Like every other creature in the wild, bugs and other wildlife have their place and their purpose.

Unfortunately, more often than not, that place seems to be on valuable garden plants and their purpose seems to be to destroy them.

Experienced gardeners know the tricks of the trade for combating these pests, and it doesn't always require using harsh chemicals and pesticides.

Penn State Master Gardener Cindy Martinez said there are measures gardeners can take to help protect their plants from pests.First and foremost, it's important to make sure any plant is healthy when planted."If the plant is already healthy, it has a better chance of warding off any bugs if they attack," Martinez said. "But if the plant already is infested when you plant it, it makes it a lot harder."To ward off bugs, Martinez said the best way she has found is by planting what is known as companion plants.This involves planting various flowers and plants around a main plant that are known to be offensive - either by smell or taste - to certain pests. A list of these can be found online at the Penn State master gardener Web site.Another way, which is usually unpopular with some home gardeners, is by using pesticides."Unless you do organic, that's one sure way to keep pests out," Martinez said.Through an experiment with other master gardeners, Martinez said she also found some bugs dislike certain colors, so using colored mulch can sometimes discourage them from invading.For example, red mulch will help tomato plants grow stronger while silver mulch is offensive to many predator bugs, she said.Another thing gardeners can do to help prevent bug infestations is to make sure there is adequate room between plants."As home gardeners, sometimes our instinct is to cram as many plants as we can into a small space, and that can backfire," Martinez said.By planting too close together, adequate airflow is reduced, increasing moisture and making the plants more attractive to bugs, she said.

Veva Martsolf of Mount Chestnut has been using the same bug repellant for her garden for many years.Martsolf is not a Penn State master gardener, but said she knows what works and uses it.She affectionately refers to the homemade repellent as Rid Bugs and claims it eliminates everything from the common plant pest to Japanese beetles."It's quite simple and I use it quite often because it works well," Martsolf said.The concoction consists of just three ingredients: 1 gallon water, 1 cup mouthwash (any kind) and 1 cup liquid dish soap.Martsolf said the ingredients should be mixed together and then sprayed on the tops and undersides of plant leaves. A hand-spray bottle can be used to administer it, as well as a hose sprayer. Either method works just as well, she said.If the mixture isn't quite strong enough to kill some pests, Martsolf suggested adding a few more secret ingredients.By adding 2 ounces of hot sauce, or ½ cup of pepper juice or ½ cup of garlic juice, pesky bugs like Japanese beetles usually are motivated to find something else to snack on, she said.When all else fails, Martsolf said ½ cup to 1 cup of pure chewing tobacco juice will kill the bugs.Tobacco juice is considered a natural pesticide and should not be sprayed directly on food plants, she said. It is fine to use it on other plants that will not be consumed."You don't have to chew tobacco to get the juice," Martsolf joked. "Just soak tobacco leaves in water and you'll get what you need."

Bugs aren't the only predators of garden vegetables, plants and trees.Deer, moles and other small mammals also can do their fair share of damage.Sharon Swartzlander of Fenelton found a unique way to keep deer away from her trees - hanging Ivory soap on them.Swartzlander said the tip was given to her a few years ago by a nursery worker who swore it was effective."He was right, it works," Swartzlander said. "What I do is put mine in an old pair of pantyhose and then tie it to the tree with a twisty-tie."One bar per tree is usually enough to deter the deer, she said.She also said she's found it doesn't have to be specifically Ivory brand soap."I've used other brands and found they work, too," she said.Another tip she received from the Pennsylvania Conservation and Wildlife office is to soak cotton balls in ammonia and place them around areas where skunks and raccoons are invading and doing damage."It does work," she said. "I've been doing it for a few days now and it keeps them out."Pete Hale, a Penn State master gardener from Sarver, said he's heard of the soap trick for deer and said it does work."There's actually a brand of soap you can buy that's made specifically for it," he said. " 'Consumer Reports' did a huge story on it a few years back and indicated it does work."If soap doesn't get the job done, Hale suggested a fence made with fishing line wrapped around fence posts instead of electric wire or other conventional fencing material.

Once the fence posts are up, use two lines of fish wire to wrap around it, creating a barrier.Hale said the lower strand should be at least 2 feet off the ground."It works because the deer supposedly cannot see the fish wire, but when they run into it, they back off," Hale said. "I've had people swear this works well."As for some other home remedies, Hale said gardeners have to be careful which ones they choose to try because not all of them work."There are some good ones out there that do work, but 99 percent of them are just pure bunk," he said. "They make no sense to me."Martinez said while some home remedies don't work, many of them do and are worth trying.A friend of hers swears that using human hair around plants being invaded by critters such as rabbits and groundhogs helps protect them."I think the feel of (the hair) keeps groundhogs and rabbits out," she said. "It's completely foreign to them and not something they'd naturally run into in their environment, so it's a real turn-off to them when they come in contact with it."As far as other home remedies, Martinez said her philosophy is it can't hurt to try anything once."Some of them work and some of them don't," she said. "We all have these things in our homes, so why not give it a try? I think it's fun to experiment with some of them to find out what works."For more tips from the master gardeners, visit http://butler.extension.psu.edu.