Whether gardening purely for pleasure, competition, or to provide food for the family; there will be times when the insect population of your plot may get a little out of hand. At these times of infestation it is all to easy to turn to commercial, chemical sprays and poisons.
However many of these commercial products are indiscriminate. Killing good as well as bad insects. Also, they can cause health problems to the person spraying them, or anyone else who comes into contact with them. They are a problem to find safe storage for in the home and they’re expensive.
If you do not like labels listing poisons, toxins and warnings its time to make your own insecticides. There are endless products you can make yourself but the basic item, no gardener should be without is a Homemade Soap DeBug Spray.
You will need:
- A plant spray bottle.
- Water.
- Liquid or soft soap.
Simply mix one part soft soap with 100 parts water, shake well and spray on affected plants. The soap will smother insects making it difficult for them to respire or feed. As a bonus the soap will also make the foliage unappetising, so discouraging other pests moving onto the plant. This spray is particularly effective against aphids, the most common insect pest in many gardens. The spray action dislodges many from their plant hideaway too. In fact simply squirting aphids with water will have some affect, though not as long-lasting as using a soap spray.
You may have heard an old-fashioned method of throwing the dirty washing-up water over plants in the garden. This is based on the same principle (soaps smothering and dislodging insects while making plants unattractive to eat). However, most modern washing up liquids are now strong detergents containing anti-bacterial compounds. This approach will work now and again but repeated use of detergents may damage healthy plants so is not recommended as a regular application.
If you would like to make your own soft soap, simply grate a bar of Marseille (or other vegetable based) soap into around four litres of water. Simmer for ten minutes then decant. This is a great all round mild detergent to be used through the home, particularly in the laundry.
There are alternative sprays you can make easily at home to target particular pests but Soap DeBug Spray should be your first and most widely used. It is very economical, effective and environmentally sound.
The Catalan Gardener.
For information on other homemade insecticides and variations on making soap spray bug remover visit our website at http://www.catalangarden.com/homemade-pestcides-for-your-garden.html. For more general organic tips visit http://www.catalangarden.com.
Tags: eco pesticide, homemade insecticide, make your own insecticide, organic gardening, organic pesticide