Organic Pest and Fungus Control: Garlic Barrier - Yes, It Really Works

Last year, I picked up a pest control recommendation from HRH The Prince of Wales in his book, Elements of Organic Gardening (you can read my previous review here). Garlic Barrier is almost 100 percent garlic oil which can be mixed with water and sprayed on plants, including vegetables. It imparts no garlic taste and it repels both insect and mammal pests. This year, I sprayed it throughout my garden once every other week from April to October.

1. Does garlic barrier repel mammals? In terms of controlling mammals, my main concern was the groundhog which likes to eat both vegetables and flowers. My ultimate test was trying to grow dahlias in unprotected areas of my garden. If you don't know, dahlias are also known as groundhog candy and I have never been able to grow them outside of my fenced-in, groundhog-proof Cutting Garden (you can read about the groundhog-proofing here). This year, I was able to grow dahlias everywhere--in the Front Border, in the Rose Garden, in the Long Border, among other places.

2. Does garlic barrier repel insects? In terms of controlling insects, the garlic barrier significantly reduced the number of Japanese Beetles on the roses throughout the garden. It did not repel the potato beetles on my potato plants, so either it doesn't work against potato beetles or the potato plants need to be sprayed more frequently (you can read about how we controlled the potato beetles here).

3. Does garlic barrier protect against fungal diseases? Because I grow old roses, I do not have a problem with fungal diseases on most of my roses. However, the Bourbons and Hybrid Perpetuals are susceptible to black spot towards the end of the summer. While garlic barrier is not advertised as fungicide, I thought that since it is used as such in many medicinal home remedies it may work as a fungicide on plants. I found very little black spot compared to prior years. I didn't have a control patch of roses, so there my have been other factors.

4. Where can you buy garlic barrier? Unfortunately, garlic barrier is not readily available at my local nurseries. I was able to purchase it online from Gempler's, a great source of all sorts of gardening and other supplies: http://www.gemplers.com/shop/garlic-barrier. I purchased the one gallon container which lasted the entire season. From Gempler's: "Protect your plants and ornamentals from pest damage with easy-to-use Garlic Barrier. 100% natural deer repellent, rabbit repellent, rodent and insect repellent."