[fallen angel]

I'm not a fan of garlic so I don't cook with it but I am aware it's in pretty much every pre made thing I buy nowadays.

My question is can it be grown as a deterrent to animals and insects? If so how much wouls I need to grow for this?

Many thanks.

[BabbyAnn]

garlic has its own pests and diseases (onion root fly, onion white rot) so is not a cure-all but if crushed and made into a garlic spray is good against aphids on other plants (do a test spray first before coating the entire plant in case of problems)  Not many (plant eating) animals don't like garlic

My question is can it be grown as a deterrent to animals and insects? If so how much wouls I need to grow for this?

the problem is that garlic is only ready for harvesting in July/August when you probably need it more in April-June when pests are at their most active (some garlic will store well into February/early March but thereafter the cloves will be sprouting)  You could grow between other crops such as carrots to try and mask the scent to prevent carrot fly but like all onion family, they don't like to be crowded out with other plants - and after all that, is not always a guaranteed method (the pungent smell of garlic is usually only apparent when parts of it are damaged)

It might be one of those things where you grow cloves from a single bulb and see if it was enough or not and learn from it the next time.  It might be quicker and easier to use shop bought garlic if using it to make a spray.

[fallen angel]

Thanks for the informative and quick response it looks like I may have to spray rather than grow then :-)

[Nobbie]

I tried soaking my peas in crushed garlic, the mice just enjoyed the seasoning

[Trikidiki]

Use of garlic as a pesticide is not authorised so its use would be illegal.   

[Baldy]

Use of garlic as a pesticide is not authorised so its use would be illegal.   

I use it as a nutrient... 

Pip pip,
Balders

[Trikidiki]

Use of garlic as a pesticide is not authorised so its use would be illegal.   

I use it as a nutrient... 

Pip pip,
Balders

I prefer to use it as flavouring on my beans before I pick them. 

[BabbyAnn]

Use of garlic as a pesticide is not authorised so its use would be illegal.   

Are you sure?  Not according to the RHS guide on pesticides for home gardeners

[AlaninCarlisle]

Use of garlic as a pesticide is not authorised so its use would be illegal.   

Neither is cabbage water, but that doesn't make its use illegal

[ARPoet]

Not being authorised, is not the same as being banned or illegal.

[mumofstig]

Eu law is such that you are breaking the law if you use, as a pesticide, anything that hasn't been tested and approved.

You can use many natural things/home made sprays as fertiliser or as a preventative measure - but using the same things as a pesticide is illegal. Although I think the likelihood of a gardener actually being prosecuted is very slight.

[AlaninCarlisle]

Eu law is such that you are breaking the law if you use, as a pesticide, anything that hasn't been tested and approved.

Right, so if I spray fizzy water on them as a pesticide (to drown the pesky little critters), then because fizzy water has never (to my knowledge) been authorised as a pesticide, I'd be breaking some or other EU law? 

[mumofstig]

Technically yes - stupid isn't it 

[AlaninCarlisle]

I can feel an EU hand on my collar as I type

[mumofstig]