How can I protect corn from pests? How can corn and sweet corn be protected? How to control aphids, cutworms, white grubs, flea beetles, corn earworms and other pests that infest sweet corn? What are the best organic methods to use against pests? What are natural enemies of corn pests such as knapweed, dandelion, milkweed, carrion and others? How do you attract the natural enemies of pests like grasshoppers, Japanese beetle, carrot fly and other pest insects into your garden to work for you instead of against you? Protecting corn against unwanted pests can be tricky to achieve without toxic chemicals. However, organic pest control methods do exist which allow you to keep your soil’s integrity and protect your crops. Here we’ll cover natural enemies of corn and other organic methods using companion plants, crop rotation and mulches.

Natural Pest Control For Corn

Start plants with companion planting.

Companion planting is a great way to deter pests, increase crop yields and improve soil quality. Corn is a big vegetable that can struggle to keep its own root system intact without help from other plants. Planting it with companion plants will boost the health of your corn, as well as provide additional nutrients for your soil.

Here are some companion plants that work well with corn:

Beans – Beans take nitrogen from the air and convert it into usable fertilizer. This helps replenish the soil’s nitrogen levels while also providing organic matter and suppressing weed growth in between rows of corn. If you’re going to use beans as a companion plant for your corn, make sure they’re started early enough so they’ll be ready when the corn grows high enough to shade them out (usually around week 4).
Potatoes – As potatoes grow underground they produce large amounts of organic matter which act as a fertilizer when mixed with soil or composted together afterwards (for easy storage). This makes potatoes an excellent companion plant for growing corn since both require similar conditions in order for their roots not only survive but thrive! Just make sure not too many potatoes get planted because since this vegetable matures pretty quickly after being planted out into rows–leaving little room between rows–it might compete with each other if planted too closely together.”

Consider the growing conditions.

When deciding what to plant, consider the growing conditions in your yard or garden. Corn needs full sun, so make sure you have picked a sunny spot. It also needs a lot of water, so make sure you have plenty of water available for it throughout the season. Finally, corn does not like salt (from sprinklers and deicing materials), so make sure that if you live in an area where this is an issue for some time during the year (like Chicago), then you will need to plan accordingly by not planting corn until after winter has passed and salt has been cleared from any sprinkler systems used.

Corn is not the easiest crop to grow from seed because it takes about 60 days from sowing until harvest time arrives! However once planted properly within favorable conditions its reputation as being easy-to-grow is well deserved–especially when compared with other types

Keep corn healthy.

Keep the leaves clean and dust-free by hosing them off with water.
Provide enough water for your corn.
Apply fertilizer when needed to promote healthy growth.
Make sure there is good air circulation so that the plants can breathe and avoid disease.
Keep your garden weed-free so you don’t attract pests in search of food or shelter from predators lurking around nearby fields of corn!

Use row covers to protect corn.

Row covers are lightweight fabric sheets that can be draped over crops. When properly installed, row covers can protect your crops from pests, frost and wind. They also help keep birds away from your plants and minimize the amount of water lost to evaporation in extremely hot weather (when it is not necessary to shade plants).

Row covers are most effective when they are applied before pests become a problem or after they have already been identified as a problem. For example, if you see beetles on your corn plants then it would be a good idea to cover them with row cover material until you have eradicated these pest insects—in this case using chemical pesticides or an organic insecticide will not really help because these creatures are already in your garden and their eggs may still be present beneath the ground too!

Invite beneficial insects to your garden.

Plant flowers in your garden. Beneficial insects are attracted to flowers, so you can attract them by planting a variety of them throughout your garden. Some examples include marigolds, zinnias and bee balm (Monarda didyma).
Buy beneficial insects from an organic supplier. If you’d rather not grow plants, you can purchase the beneficial insects from an organic supplier and release them into your garden when needed. Beneficial insects cost around $10 per 1,000 live ones and come in such varieties as ladybugs (ladybugs eat aphids), ants (ants eat caterpillars) or praying mantis egg cases that hatch later in the season (praying mantis eat other pests).
Build a house for beneficial insects if they don’t already have one nearby where they live naturally such as under loose bark on trees or logs outdoors.”

You can control pests naturally in your garden by being observant and making sure you plant correctly

In order to control pests naturally, you’ll need to start off on the right foot. Good soil is a must and companion planting is a great way to make sure you have healthy plants. Row covers can provide protection from insects and pests, while encouraging beneficial insects as well. Natural pesticides are also an effective way of controlling pests without harming your plants or the environment.