A few years ago we tried planting sweet peas and it quickly turned into an all you can eat buffet for the chipmunks. Those little things took over our yard like a fluffy little gang. I’m still bitter. This year, I am trying a new form of natural pest control and I am THRILLED with the results. In one of the vintage camper groups I belong to a camper mentioned that Irish Spring soap when sprinkled in campers can help keep critters out during the winter months. I have heard a few camper swear by this method so I thought hey, if it works in campers maybe it will work in gardens too. So I grabbed some Irish Spring, grabbed the grater, and went to work. Here is how to repel garden pests using Irish Spring soap, you can naturally rid your garden of pests too!
How to Repel Garden Pests with Irish Spring Soap:
Supplies needed:
Irish Spring Soap (I found a great deal on it here, 8 bars for less than $4))
Cheese grater
I’ll be honest I just grabbed the grater from the kitchen. The dishwasher cleaned it off just fine. If you are worried about using your everyday grater, just go grab one from the dollar store. Now, start grating. This stuff is really soft and takes little to no energy to grate it.
The amount you grate will depend on how much space you wish to cover. So far I have grated two bars of Irish Spring soap and it has been enough to protect my two sweet pea areas and my large strawberry pots. You will find that this is a reasonably priced soap, so if you have a large garden or a few container gardens you won’t go broke trying to buy enough soap.
HATE SPIDERS? See how to make this Spider Repelling Spray using essential oils!
Once your soap is grated you are ready to sprinkle. The idea is to create a wall or barrier that the critters won’t want to cross. I planted the sweet pea seeds in a patch near these trellises. So we took the soap shavings and created a barrier around them. The shavings are far enough away from the seeds, but close enough to clearly mark the area off and keep critters back.
For another great gardening DIY, check out my recipe for Flower Pot Cleaning Spray here.
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We have had a few good rains since sprinkling the soap, and it is still there! It sort of swells and gels up, but it stays in place and continues to work. You can add more if the soap washes away, but I have found that it is pretty stubborn and stays in place.
Several weeks later, our sweet pea seeds and strawberry plants are still safe.We literally have dozens of chipmunks in our yard, and they have not disturbed the areas. And since this is a natural garden pest prevention, I don’t need to worry about the dog or kids going near it. It’s soap!
This is a perfect option if you are looking for ideas on how to repel garden pests naturally. Give Irish Spring a try and grate your way to a pest free garden…naturally!