Do you often find insects like thrips, aphid, mealybugs, leaf-miners etc., infesting your garden plants and eventually destroying them? Well, insect infestation in plants is a plant lover’s biggest nightmare. But there are ways to get rid of these pesky creatures. No, you do not need to buy insecticides or pesticides from the store! Simply make them at home and yes, I will give you simple homemade pesticides that are all natural and actually work! Check them out below.
8 Natural Pesticides for Your Garden
1. Eucalyptus Oil
This pesticide can help get rid of ants, bugs and many other types of insects. To make it, you will need to mix together in a spray bottle, 2 teaspoons of eucalyptus oil, 4 cups o water and 1 teaspoon of a mild non-bleach dishwashing soap. Spray over the infected areas and repeat every three days.
Eucalyptus oil repels mosquitoes, ants, gnats and kills aphids, whiteflies, mites, and earwigs.
2. Pepper Spray
Pepper spray is effective in killing insects by damaging their membrane and disrupting their metabolism.
You can mix together in a bucket, 4 litres of water, along with 6 drops of mild dishwashing soap (without bleach) and 2 tablespoons of red chilli powder (or paprika or red cayenne pepper powder). Mix it well and pour into a spray bottle. Spray over the infected area and repeat every 3 to 5 days.
Caution: Since this pesticide contains pepper, it is important to be mindful and wear gloves and a mask before using it to spray your plants.
Pepper spray is good against spider mites, aphids, and deer.
3. Dishwashing Soap
This natural pesticide can help get rid of bugs. You will need to mix 1.5 teaspoon of any mild dishwashing soap (without bleach) with 4 cups of water and pour into a spray bottle. Spray over the area of the plant that’s infected (make sure to get under the leaves too). Repeat once every week until the bugs leave the plant.
The dish dish is good against aphids, mites, beetles, and whiteflies.
4. Neem Oil
This pesticide is best used to treat young plants or saplings to prevent insect infestation. You can mix together 4 cups of warm water in a spray bottle, along with 1 teaspoon of neem oil and 2 teaspoons of mild dishwashing soap (without bleach). Spray the plant, once in every 22 days.
Neem oil is effective against 600 insects. Some of them are caterpillars, aphids, beetles, mealybugs, scale, and thrip.
5. Vegetable Oil
This pesticide helps cover the body of the insect and suffocates it, thereby killing it. You will need to combine ½ a cup of vegetable oil with ½ a tablespoon of a mild non-bleach dishwashing soap and store in a container.
When you need to use it, take 4 cups of water in a spray bottle, add in two teaspoons of the mixture, shake well and spray it over the infected area of the plant. Repeat every 7 days.
Vegetable oil is good against aphids, beetles, whiteflies, thrips, and mites.
6. Garlic
Garlic is famous for its aroma, which people either love or hate. It’s exactly this aroma that puts garlic on the list of organic pesticides for vegetables.
Take two garlic cloves and put them in a blender or a food processor with a little water. Let it sit overnight, then strain. Add a teaspoon of liquid soap and a half cup of vegetable oil. Put in enough water to fill a cup.
Garlic spray is good against ants, slugs, aphids, beetles, and whiteflies.
7. Vinegar
If you’ve got snails fruit flies, ants, slugs and moths ruining your plants, then use this spray. Mix together 3 parts of water and 1 part of vinegar in a spray bottle. Add in 1 teaspoon of dishwashing soap (without bleach), shake it well and spray over the infected areas of the plant. Repeat every 10 to 12 days.
Vinegar is good against slugs, snails, moths, ants, and fruit flies.
8. Diatomaceous Earth
This powder is a natura substance and it affects the respiratory system of the insects and dehydrates them until they die.
So, all you need is a horticulture grade of diatomaceous earth powder and dust it all over the mud/garden bed around your pants. Repeat every 4 days until the insects disappear.
Reminder: Make sure to use a mask and gloves before beginning this process.
Diatomaceous earth is good against snails, ants, and slugs.
Caution:
Note for all homemade pesticides: Spray these pesticides on the plants only in the mornings before the sun rises or late evening after the sun sets. Do not spray it during the day (when the sun is at its peak) or mid-afternoon, as that’s when the plants are exposed to harsh sunlight.