How Can I Get Rid of Whatever Is Eating My Basil?

The smell of fresh basil fills the air with an earthy, mint-like scent, until the plant becomes overcome with garden pests that ruin it's culinary potential. Preserve and protect your basil herbs by preventing or quickly getting rid of pests as soon as they begin to invade. Chinese rose beetles, aphids and many other garden pests like to quickly devour basil, herbs and vegetables before you can enjoy these foods. Prevent pests by maintaining healthy soil and follow a few simple steps to kill bugs quickly when they start to eat your plants.

Rubbing alcohol
Spray bottle
Water hose
Azadiractin spray

Instructions

- 1
  Place 2 tbsp. of rubbing alcohol in a spray bottle filled with 1/2 cup of water. Spray your basil plants with a light mist of this solution. The rubbing alcohol can ward off some pests without harming plants.
- 2
  Rinse aphids off of basil plants with a garden hose. The National Gardening Association recommends doing this if you notice aphids lingering on your plants. Using the force of water from a hose washes away some pests without harming the plant.
- 3
  Add 5 or more inches of additional compost, manure, fertilizer or another type of organic matter to the soil. Johnny's Selected Seeds website recommends increasing organic matter in the soil because it favors pathogen reduction.
- 4
  Move potted basil plants in door before summer begins because garden pests such as Japanese beetles like to feed on basil during this time.
- 5
  Spray basil plants with Azadiractin pest control spray if your natural pest control efforts don't work. Natural pest control can eliminate all or most pests, but persistent insects may come back.

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