Keeping the Pests at Bay
May 28, 2021
As many Americans find themselves working from home for the first time, backyard gardens are on the rise. If you are trying your hand at gardening for the first time and wondering how you can keep those pesky bugs and woodland creatures out of your garden beds, check out these simple tricks so that your garden doesn't turn into a free buffet.
1. Cayenne pepper bug spray recipe.
Pests will want nothing to do with your plants once you spray this mixture on. Mix together the ingredients below then pour the mixture into an empty spray bottle. Be sure to spray your plants in the morning to avoid the sun burning the leaves since there is alcohol in the mixture. Spray your plants as needed and reapply after it rains.
Ingredients
8 cups water
1 cup liquid dish soap
1 cup Listerine mouthwash
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2. Create an eggshell barrier. If teeny pests are the problem, you can try an eggshell barrier to make it more difficult for them to get to your precious plants. Crush eggshells and place underneath your affected plants.
3. Borrow some fake rubber snakes from your kids. As silly as it sounds, if rabbits are the problem, rubber snakes have been proven to be effective deterrents.
4. Make a chicken wire garden cloche.
Although a wire fence around your garden seems like the obvious best way to keep pests at arms length, it may not always be a practical solution depending on your budget and lot size. If you can’t fence in your entire garden, a chicken wire garden cloche is a nice alternative.
The GBU Life Scholarship Awards support students in college, trade programs, non-college programs, and graduate school, helping them achieve their dreams, setting them on a career path and realizing life goals. Since its founding, the GBU Foundation has awarded 4,500 scholarships and educational grants totaling more than $3.2 million. In 2025, 215 members received $226,000 to support their two‑year, four‑year and graduate studies. Here’s a look at where the rubber meets the road — as we check in on past grantees to see how their scholarship awards have helped them stay on course, where they are now, and where they hope to be in the future.
To celebrate our 134th anniversary, GBU Life launched the Birthday Bash initiative, calling upon the GBU Life community to honor our fraternal legacy through service. GBU Life invited members, producers, and community leaders to assemble and deliver shelf-stable cake kits for individuals and families who may otherwise go without a birthday celebration. What can seem like a simple act of service could be the spark of hope someone needed.

