Help! Need info on Natural pest relief!

There are two types of plants that I use to combat ants in the garden.
I have pets and do not like making use of insectidices. Thus I plant Tagetes minuta (related to marigolds and also known as the Stinking Roger) and Tanacetum vulgare (Tansy)
The Tagetes minuta has a pungent smell and is quite effective in keepting insects at bay. It can be used dry, as well as crushed and crumbled. I usually make use of the leaves and flower heads in this way.
I sprinlkle it down the entrances to the nests of the ants that are causing the problems.

I also make use of Tagetes SPRAY - which I make myself. I fill a bucket with fresh Tagetes leaves and stems roughly chopped up. COver with boiling water and then I leave it to cool and stand overnight.
Next morning I strain it and add a half cup of soap powder to every bucket of liquid and mix thoroughly.
this liquid can also be poured down the ant nests.
Preferable repeat this treatment for three days running.
Decant some of the liquid into a spray bottle (SPRAY) and spray onto vegetables to chase aphids away.
Spray on windowsills to keep mozzies at bay. It even irritates ticks and fleas. Thus I use if on my pets' blankets and I usually tuck a fresh Tagetes plant under their bedding..
Good golly I even go so far as to wash the dogs with Tagetes minuta - they are always tick and flea free.
I usually take a half bucket of tagetes and then cover it with a full bucket of boiling water. I then leave it to cool until it is pleasant to the touch and not cold then I strain it.
I then use whis tagetes water as a final rinse after bathing the dogs.

DO give it a try. I hope it works for you as it certainly does for me.

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Backyard Landscape Design

Hi
If you can, try out a systematic way of cohabiting with your bugs. The following method takes some time, but is quite effective, though not 100% fool proof.

Do not plant the same or related plants together in extended rows - for e.g. tomatoes, potatoes, capsicum (peppers), egg plant are all related and suffer from the same diseases.
Plant onions, Garlic, coriander and mint after every two / three rows of veggies. Also plant nepeta, marigolds and pyrethrum interspersed with your other plants.

Get hold of Azadirachtin that occurs naturally in the Indian neem tree. It does not harm earthworms or beneficial insects such as bees and ladybugs, but knocks out pretty much everything else. Ants & wasps are repelled but not killed.

Spray all your plants with dilute soap solution (body soap). You can use old bits of soap that you normally throw away; put them in lukewarm water so that the solution is just soapy to touch. Its effective against aphids, mealy bugs and completely harmless to the environment. It also contains plenty of potassium, which is a fertiliser.

Nepeta leaves (catnip / catmint) drive out cockroaches, mosquitoes and house flies. Always keep some dried leaves in the corners of your kitchen and storage areas.

Lastly never plant the same plants in the same ground year after year.

Sorry about the long post. Hope it helps

Happy gardening