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July 22, 2014 in Organic Gardening

Using Eggshells On Japanese Beetles

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Japanese beetles will destroy any garden. And since screaming “die beetle die” doesn’t work….Why not try making your own organic pest control powder out of eggshells? Or maybe it’s flees, bed bugs, ants, cockroaches or snails and slugs you want to kill? And you’ll definitely want to pack some of this stuff before traveling to that next sketchy hotel. It’s a serious bed bug slayer. [Joking….maybe…hmmm?]

You already know that eggshells make great compost for the garden. After all, they add calcium to the soil. But you may not have known about making your own organic pest control powder out of eggshells. 

Farmers dump an organic pesticide called diatomaceous earth, basically fossilized remains of marine phytoplankton over their grains to keep the bugs out. Diatomaceous earth kills bugs. Bugs with hard shells like fleas, ants, bed bugs, Japanese beetles and flea beetles. Slugs and snails don’t like it either because when they slither and slink across it the DE acts like bits of shard glass. Shard cuts them up. Powderized eggshells work just like DE! And eggshells are organic and free. 

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I saved my eggshells for several weeks in an old Olive Garden brown paper bag. Yes, takeout again! This lets the eggshells dry out before you crush them. It’s critical the eggshells are bone dry before moving onto the next step. I’d give it at least 4-6 days of drying time. Moisture, even morning dew can make DE an ineffective pest control method. Dry is key! 
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When shells are dry, locate your coffee grinder. {C’mon, you hardly ever use it ever since you got a Keurig}. I broke up the shells a bit with my hand first and then placed about five shells worth into my grinder. I pulverized the shells into a fine white powder and poured the contents into an airtight container. I just used an old cored pineapple container from the grocery store. Keep grinding and dumping until you’ve finished with all your eggshells. If you’ve saved several dozen eggshells which hopefully you have, you’ll have enough organic pest control for the rest of summer right into Fall. You could also use a Ninja or any other type of food processor you  have instead of a coffee grinder. You’ll get the job done quicker. But the particles do tend to be bigger if done this way, and I like the eggshells to be pulverized! 
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You can use your crushed eggshells right away in the garden. Just liberally sprinkle over plants like basil and roses that the Japanese beetles are devouring. Watch it work its magic. They won’t die instantly, but they’ll squirm and writher around, and in time, will perish. Continue to sprinkle on and around plants as a deterrent to other pesky bugs. Reapply after a heavy rain.
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And I am seriously considering sprinkling this stuff in my bed next time I stay in a hotel. I just about always get eaten alive by beg bugs in hotels, no matter how many stars or how high-end the hotel is. I’m even tempted to sprinkle some of the powder on my pets to deter flees. Can it really be worse than the chemicals I use on them? Doubt it. Actually DE or eggshells is really bad for bugs with exoskeletons, but for mammals is just fine. You can eat it because it’s harmless to us, but if you do it’s kind of weird. 

Let me know if you’ve tried eggshells as an organic pest control or if you think you will in the future! I’m already pleased with the results. 

2 Comments

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Comments

  1. Viv says

    April 10, 2021 at 12:31 am

    Love the article !!!
    Will start saving my eggshells tomorrow !!! Sounds wonderful !
    Thank you !

    Reply
  2. Tina says

    November 27, 2021 at 11:38 am

    I’ve been growing my on veggies, herbs and fruits for the last 4yrs coming up on 5 next summer. With that thanks for this news. I use eggshells for fertilizer but I never knew about bugs, I always have some bugs on my peppers but I think there mites(red) I pray it works. I have to bring some inside at winter and no amount of cleaning and rinsing works a nice amount falls off but The little suckers are still there

    Reply

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about laura sproull

about laura sproull

Hi! I'm Laura and hail from Western New York. I consider myself a lifelong learner who loves gardening with a 360 degree view. Thanks for stopping by!

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