Birch tar in the garden from pests

The indisputable advantage of tar is the absence of negative consequences for the human body, since the plants processed by it do not accumulate it in their fruits and greens. Therefore, birch tar in the garden is an important tool for combating many pests and diseases.

Birch tar: use in the garden and in the garden

birch tar in the garden

Can birch tar be used anywhere other than a garden? Due to its natural origin, tar has long been used for the manufacture of medicines and cosmetics, as well as a means of protecting horticultural and horticultural crops. Its antimicrobial, anti-rot and antiparasitic action is widely known. Its composition shows the presence of a large amount of resins, paraffin, acids, phenol, phytoncides.

Of course, it is strange these days to use tar to lubricate cart wheels or dress skins, however, in the field of plant care, it is still in demand. Birch tar is indispensable in the garden, because its pungent smell scares away insects, mammals, pests, and the useful substances that make up it are a real salvation from plant diseases.

Properties of birch tar:

• tar does not cause any harm to human health;
• the spectrum of its effects extends not only to insects, but also to rodents;
• pests do not get used to it;
• tar only helps to scare away pests without killing them, which is convenient if it is necessary to expel small animals from the territory of the site;
• birch tar in the garden is easy to use, which does not require any preparation;
• variability of use, for example, by a non-contact method when processing plants;
• its protective effect is characterized by a long period - from 20 days to the whole growing season.

Self-production or purchase of tar for use against pests

birch tar in the garden

In view of the increasing popularity of tar-based products, its purchase in finished form will not be difficult.

Birch tar for pests can be found in drug stores, horticultural hypermarkets, and online catalogs. If you need a lot of tar, cooking it yourself will be a rational solution.

First of all, you should know that tar is birch and birch bark. The difference between them lies in the raw materials used for their manufacture. So, for the preparation of birch tar, dry distillation of birch chips, branches, bark will be required.

For birch bark - only birch bark, removed from young bark. These two varieties differ significantly in smell and appearance. Lighter in appearance and less odorous, birch bark tar is used, as a rule, for the manufacture of medical and cosmetic preparations.

Birch tar, which has a strong odor and a viscous consistency, is used by gardeners in the garden as an antiseptic, antibacterial and antiparasitic agent. So how to breed birch tar?

• You will need a large iron container with a tight-fitting lid. It is necessary to make a hole in it, and then fill it with scraps of birch bark and chips, and then close it tightly.
• A small hole should be dug in the ground, in which a smaller container should be placed to collect tar.
• Above a small container, place a large one so that the hole in it is below and directly above it.
• Around a large container, you need to lay out the yard and set them on fire.
• Tar will gradually begin to stand out, and after 4-5 hours the first portion will be ready.
• To prepare 3 kg of birch tar, you will need about 10 kg of bark.

Homemade birch tar in the garden is inferior in quality to that purchased at a pharmacy or a specialized store, since it does not undergo cleaning. However, this has nothing to do with cosmetics - due to the low concentration of tar, they do not have such powerful repellent properties.

Birch tar: use in pest control

The pungent smell of birch tar makes it particularly effective against pests with a good sense of smell and those that live underground, as the smell lasts longer there. Such pests include a mole, a bear, a mouse. The impact of tar differs in duration, therefore, in this case, its one-time use per season is shown. The repellent properties of tar extend to pests such as Colorado beetles, butterflies, flies, sawflies, moths.

In addition, terrestrial mammals are also sensitive to it, however, it will be necessary to scare them off several times, since in the air the effectiveness of tar remains up to 1 month. The most resistant to the use of tar are grown individuals of the weevil beetle, as well as ants, click beetles and bark beetles.

Therefore, to scare them away, you will need a complex combination of tar with other means. At the same time, you should know that it is dangerous to combine with tar and even leave biopesticides and synthetic agents in the same room. For the complex folk use of birch tar, mineral and organic compounds are suitable.

Below are more than two dozen varieties of harmful insects and animals, which are used to scare away tar, and also list the ways to use it.

1. Colorado beetle

This pest is extremely dangerous for vegetable crops. Birch tar from the Colorado potato beetle is used in the form of a solution consisting of 2 teaspoons of tar and 50 g of laundry soap, dissolved in 10 liters of warm water.

Plants should be processed before the opening of the buds, and then at the peak of flowering. Another method involves abundant wetting of the bushes and soil between the beds.

2. Birch tar against Medvedki

There are two ways to deal with the bear. The first involves the preliminary treatment of tubers with tar, before planting. In the second case, the seedlings are sprayed with the above soap-tar solution.

3. Burrowing mammals

Mole, vole, marmot are unwanted visitors to summer cottages. To expel them, you should close up all holes leading into the holes with a rag soaked in tar and sprinkle with soil. For impregnation, you can use a combination of tar and oil in a 3: 1 ratio. It is recommended to start this procedure before the start of the season, in the first half of spring.

Another way to drive out burrowing pests is to drive a large number of tar-coated wooden pegs up to 20 cm long throughout the site. They periodically need to be removed and the lower part should be lubricated with a new layer of tar.

4. Land mammals

Hares and various types of mice are able to do a significant lesson in garden planting of trees and shrubs. Therefore, in the fall, it is recommended to mulch the area around the trunk with sawdust treated with tar solution. It is enough to dilute 1 tbsp. tar in 10 liters of water.

Additional protection will be created by a layer of whitewash at the bottom of the trunk and on the lower branches. To prepare it, you need to mix 10 liters of fresh manure with 1 kg of whitewash and 3 tablespoons of tar, and then dilute the mixture to a semi-liquid state with water.

