[A]s I was watering the garden this morning, and carefully inspecting the plants, I noticed the first signs of aphids in the peppers! Given the mild winter, I fear that we may have trouble with pests this year — and that’s just the reality of growing your own. While there are many, many commercially-prepared products that sit on the shelves of my local nursery…I am committed to natural gardening (and saving money); therefore, I have learned how to make my own organic insecticides using the contents of my kitchen!
Give these simple recipes a go if you find an unwanted insects crawlin’ around your precious plants.
Homemade All-Purpose Insecticide Spray
The Ingredients
- 15 cloves garlic
- 1 onion
- 3 cayenne peppers (or 3 jalapeno peppers or 1 tablespoon cayenne powder)
- 1/2 teaspoon liquid castile soap (fragrance free)
- 4 cups warm water
Method
1. In a blender combine the water, garlic, onion, and peppers and puree.
2. Pour the mixture into a glass jar, secure the lid, and steep for 6-24 hours on the counter.
3. Strain through a cheesecloth, then add the liquid castile soap and mix well.
4. Load the mixture into a spray bottle and you’re good to go.
To Use
I love this recipe! Try it on a host of pests in your garden and feel free to adjust it as needed with other insect repellent herbs. Spray the tops and bottoms of the leaves, throughly coating them. Store this mixture in the fridge and if it is strained well, it should keep for at least 1-2 months. Note: Be sure to test a patch prior to spraying the entire plant. Take care not to get this on your skin or in your eyes, the cayenne pepper will burn.
Basic Insecticidal Soap
The Ingredients
- 1 1/2 teaspoon any type of liquid soap (i.e. castile, dish washing soap, ivory, etc.)
- 1 quart water
Method
1. Combine all ingredient in a spray bottle.
To Use
Set the spray bottle nozzle to stream and spray infested areas of the foliage. This insecticidal soap works great against some of the most common garden pests such as: aphids, earworms, borers, mites, whiteflies, maggots, moths, and beetles. Note: By adding 1/4 cup of isopropyl alcohol to the above recipe you can create a very mild but effective insecticidal soap that treats scale insects. The alcohol works against the scale’s shell.
Spider Mite Spray
The Ingredients
- 1/8 cup buttermilk
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 1/4 gallon of water
Method
1. In a bucket combine all of the ingredients and mix completely.
2. Load into a spray bottle.
To Use
Spray this homemade Spider Mite Spray anywhere spider mites are living or crawling. The mixture should rid your garden of all types of mites.
Notes
-Before you set out into the garden to eradicate it…get to know the insects in your area. There are so many bugs living in our little backyard ecosystems — otherwise known as the garden — that are beneficial and need to be protected. Knowing which bugs are there to help your cause and those that are there to destroy it, is a very important part to harvesting a successful crop. Read more here…
-Learn the benefits of companion planting, and plant herbs and flowers that will attract an army beneficial insects to help you take out the bad guys. Read more here…
-Be sure your plants and veggies are well fed. Fertilizing as needed – with worm castings, compost, fish emulsion, or seaweed – will create healthy plants with “strong immune systems.” Just like humans, plants that are rooted in good, healthy, and nutritious soil will produce a greater resistance to attacks from insects, pests, rot, fungi, and mildew. Read more here… Note: Take care with fertilizer…over use comes with it’s own problems too. It’s all about finding that balance.
Now it’s your turn! Please share your recipes or tips for naturally managing pests in your garden.
Be sure not to miss a post, click this link to receive my free eBook and Frugally Sustainable tips by email.
This post was shared here: Monday Mania, New Nostalgia
Excellent information. I can’t wait to try it out in my garden. Thanks!
Oooh! Pinned.
Neat! I may very well need this recipe! Have you used it before? How effective is it?
Sandi
Hi Sandi! Yes, I used the All-Purpose Spray last year and now again this year with great success.
Do you have any recipes for natural tick and wasp pesticides?
Thank you for these recipes, pinned and saved. Will definitely give them a try if needed. I’m also planning on experimenting w/ planting herbs / flowers this year, to keep pests away (http://thecountrybasket.com/my-vegetable-garden-how-i-planted-and-the-results-part-1/) so hopefully that will work. If not, your recipes will come in handy. Thanks again!
Thank you for sharing these recipes.
This is great info, thanks so much for sharing. I am dedicated this year to learning and implementing organic gardening. It can be somewhat overwhelming to learn it all. Your info is concise and really easy to understand for someone as new as me! Thanks so much. Pinning and saving your site. Fabulous!
question regards to the spider mite spray.. i’ve had problems in the past with mites and aphids so always looking for safe treatments. used the garlic water last year with mixed results (didn’t add soap to that version..) but I can not have wheat flour in the house and definitely not putting it anywhere near anything i’d be wanting to eat. for me, wheat is poison. is there an alternative for that?? am going to add the soap to the garlic mixture this year (book i found last year didn’t include it..)
I just found your site, and I love it! We have been organic gardening for several years and have gotten lucky with no pests. With this year’s early spring in Wisconsin, however, it’s going to extend the growing season and probably bring many more non-beneficial bugs. Thank you so much for posting these. My husband and I will be following your blog from now on!
