Gardening is a fun and productive hobby undertaken by many people throughout the world. The ability to raise beautiful flowers or food is something that many people enjoy. However, other creatures enjoy a nice garden as well. These creatures are typically considered pests of the highest caliber. Dealing with them comes in two forms. These forms are organic and chemical. Most people that are interested in gardening as a hobby also want to deal with their pest problem in a natural way.

The first step toward an organic solution to any pest problem is determining what pests are attacking a garden. However, some people prefer to make prevention a top priority instead. Each of these are a good first step. The most common pests in any given garden are going to be aphids, snails or slugs, caterpillars, and earwigs. Other creatures can become pests as well, but these are the most common and easiest to prevent or identify.

Preventing a pest from moving in isn't always possible. However, there are a few steps that can be taken to limit their attacks before control measures are undertaken directly. Aphids are eaten by a wide variety of species. One of the best species for a gardener is the ladybug. Release lady bugs into your garden and they will hunt down aphids zealously. Snails and slugs can easily be prevented by ringing the plants with egg shells or saw dust.

These creatures have very sensitive skin and don't like crossing these natural barriers. Ear wigs aren't as easy to prevent so they should be countered by convincing spiders, frogs, and wild birds to enter the garden. Caterpillars are more or less the same as ear wigs when it comes to prevention. Keep their natural predators around to limit their numbers.

Once prevention measures have been overwhelmed the savvy gardener has many tools at their disposal. These tools are generally a flash light or beer. The aphids will have been taken care of by the lady bugs for the most part. They are a delightful snack to those tiny colorful creatures. Snails and slugs can be killed with a cunning trap known as a snail 'pub'. This is basically a dish of beer or milk buried in the ground a little so that snails fall in and drown.

Caterpillars need to be removed by hand if possible. Find them curled up in leaves or inside silky webbing on the plants. Earwigs can be stopped by placing an upside down planting pot or similar item near plants and filling it with straw. The earwigs will enter and can be removed easily. This can sometimes be used as a preventative measure too.