Homemade Pesticide Recipes

[Rodge 420]

Homemade Pesticide Recipes


The Basics

It is best to use any type of spray in the early morning or the cool of evening. Do not spray when temps are above( F! Your plants may "burn" or have a reaction to what you are using in excessive heat. This is known as "phytotoxicity"

Always perform a test on a small portion of the plant material first. Wait 24 hours to observe any negative reaction. Proceed if there is no damage.

More is not better. If you are not getting good results don't increase the strength of these remedies without testing first.

Target just the area you need to treat. Be careful... try not to harm the good guys! You don't want to run off your allies.

When working with sprays or dusts always protect your exposed skin and face. Some of these ingredients can be very irritating to your skin, eyes and mucous membranes, especially any hot pepper sprays.

When working with oil sprays, follow this equation to prevent phytotoxicity: Take the current outdoor Fahrenheit temperature then add to this the percentage of humidity, if the total is more than 140 don't spray. Example: Temperature of 80( plus humidity of 67 percent equals 147, don't spray. You also do not want to spray when temps are above 80(F.


Alcohol Spray:
This spray really is great for houseplants. This especially works on mealy bugs.

1/2 cup of alcohol
2-3 tablespoons of dry laundry soap
1 quart of warm water

Mix all ingredients and spray immediately. This solution must be made fresh for each use

Ammonia Spray:
Mix one-part household ammonia with seven parts water.

Basic Sprays:
Basic Pepper Spray - Blend 1/2 cup of hot peppers with 2 cups of water. Strain and spray.
Basic Soap Spray - Mix 1 to 2 tablespoons liquid soap with 1 gallon of water and spray.

Bug Juice:
1/2 cup of specific species

Mash 1/2 cup of bugs then add two cups of water and strain. Mix 1/4 cup of this "bug juice" with 2 cups of water and a few drops of soap and spray.


*Beware: Do NOT use flies, ticks, fleas, or mosquitoes in this solution! These insects carry many communicable human diseases!

Garlic Spray:
This spray is effective against aphids, cabbage loopers, grasshoppers, June bugs, leafhoppers, mites, squash bugs, slugs and whiteflies. Never use

3 oz. minced garlic
1 oz. mineral oil
1 tsp. fish emulsion
16 oz. water
1 Tbsp. castile soap

Combine garlic and oil. Let soak for 24 hours; strain. Next, mix fish emulsion with water and castile soap. Slowly combine the garlic mixture with the fish emulsion mixture. Keep in a sealed glass container. This mixture will keep for several months. To use, mix 2 Tbsp. garlic oil mixture to 1 pint water and spray.

Horseradish Repellant:
This spray is effective on aphids, blister beetles, caterpillars, Colorado beetles, whiteflies and soft-bodied insects.

3 quarts boiling water
2 cups cayenne peppers
1 inch piece horseradish root, chopped
2 cups packed scented geranium leaves, any type, optional

Combine ingredients and let set for 1 hour, cool, strain, and spray.

Note: this can be made without the scented geranium leaves if you don't have them to spare.

Lime Spray:
This spray is effective on cucumber beetles, mites and general purpose.
1 ounce of hydrated lime
32 ounces of water
1 teaspoon of castile soap

Mix hydrated lime with water. Add soap to act as a sticking agent and insecticide. This creates an effective spray agains many insects, especially spidermites. Use up to twice a week.

Note: Lime can cause serious harm to plants if you use too much, so always spray a test plant first and watch it for a few days, to check for any adverse effects on plants.

Oil Spray:
This spray works well on Aphids, mealy bugs, mites, scales, and thrips.

1 Tbsp. liquid dish soap
1 cup vegetable oil (peanut, canola, safflower, corn, soybean, or sunflower)

Mix oil and soap. To use mixture, add 1-2 tsp. of the oil and soap mixture to one cup water, and apply to plants.

Orange Peel Spray:
This spray works well on soft bodied pests such as aphids, fungus gnats, mealy bugs and as an ant repellant.

2 cups boiling water
Peelings of on orange
A few drops castile soap

Pour boiling water over orange peels. Allow to set for 24 hours. Strain into a glass jar. Add soap and spray.

Peppermint Soap Spray:
Gnats sometimes swarm on plants, usually indoor varieties. Try this natural solution, but if the problem persists change the soil in the container.

To 1 quart of boiling water add:
1/2 Tablespoon of Dr. Bronner's Peppermint soap

Now fill a spray bottle with the mixture. While the mixture is still hot, spray it on the plant, soil and gnats!

Red Hot Pepper Spray:
This spray works well on many different types of pests.

2 handfuls fresh red cayenne peppers
1/2 gallon water
2 Tbsp. olive oil
Dash of liquid soap

Combine ingredients, and let soak for 2 days. Apply to plants.

Pepper-Garlic Spray:
This will repel many insects including whiteflies, apids, spidermites and caterpillars.

1 teaspoon of hot pepper or tobasco sauce
4 cloves of garlic
Quart of water

Combine one teaspoon of hot pepper or tobasco sauce, 4 cloves of garlic and a quart of water. Blend well in a blender and strain, with cheesecloth or nylon mesh before placing in your sprayer.