5. Onion fly

This pest affects onion and garlic plantings, therefore, it is recommended to place the seeds prepared for sowing in a solution for an hour. It is prepared using 1 liter of water and 1 teaspoon of tar.When shoots appear, you need to water the beds abundantly with a mixture (10 liters of water for 30 g of soap and 1 tablespoon of tar). Re-watering is done after 2 weeks.

To strengthen the result, you can mulch the distance between the beds with sawdust soaked in a tar solution.

6. Cabbage fly

To protect cruciferous crops from flies, a solution is used (10 liters of water per 1 tablespoon of tar) - they need to soak a layer of mulch between the beds. This should be done at the beginning of spring, then repeat at the end of summer.

7. Sea buckthorn fly

This pest is sensitive to a tar smell, so to scare it away, it is enough to drive stakes next to the plantings, with a cloth soaked in tar attached to them. Or, attach a small container of tar to the stems.

8. Beetle leaf and carrot fly

To protect carrots from pests, you will need the already mentioned solution of tar and water more than once. They need to water the already damp soil in July and then in August. In a more complex case, you may need another 1-2 watering and spraying with the same solution, but with the addition of 20-30 g of soap.

9. Sprout fly

A sprout fly, which is dangerous for pumpkin crops, can be scared away by watering the seedlings with the same solution.

10. Sawfly

Various types of sawfly damage fruit crops, but it is quite easy to get rid of them by spraying bushes and trees. To process the bushes, you need to: mix 1 liter of boiling water with 100 g of soap shavings, add 1/2 cup of ash and 2 tablespoons of tar, then pour in another 5 liters of warm water. This solution should be sprayed on the bushes 3-4 times per season.

To process trees, we need a soap-tar solution already familiar to us - it must also be applied several times a season.

11. Wireworm

Wireworm is dangerous for root crops, so you should take care of their protection in advance. On the eve of sowing, it is recommended to place the seeds in a mixture of water and tar and shed the planting holes with it. After planting, you need to process the beds with it every 14-20 days.

12. Aphid

To drive away aphids, it is enough to spray the plants once a month with a solution prepared from 1 liter of boiling water with the addition of 50 g of tar soap shavings. 1 teaspoon of tar and 20 liters of water are added to the prepared soap solution.

13. Birch tar from ants

Often ants appear along with aphids on the site. The trees they have chosen can be saved by wrapping the trunk with a cloth soaked in tar, or by smearing the bark with it. Birch tar from parasites will make the ants leave the already formed anthill - just apply a few drops of tar bought at the pharmacy to its top.

14. Spider mite

You can get rid of a spider mite using the same soap-tar solution.

15. Cabbage white

Cabbage butterflies do not tolerate the smell of tar, therefore, to scare them away, it is enough to place sawdust soaked in tar on the site and place pegs wrapped in tar soaked in rags throughout the territory.

16. Gooseberry moth

Gooseberry and currant bushes are often damaged by moth, which harms plant ovaries. Therefore, even before the beginning of the flowering period, it is recommended to spray the bushes with a soap-tar solution and hang containers filled with tar on them.

17. Moth

All varieties of the moth cause an impressive damage to the harvest of fruit crops. Their caterpillars hibernate under the bark of trees, and becoming butterflies, with the beginning of flowering, lay eggs on the leaves. Therefore, processing from the moth must be carried out before the beginning of the flowering period and immediately after its end, it is necessary to spray the trees with a soap-tar solution, and also hang containers with a tar solution on the branches (1 teaspoon of tar is diluted in 5 liters of water).

18. Hawthorn

The action of hawthorn on fruit trees is similar to that described above. But unlike the moth, its caterpillars hibernate in nests fixed on leaves, wrapping them in cobwebs.It is these nests that should be removed first of all, and then water the soil at the roots of the tree with a traditional soap-tar solution. The first watering occurs at the beginning of bud formation, the second - in April, on the eve of flowering, then every 2 weeks at the end of the flowering period.

19. Raspberry-strawberry weevil

Berry crops need protection from the weevil. Even before the formation of buds, you need to spray the bushes with a soap-tar mixture twice (the interval is 7 days).

20. Birch tar from Cherry weevils beetles

The harm from this type of pest can be catastrophic, since this pest not only eats foliage, but also harms the rest of the plants. To protect stone fruits from it, you need to spray the trees with a soap-tar mixture before the buds bloom. Spraying is repeated when the buds begin to bloom, and then shortly before flowering begins.

21. Plant diseases

Tar is effective not only against pests, but also against viruses and bacteria, such as scab, that are dangerous to plants. For the prevention of these diseases, you can repeatedly use the above-mentioned mixture of water, soap and tar, increasing the content of tar in it (about 2 tablespoons). Another method involves lubricating plant stems with a mixture of tar and ash in a 2: 1 ratio at the stage of young foliage emergence.

Birch tar: contraindications

Due to its organic origin, birch tar does not harm plants and people at all, and it only scares away harmful visitors to the garden. However, it also has a number of disadvantages, namely:

• inhaling the smell of tar is unpleasant for many people;
• watering with birch tar drives away any insects, even useful ones;
• applying tar mixtures to root crops, berries and edible greens can spoil their taste and aroma;
• for the same reason, it is of little use for the treatment of indoor plants;
• a high concentration of tar is still toxic, therefore, working with concentrated tar requires taking precautions (hazard class 3);
• since tar does not dissolve in water, solutions based on it are difficult to mix with other agents, and at rest they begin to exfoliate after 2 hours, which limits their use;
• tar is not removed from clothing and metal surfaces.

Despite a number of inconveniences associated with the use of tar to protect plants from diseases and pests, birch tar in the country is very popular among gardeners due to its beneficial qualities.