasher of trap cropping is that there are direction fewer plants to scout than you would have if you were seek to supervise each individual crop plant for signs of plague . But you still need to keep a astragal on them .
Once the big bug begin to concentrate on your lure , do n’t rent them feed , breed , and dissipate from there .
Handpick and dispose of the pestilence , pull and demolish the entire decoy , or kill them with insect powder if you have to . Less area to spray means less pesticides are necessitate as well !
As far as pulling your decoy goes , sometimes you may need to remove the snare itself if the pest trouble is terrible , and population have grow so large that they ca n’t be master with handpicking or insecticides .
Whatever method acting you use to destroy them , make certain the worm are not give clock time to flee , or otherwise able to escape and then re - obtrude upon your garden .
As this is an integrated plague management strategy , it works well when you combine it with other protection methods such as harvest rotation .
How do you decide which coinage or cultivar to employ , knowing it needs to target a specific pest and serve to be more attractive to that insect than the crop you are endeavor to protect ?
Thoughtfulcompanion plantingis Francis Scott Key . You may have find out of usingmarigoldsto protect solanaceous , cruciferous , leguminous , and cucurbitaceous crops from parasitic nematodes .
Chervil , planted in between vegetables or ornamental , will take the brunt of anyslug problem . But most varieties that you choose will act for targeting a specific pest on a specific craw .
Decoys may come from the same family , genus , or specie as the ones you ’re endeavor to protect , or they may be more distantly related .
For example , ‘ Blue Hubbard ’ squash are in effect for lure squash vine bug and squash vine rock drill aside from your other cucurbits .
Butbasilor marigolds may prove effective if you ’re trying to catch thripid before they get to yourgarlic – and none of these metal money are nearly pertain .
If you use the same specie as a decoy , the usual recommendation is to sow or transfer it early and destroy it before the main crop hand its vulnerable leg in the hope that the trap crop will harbor the biggest initial wave of nuisance insects .
depart early also signify your sacrificial plants may be at a more attractive developmental stage than the principal crop when the pestilence arrive .
And you could keep it around if you opt rather than removing the trap from the garden , to go on appeal pests away while the main crop is turn , and pop the pests that gain on it throughout the season .
Keep in judgment that decoys are not always unwanted as vegetable , yield , or bloom crops – they might be edible species that you love to grow in your veg patch otherwise , or ornamentals that tot attractive value to your outdoor place .
In addition to the aforementioned model , onionsor ail can be used to protectcarrotsfrom carrot root flies , for instance , andradishesare more invoke thancabbagestoflea beetlesand root word maggots .
you’re able to useChinese filch , mustard , or radishes to protect cabbage from cabbage webworm , flea hoppers , and leaf mustard aphid .
Legumes can be used to entice leafhoppers , leaf beetles , stalk borers , andfall armywormsaway fromcorn . And raging cherry peppers can be used to draw pepper maggot by from your crop ofbell peppers .
There are many imagination available with specific recommendations for all form of edible and decorative crops , and the list of possibilities is quite extensive . Do your research before you plan your patch and initiate to seed !
Just remember that you are n’t going to need to beak or eat the wormy or infested decoys – this is where garden planning is important . determine in advance which ones are the ambuscade , and be fain to destroy them if necessary .
In other words , you could feel costless to bask thesunflowersyou used to pull foliage - footed hemipteron andstink bug , but do n’t get too attached .
They ’re likely not go to wind up in a vase someday , since they were intended to serve a different purpose .
Adding decoy flora to your IPM scheme can lead in more than rest from pest air pressure , and undamaged cabbages and tomatoes .
With few plant and a smaller area to spray , you may lessen your pesticide role and stay within your budget .
Less pesticide use of goods and services translates into other benefits as well , including preserved raw enemies ( aka good bugs , thebeneficial dirt ball ) , increased biodiversity , and overall environmental preservation , with fewer potentially harmful inputs that may affect the water , soil , and melodic phrase .
Plus , feature a variety of flora coinage in your garden have it a more attractive blank space for beneficial insect , which will flock there course as a result .
Concentrated numbers pool of pests in specific locations can be quite ask over to beneficials too !
Using this gadfly management method acting is not without its challenges , and it ’s authoritative to keep these in mind .
If they are not properly dealt with , they can become greenhouse , churning out large figure of fresh monsters in future generation rather than helping to eliminate the ones that were already hanging around .
Things can also get complicated if you are trying to take with multiple pests on multiple crops .
And it does take special clip to negociate , since the decoys need to be protrude early , sown in high-pitched - quality soil , reconnoiter , and keep .
To successfully use trap crop in your garden , you need to have some idea of who the insect you are seem at are . This can be tricky , but we ’ve got you !
Check out all of our pest - specific guidesfor in - astuteness info and identification backsheesh .
Distract Pests from the Main Event
The way I like to opine of it , your crops are like a globe you ’re throwing for a dog , which in this case constitute the pests .
The hot dog is running full - tilt towards the ball , but suddenly slue off after another target : a squirrel . That ’s your decoy . It ’s a lot more fun to chase , and a potentially tasty target .
In the case of your garden , you actually do n’t want the dog to enamour the musket ball , so you plant the squirrel there on aim .
And while you ’re here , read about other good cropping methods next , starting with these articles :
© require the Experts , LLC . ALL right RESERVED.See our TOSfor more item . to begin with published February 26th , 2022 . Last updated April 22nd , 2025 . Uncredited photos : Shutterstock .
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Sylvia Dekker
