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by Alea Milham4 Comments
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If you are trying to control insects in your yard and garden, try one of these homemade bugsprayrecipes.
Insectscan quickly take over a garden and getting rid of them can run a hefty bill while dousing your harvest in chemicals. You can make many insect repellentsfor your garden at home for a fraction of the cost without all of the chemicals you do not want around your family. Matchone of the DIY insecticides below to your need to help eliminate pests from your home garden.
5 Homemade Bug Spray Recipes
Homemade Pyrethrum Spray Recipe
Insects like aphids and thrips eataway at your garden literally sucking the life out of your plants.
Ingredients:
⅔ cup powdered pyrethrum flowers
1 gallon water
4-5 drops Dawn dish detergent
Instructions: Collect pyrethrum flowers and dry them in the oven on the lowest setting. Store in an airtight container and grind as needed to make a powder. Mix water and powdered pyrethrum together in a jug and shake well. Filter through a reusable coffee filter or flour sack towel. Add soap and spray the plants well in the evening or early morning. If you have outdoor allergies, wear a dust mask while working with pyrethrum powder.
Homemade Leaf Miner Spray Recipe
If you find winding trails in your plants leaves you can get rid of the cause by smothering the leaf miners.You can alter the quantities, but keep the ratio of2 parts molasses to 6 parts water.
Ingredients:
1/4cup Molasses
1 1/2cups water
Instructions: Combine the molasses and water in spray bottle.Shake well before using and pray on any plants affected by leaf miners.
Ammonia can help control aphids and whiteflies. You can alter the quantities, but keep the ratio of 1 part ammonia to 8 parts water.
Ingredients:
1/4cup Ammonia
2cups water
Instructions: Combine the ammonia and water in a spray bottle. Shake well before using. Apply gently in a test area and wait overnight to see if it burns the plant. If the plant is doing well the next evening treat the plant with this spray.
Homemade Insecticidal Soap Recipe
You can use this recipe just like commercial insecticidal soaps.
Ingredients:
⅛ cup baking soda
3 to 4 drops original Dawn dish detergent or castile soap
2 cups water
Instructions: Mix well and spray infected plants liberally. Be sure to spray in the evening to prevent the sun from burning your plants.
Hot Pepper Bug Spray Recipe
This helps keep bugs away as well as unwanted animals such as cats, dogs, and rabbits. Wear gloves while working with this one.
Ingredients:
1/2 cup pureed hot peppers
2 cups water
Instructions: Mixthe peppers and water in a spray bottle. Shake well and apply aroundthe areas you want to protect for about a week straight. The bugs and animals you are trying to keep away will lose interest and stop coming around.
Let us know which of these homemade bug spray recipes you have used and share your results with us.
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About Alea Milham
Alea Milham is the owner of Premeditated Leftovers and the author of Prep-Ahead Meals from Scatch. She shares her tips for saving money and time while reducing waste in her home. Her favorite hobby, gardening, is a frugal source of organic produce for her recipes. She believes it is possible to live fully and eat well while spending less.
Comments
Lilysays
Ty
Reply
Chrissays
Are these safe for bees?
Reply
Ricksays
Oh, yes. I use these concocctions all the time. The ammonia and vinegar solution cause the bee to stay away until they dicipate and the flowers have been rained on. A bee is a tough, resilent insect. None of these natural, biodegradable solutions harm bees. Commercial pesticides are the problems with bees and butterflies and lady bugs. None of these will harm any beneficial insect in your garden. Just don’t spray any of these directly on a butterfly. Any thing other than water will degrade the silk on there wings.
Reply
Ricksays
Some of these are mold inhibitors, which decrease white flies as they secrete a honeydew that encourages mold and mildew to propagate. I never like to kill ladybugs either. They are so beneficial to the health of your flora. One ladybug will eat 10 affids per day. Mantis and walking sticks are good to have around too. Any insect with a stiff cuticle are little affected by any of these ingriedients. Bees always shy away from vinegar until it’s odor has evaporated completely.
One of the easiest homemade bug sprays, simply mix one cup of white vinegar, at Walmart, with three cups of water. You can also add half a teaspoon of dishwashing soap to help the solution adhere. Shake thoroughly and apply to the affected areas.
Vinegar, witch hazel, and essential oil: Combine ¼ cup apple cider vinegar, ¼ witch hazel, and 20 drops of any essential oil such as rosemary, citronella, tea tree, cedar, eucalyptus, or lemongrass. Fill a spray container halfway with the mixture and shake well before using.
Lemongrass or citronella oil, and 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar. 1 cup isopropyl alcohol, 1 cup water, ½ tsp. catnip oil. 1 cup alcohol or witch hazel and 10-20 drops of essential oils such as lemongrass, peppermint, or lemon eucalyptus.
Blend 15 drops citronella essential oil, 10 drops lemongrass essential oil, and 5 drops eucalyptus essential oil with 1/4 cup witch hazel to make a powerful insect repellant. Pour the liquid into an empty spray bottle and shake properly. For further potency, add 1 tablespoon of neem oil.
Instructions: In a clean spray bottle, combine 1 tablespoon of dish soap and 1 tablespoon of vinegar. Gently pour 1 quart (4 cups) of water into the spray bottle with the soap-vinegar mixture. Secure the spray bottle cap tightly and shake the solution well to ensure thorough mixing.
For a "foolproof recipe" that banishes mosquitoes, combine 1/3 cup witch hazel and 1/3 cup water with 40 drops of eucalyptus essential oil. "Mosquitoes detest the strong aroma of eucalyptus, so this easy homemade mosquito repellent is sure to be a winner," says Harlow-Ellis.
Mosquitoes are turned off by several natural scents, including citronella, peppermint, cedar, catnip, patchouli, lemongrass, lavender and more. You can add some of these plants to your landscaping to fend them off.
To prepare this, mix 10 ml of lemon eucalyptus oil with 90 ml of carrier oil of your choice (Preferably coconut oil or olive oil) and shake the bottle well. To make the spray less intense, you can add distilled water and vodka to it.
Mix 1 part oil of lemon eucalyptus or lavender essential oil with 10 parts witch hazel in the bottle. (For each drop of oil, use 10 drops of witch hazel.) Shake gently to mix. Spray to apply.
Bugs hate the smells associated with repellency, such as lavender, citronella, vinegar, peppermint, and geranium. These oils are considered a natural way of driving away bugs from your home without harming you, your family, and other animals.
Insecticides are used to control insect infestations. Some insecticides are incorporated into the soil (to treat grubs, worms, and other soil dwelling pests), while others are applied directly to plant foliage (to treat moths, aphids, and other above-ground pests).
DEET, picaridin, IR3535, and oil of lemon eucalyptus are referred to in this fact sheet as common insect repellents. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends using products with one of these EPA registered ingredients. They can be applied to human skin and some can be used on clothing.
These elements are safe for humans (provided you do not eat them), but poisonous for pests and damages their exoskeletons. Placing these chemicals around areas commonly associated with pests can prevent them from entering your home, and kill those that do.
Vinegar can sometimes be effective; however, using vinegar for pest control is generally a short-term effort to control pests since it is not effective as a long-term treatment against serious pest infestations and will not keep pests completely away from your property.
Both apple cider vinegar and white vinegar are a good base for an insect repellent, as they deter flies and, combined with specific essential oils, will deter mosquitoes and ticks as well. Oils that have excellent repellent properties include geranium, lemongrass, citronella, rosemary and lavender.
This simple ingredient is a great, safe way to help prevent and get rid of pests. Mix equal parts water and apple cider vinegar and pour it into a spray bottle.
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