How to use leftover eggshells for pest control

Broken eggshells are an old remedy for improving the breathability and quality of your garden soil.

They are also great as an organic form of pest control.

Eggshells can help stop flea beetles and Japanese beetles in their tracks, as well as fight off hungry garden slugs.

Ground up eggshells work because they are similar to the organic pesticide diatomaceous earth. Diatomaceous earth is a ground-up powder made from the fossilized remains of animals.

The reason diatomaceous earth works is because it acts like small shards of glass for bugs and beetles.

These shards cut and scratch the pests, which either kills them or deters them from returning. Snails and slugs will die if they try to cross the small shards.

The eggshells texture is a perfect match for diatomaceous earth and works in exactly the same way.

To use this method you will need to start saving your eggshells.

Simply clean them out after you have used them, dry them and store them in an air-tight container.

Once you have enough, grind them up with a coffee grinder, a mini food chopper, a mortar and pestle or by your own alternative method.

The eggshells should be ground into a fine sand.

Once the eggshells are crushed, simply sprinkle the powder directly onto and pests you can see and on top of and around all your plants.

The one downside of using this method is that it is not targeted. It will kill any type of insect, even beneficial ones.

For the best results, it is best to focus the powder on key problem areas, rather than spread it across your whole garden.

What do you think of this garden hack? Have you ever used this method before?