Check out these 7 best uses of Aluminium Foil around your home and yard!
1. Make a Sun Box to Incubate Seedlings
One of the most interesting aluminum foil uses in gardening is making a convenient sun box that helps reflect sunlight and encourage seedling growth by providing warmth. Find yourself an old cardboard box or shoebox, and line all four sides from the inside with aluminium foil.
The foil should extend two inches beyond the top and sides. Use tape or glue, if needed to ensure that it stays in place! Now poke small holes for drainage along one side of your seed box – this will make sure no water seeps inside so you can plant as soon as possible.
2. Scare Birds
Birds are naturally terrified of shiny, noisy things so if you’re afraid that your fruits will be ransacked by seasonal parakeets then the best way to keep them at bay is with a little aluminum foil.
If possible I recommend tying some strips up high on poles or tree branches for guaranteed success, and add some scary eyes (for fun)!
3. Confuse Squash Vine Borers
Vine borers have a tendency to lay eggs on certain parts of the plant that are maximally vulnerable, such as leaf undersides or stems. You can prevent colonization by wrapping wide collar of aluminum foil at your plants base early in season!
This will confuse the vine borer and they’ll lay eggs on the aluminum foil.
4. Keep Slugs & Pests Away
To keep bugs, like slugs and mosquitoes at bay use aluminum foil to mulch. Simply lay sheets around your plants base with dirt or small stones holding down the corners for safety reasons! If you have a wheelbarrow, then mixing mulch in with foil strips is an easy way to spread it around.
Mulching is a great way to preserve moisture in the soil, reduce temperature and prevent weed growth. Additionally it prevents pests too thanks to its reflective surface that repels these pesky bugs!
5. Protect Trees from Rodents in Winter
Voles, mice and rabbits are the bane of all plant-lovers. Not only do they cause damage to your beautiful landscape with their burrowing habits but these pests also reduce a tree or shrub’s potential for future growth by destroying its subsurface tissue! In order to keep your trees safe during winter, use aluminum foil. The feel of the metal scares away rodents and prevents them from sliding through it!
When measuring the base of your tree, take two layers of foil and wrap them around for protection. Press down hard so that it sticks well against the trunk! It is always better to work your way up, starting from the bottom and adding one sheet of foil at a time.
6. Resist Deer
When a fence is not enough to keep your garden safe, try wrapping the bases of shrubs and saplings with aluminum foil. It’s an easy solution that could help you avoid future fencing costs!
It’s important to have in mind that the foil must be at least 2-2.5 feet high (or your waist length), because deer are extremely smart, and usually skilled at grazing on plants shorter than their height, and can easily jump over a lower fencing.
7. Disposable Dispenser for Solutions
The cost of fertilizers, pesticides or herbicides can’t be ignored when you have a garden. They are an investment that every gardener has to make, and should not waste them easily.
For those of us who are tired of the extra mess, this DIY funnel is a life-changing invention. Simply an aluminum foil, roll it up into a cone and then slowly fill it with the solution – no wasted product, and zero hustle!