Salt Spray:
This solution is used for cabbageworms and spider mites.

2 tablespoons of salt
1 gallon of water

Mix and spray.

Soap Spray:
This solution is used for aphids, mealy bugs, mites, scales, and thrips.

3 Tbsp. liquid soap
1 gallon water

Mix ingredients and spray on plants weekly.

Note: Buy a liquid soap and not a detergent. Health food stores have liquid soaps, such as Dr. Bronner's Pure-Castile Soaps.

Spearmint-Hot Pepper-Horseradish Spray:
This works on many different kinds of bugs- too many to list!

1/2 cup of red peppers (hot)
water (read below)
1/2 cup of fresh spearmint
1/2 cup horseradish (root and leaves)
2 tablespoons of liquid detergent
1/2 cup green onion tops

Mix all of the spearmint leaves, horseradish, onion tops and peppers together with enough water to cover everything. Strain the solution. After mixing all of these, add a half-gallon of water and add the detergent also. To use this solution, mix 1/2 gallon of this solution with 1/2 gallon of water. You can use this to spray almost any plant safely. Store this mixture for a few days in a cool environment.

Tobacco or Nicotine Spray:
This mixture is great for combating many different types of bugs; especially caterpillars, aphids, and many types of worms.

1 cup of tobacco
1 gallon of water
3 tablespoons of liquid dish soap

Mix tobacco and water in container. Allow mixture to set for approximately 24 hours, then check the color. It should be the color of weak tea. If it is too light, allow to sit longer, if it is too dark, dilute with more water. Add the liquid soap to the mixture, and spray on plants.

Warning: Don't use this solution on peppers, tomatoes, eggplants, or any other member of the solanaceous family. Tobacco chemicals can kill these types of plants!


Info was provided by Rodge 420

[Storm]

Wow we have all this stuff in our kitchen

excellent info thanks!

[rangerdanger]

I had a whitefly infestation once.
The grow area wasn't 100% sealed from the outside, and all it takes is 1 pregnant female.
Anyway, I went to the store and bought a spray bottle of organic insecticide.
I followed the directions and BITCHEN all the bugs were dead.
Well, almost all.
A few weeks later, they were back in full force.
Another spraying.
This didn't do as good as the first time.
The 3rd time I sprayed was even less effective.
Eventually I could spray the whiteflies directly and it wouldn't bother them.
SHIT! What to do?
I tried beneficial insects but they didn't make a dent. A cloud of whiteflies would take to wing whenever you shook a plant.
Then I read something in ASK ED. Someone wrote in they had the same problem and got rif of the whiteflies by putting a negative ion generator in the grow room.
You've probably seen negative ion generators, they are used to cleanse air. It emits negatively charged ions which link with anything postively charged (most everything else on earth). When they attach to say a dust particle, it causes the dust particle to fall to the ground (or stick to something else positively charged, like a wall).
Whiteflies are small insects which in their adult stage are winged. They need to fly around. When negatively charged ions link with them, it makes them too heavy to fly.
So I went out and bought one, $60.00 for as good one.
Plugged it in and in a few days I was amazed. All the whiteflies were dead.
Well, almost all.
Little by little they came back. But these were different. They were bigger.

Just like with the insecticide, initially almost all the insects die.
But insects have been around for a long time, much longer than people. There are many random mutations.
A few were impervious to certain insecticides, a few were bigger, etc.
These big ones that survived for example produced bigger offspring (evolution in action).

In effect what I was doing was creating a "superior" pest, a "superbug", something anyone who uses insecticides or other remedies does.

The solution is to use a variety of methods to get rid of them. Even then you shouldn't hope you "wipe them out". But you can keep them under control by switching methods often.

P.S. how did I finally get rid of the whiteflies?

Every other day, for a month, I would get up at 4 a.m., take the plants outside and set them on a table outside and spray them with a mist from the hose, then leave them outside in the cold and dark for about a half hour.
After a month of this labor-intensive method I got rid of 'em, ALL of them. While outside they flew off to find a more hospitable location.
But a few months later another pregnant female got in again.
However, now I knew what to do.
Vary the methods. To keep them under control you need to vary the anti-bug methods.
Switch insecticides. Some kill insects with pyrethium, some use neem tree oil--there are many effective products. And spray every 2 days with insecticides to break the life cycle (most methods don't kill the eggs or larva).

The WORST pests are spider mites. They can totally ruin a crop. The only way spider mites can get into your growspace is through introducing already infested plants into your growspace, or by you handling infested plants and having the mites (which aren't insects. they're arachnids) hitch a ride on your clothes. The only way to totally get rid of mites is to shut down your growspace, vacuum and wash down all walls with a mixture of 1 cup of bleach to 1 gal. of water, and start again from scratch.

Seal your growspace from the outside, change clothes before entering your growspace, and BEFORE you have a problem, every 2 weeks spray lightly with a different insecticide to prevent an infestation.