Could mini disco balls be the whimsical secret to keeping your garden pest-free? We asked the experts
This might be the grooviest pest deterrent we've ever seen, but does it actually work?
Tired of being swarmed by insects when you're out enjoying your garden or want to keep your berries protected from birds? This might be the easiest, most stylish pest deterrent to add to your space.
When it comes to summer, there's the constant challenge of keeping away wasps and deterring flies from your garden. Especially when you're outside trying ot BBQ for friends and family, the last thing you want is insects landing on your food or being a nuisance. And whilst there are traditional ways to keep the bugs away, it's not always ideal to use chemicals or unreliable online hacks.
Which is why this idea immediately caught our attention. Using small disco balls around your garden is said to scare off a whole range of common pests, and it does so whilst looking charming. But does it really work? Well, we asked Lucie Bradley, gardening expert at Easy Garden Irrigation, for her thoughts on the hack.
Whether you're participating in the rewilding trend or prefer to use sustainable garden ideas, sometimes conventional pest control simply isn't an option. And when the alternatives are a whimsical disco ball, we know what we'd choose.
"You can use small disco balls in your garden to help deter a wide range of pests from areas of your garden. Shiny surfaces are often used to create moving reflections to deter wild birds, and this is very true of the surface of a disco ball, which, if it swings or spins in bright sunlight, will reflect light in flashes in random directions, scaring birds away," explains Lucie.
"Whilst insects with light-sensitive eyes, including flies, gnats, wasps and mosquitoes, will be confused by the rays of light caused by the disco ball, making them disoriented, wanting to avoid the sparkling light and not land," she adds.
If you want to attract birds into your garden, this may not be the best choice, but when it comes to your fruit and veggies, it will keep them from being eaten or stolen.
If you've ever reused household waste in your garden, you might be familiar with the CD hack, which uses the reflective surface to ward off pests. However, the disco ball is an elevated, more aesthetically pleasing choice.
"Disco balls are a good way of deterring flying pests from your garden. Such as wild birds from your fruit or vegetables and gnats and flies from you when you are sitting outside enjoying your garden," says Lucie.
"They are a good idea as they are a chemical-free way of deterring pests and don’t cause harm; they simply make the pests go elsewhere than in the vicinity of the dazzling reflections they produce," she adds.
To get the best results from them, Lucie points out you'll need to place them somewhere sunny and ideally with a little breeze so their reflected light moves around. She also recommends keeping them stored away in the autumn and winter months as they can be damaged by wet weather.
With over 28 years of experience working in the garden industry, Lucie has been fortunate enough to spend every day speaking to both amateur and professional gardeners.
Should you also want to get rid of tiny black flies in your home, hanging disco balls near your entrances and windows can help ward them off.
