If you only have a few pesky insects in your garden I would recommend that you let nature take its course, as many of these insects are a valuable food source to birds and the ‘right’ insects to have in your garden.
The first thing you can do is apply rubber mulch to your garden beds, rather than organic wooden mulches. Wooden mulch is a hotbed for insects, especially when it is damp, or nearing the time for replacement. On the same premise, make sure that any dead debris or leaves are removed on a regular basis from your garden, as these are favorite haunts for unwanted insects.
You can also use barriers and covers to keep insects away from your plants. Things like fine screening or row covers, which allow all elements to reach the plants, but keep unwanted insects out.
A good way to get of slugs and snails is to place a saucer of beer in your garden. These pests will climb into the saucer and drown (but at least they drown happy and are not exposed to salt, which shrivels them up and can’t be nice way to go)!
Earwigs can be got rid of by leaving a hollow tube, like an old bit of hosepipe, out overnight. Earwigs like hollow tubes and will congregate in them, so in the morning you can pick up the tubes and run a tap through them to drown the earwigs. The more hollow tubes you leave out, the more earwigs you will catch.
Lady beetles (or ladybirds) are beneficial insects to have in your garden and can be bought to release into your garden. They will get rid of all sorts of pesky insect populations like aphids.
Other insects that you might want to attract into you garden are parasitic wasps, bees and soldier beetles, which can also be attracted by providing good nectar sources and lures that you can buy from good gardening shops.
Lastly you might consider putting up relevant shelters for bats, birds and toads, all of which love to devour insects and part of the natural food chain, making sure that you can be green and have a pesky insect free garden.
