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Bleach Does Not Control Soil Pests—And Can Harm Soil

A weak bleach solution won’t control soil pests. Bleach rapidly decomposes organic matter, turning into salt that damages roots and hardens soil. It only affects the top few inches. Your reseeding red currant tomatoes won’t be hurt, but the treatment is pointless.

About Gardening: Fungus Gnats: Simple Alcohol-Soap Spray and Soil Drying; Correcting Geranium Flower Color Shift with Soil pH Adjustment; Troubleshooting Yellowing Patio Tomatoes in Desert Climates; Container Tomatoes on a Deck: Varieties, Soil & Calcium Tricks; Home Pest Prevention: Exclusion, Sanitation & When to Call Pros; Why Professional Pest Control Benefits Your Home AND the Environment; Operation Pest Control: Low-Tech, Effective Strategies for the Garden; Controlling Zoysiagrass Creeping into Asphalt Driveways; Managing Moles: Why Traps Fail and What Actually Works; Ant Control in a Loft: Baits Beat Sprays

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