I’ve tried using vinegar as a weed killer in the past but it didn’t seem to do anything. I’ve used a much more concentrated version of the insecticidal soap you listed and it got right of the spider mites on my sage within a day! I still have trouble with fungus flies, though. I’ll have to try the cayenne pepper and garlic. I bet it will kill their eggs if spread in the dirt.
Rachel…..pour boiling water on the weeds…….free & foolproof.
You need Horticultural Grade vinegar to be very effective when used as a weed killer. Many nurseries or feed stores carry it.
Rachel, I’ve used just regular white venegar but after I sprayed it on the weeds, I sprinkled table salt on them. They turn yellow within 24 hours and it has been really effective for me!
oooops, make that ‘vinegar’!
Yep, 9% white vinegar in a spray bottle and then cover the leaves with table salt. I’m highly allergic to posion ivy and this has worked like a charm on some of the largest plants!
Hi Andrea,
it is so tough finding good insect control, naturally. I can’t wait to try your all purpose spray recipe! May I share it on my blog?
Oh yes! Please share it Anne-Marie…the more people that can use it the better
Thanks!
Do you have any recipes for repelling ticks? On vacation, both my 5 year old and 10 year old daughters got two ticks each, and my wife got one (I’m not sweet enough, apparently). We pulled each one out, but would like a preventative solution, if possible. Thanks!
It might be kinda weird sounding but garlic helps prevent them. My dad took garlic pills for a while to help with masquitos too though I doubt a 5 yr old would take one
And who makes the choice? A 5 year old decides? Get a spine parent!
Wow, you sound like a really big asshat, cunt.
And who makes the choice? A 5 year old decides?
Just curious, but does the all-purpose smell absolutely awful??
Just a caution: never use grease-cutting dishwashing liquid on plants (like Dawn) there is something in them that burns the leaves.
I unfortunately found out that using Dawn was not a good idea. Had to replant a few plants as a result.
Try using Castile soap. Should work well for you!
Wow…..amazing info, Thanks for sharing it
THANK YOU! I have been battling aphids on my roses for the last two years and have tried everything! I am making the insecticide spray tomorrow!
Do any of these work on ants? They’re my biggest problem!
Use corn meal on ants, they can’t digest it but they carry it back to their nest and within a few days/weeks they will all die off and doesn’t use any harmful chemicals.
LOVE LOVE LIVE all organic products. Thank you so much for sharing your wonderful ideas. My sister who is still living in Las Vegas, (I recently moved from there to KY) has had no response from other products getting rid of bugs on her house herbs and plants. Do you mind if i share this with her?
To those asking about flea and tick info, I will get the recipe from my wonderful essential oil and herb guru. She has great recipes and they are cheap, organic and safe. Stay tuned…
Jill
how do i organically rid my compost pile of fire ants?
I had an infestation of ants in my compost bin but mine is one of the tumbler types. I poured quite a few pan fulls of boiling water over them.. Got rid of them just fine.
We used to have fire ants when I lived in Texas.. boiling water to their den works great but they’ll move somewhere else.. Also, I’ve heard that DE http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diatomaceous_earth works really good for fire ants. A friend had an infestation in her yard and they were killing her dogs.. We shared a 50# bag & she just scattered it all over the yard and they died or left.
While you can get it in small cans at garden centers, if you have a farm & ranch store close by, they can order large bags for almost the same price of the commercialized cans.
I’ve also heard that you can use corn meal to kill ants of any sort..
Hope this helps! Good luck.. I know those fire ants are bad hombres.
Fantastic! The photo is going to have me scratching all night, but love the detail. Can’t wait to try the recipe on my veggies. My kids eat the herbs and veggies straight from the garden, so we are organic all the way! FYI – I tried an organic gardening experiment using craft netting around one tomato cage and not another. The results were crazy! You might like to try this next season: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=3770934345593&set=a.1169666515523.2026291.1043774359&type=1&theater
(I blogged about organic gardening on my business’ blog in March for using fabrics to protect against critters, etc. This link above is to my personal garden experiment.)
Thanks for the info.. Just wondering… Does anyone know how safe these are to use near my beehives?
We use 1/2 cup sugar to 1 gallon of water sprayed before 10am or after 6pm (time when leaves of plant absorb the moisture) This raises the Brix level of the plant tricking the bugs into thinking the plant is healthy, Should bug eat anyway, it explodes from gas build up – can’t burp lol. I also feed plants at the same time with liquid kelp, fish emulsion and add a teaspoon vinegar, cup of DE and and enzyme to aid in sticking… few drops of Joy dish soap or castile would also work.
Do you think this could be used to tricks cats? My year old kittens eat a few of our houseplants. Thank you
Will this work on Cabbage Lopers?
Excellent!! My cilantro was devoured by these “lice” that shows your blog. And I have all the ingredients right
Thousand Thanks!
I have a recipe for mites, may work on other pests as well.
Using 1 gallon ( 4 liters ) of water, add 5 ml of Rosemary essential oil
then add 5 drops of a soft soap like Ivory dish soap. Mix well and apply.
The amount of soap ( surfactant ) is up to the user. I never really know how
much soap to add personally and I use organic castille instead of dish soap.
I think more castille can be used since it’s much more mild.
Rosemary is a very powerful anti-oxidant.
Try sniffing it like glue and let yourself drift into bliss.
Journey
PS> Make sure the soap does NOT contain an anti-bacterial.
Journey
Do you have a recipe for house plants? My plants soil has little black bugs that fly.
are there any environmental concerns with using the soap? Would a biodegradable soap work just as well? My plants are in a small planter that has contained soil.
Have you ever tried dichotomous earth, not only does it kill every single kind of bug, including bed bugs, ..you can eat it, feed it to your cats and dogs, totally harmless to mammals,..it is the perfect pesticide,..Google that
For those interested, it’s “diatomaceous earth.” Also can be used as a flea killer on pets, but be sure to use the correct kind. The kind for pool filters is dangerous and toxic to pets.
Me, too, on the houseplants. I tried a Pinterest homemade pesticide on those little black flying bugs and nearly killed half my plants. The buds all fell off the Christmas cactus.
I have African violets so spraying is a problem period.
if you still have little black flying bugs you may want to look around for black carpet beetles, use a magnifing glass.
if you still have little black flying bugs you may want to look around for black carpet beetles, use a magnifing glass.
Just set up my first Veggie Patch so will definately be using this once those pesky aphids start trying to attach my plants!!
wasp spray is a squirt bottle of karosene.
period
the corporate creeps Never needed to add nerve gas component like they did and then call it “Wasp” anything.
just straight karosene kills a wasp So Fast it literally knocks them out of the air.
it was never the nerve gas components, it was pressurinze karosene all the time.
peace, and try to not hose karosene around, it can stain things like paint.
What can I do to keep the rabbits from eating my tulips that are just sprouting out of the ground? Thanks!
Do not use anything around your pets that you are warned not to get on your skin or in your eyes (hot peppers etc). Keep in mind that animals can’t just run and wash out their eyes or paws and will likely lick themselves clean..resulting in a burning mouth etc. it can cause severe damage to eyes etc. so be extrenely careful.
any ideas on what would work for earwigs?!! since they built the “new” high school in our community we have thousands of them creepy little pinching buggers everywhere. would love any hints on naturally getting rid of them and keeping them out of my house ! thank you !
Would the garlic onion spray leave a flavor? I’d liketo use it on strawberries but don’t want them to taste like onion
For the people asking about the fungal mites (little black flies) that are a problem with indoor potted plants, try beneficial nematodes. A soap-based spray will help knock down the adults, but for long-term control, you really need the beneficial nematodes in the soil to kill all life stages. Fungal mites are a result of moist soil, but luckily the beneficial nematodes thrive in the same environment. (I looked at them under a microscope at work before adding them to my plants- so cool, “worms” moving around!)
As for the DE, it’s organic and safe in most cases, but be careful that it does not get inhaled (especially by kids and pets), as it can be harmful to the lungs. I’d also be concerned about killing the beneficial organisms in your garden and soil.
Thanks!! Excellent text …great information …!.
Thanks!! Excellent text …great information!
How about aggressive sow bugs? I use Neem and Sluggo, but would like to try something else. Preferably more cost effective- Sluggo is now $25, but worth knowing I won’t loose everything.
“1 1/2 teaspoon any type of liquid soap (i.e. castile, dish washing soap, ivory, etc.)
1 quart water” I have issues with the amount of soap you are suggesting in such a small amount of water. Normally, a few drops in plenty. And please TEST an area before you spray everything! Also never spray these solution in the heat of the day. Either early in the morning or late in the afternoon. The sun intensifies the effects and can burn your plants.
I have over 30 years experience as an organic only gardener, I am a former certified VA Master Gardener as well. These home remedies are very effective, but like any toxin (and they are toxic) you need to use caution and some common sense to your application.
Today I used the apple cider vinegar/salt/Dawn soap mix for the weeds and within 2 hours I saw them wilting
Hi, I’m from Sydney, Australia and cannot wait to put these recipes to use in my garden. Just one question, you mentioned Castile soap, what would that be comparable to as we don’t have that brand here in Australia? thanks
Corn meal works great with killing ants and the colony. I get huge ant hills in my yard and I have 3 small children. Sprinkle corn meal near or on ant hill, they will take it back to the nest, eat it and die. Great ideas on natural bug killers, can’t wait to try.
I used the garlic, cayenne etc. spray on a horrible infestation on my plum trees. I had a bumper crop of plums that year and continue to get plums than I ever wanted! The bugs were dropping like raindrops!
What do you suggest to get rid of snails and slugs?
I tried sprinkling coarse sea salt in my flower garden hoping to get rid of snails….they are not as bad as they were, but not all gone….yet.
I need a insect spray for my apple trees and grapes. Then I also need to kbnow how much and when to spray. They have not been sprayed with anything in ove 10 years and I want to go “organic”, thanks
Great information I am going to share with my followers. I see a past question as to whether the garlic leaves a taste on food plants. Any input on that?
Does borax work the same as the castile soap?
I suppose I’ve selected an unbelievable and interesting blog.