http://www.care2.com/greenliving/yard-garden-5-home-remedies.html
5 Simple Pest Remedies for the Garden
Adapted from A Year on The Garden Path, by Carolyn Herriot (Earthfuture/Lantern, 2005).
So often the home garden pest control remedies work as well or better than the chemical counterparts, and with the added bonus that with these formulas made of kitchen cupboard ingredients, you don’t need to worry about poisoning yourself, your pets, or your garden!
Print out these five standby remedies for yard and garden, including a natural fungicide for mildew and black spot:
Simple Soap Solution
2 Tbs. soap flakes
2 litre warm water
Dissolve soap flakes in water and apply directly to infested areas every 5-7 days. Note: Too much soap can cause burning on plants.
Pests affected: aphids, spider mites, and whiteflies.
Garlic Oil Spray
10-15 cloves of minced garlic
2 tsp. mineral oil
600 ml water
1 tsp. liquid dish soap
Soak garlic in mineral oil for 24 hours. Strain garlic out and add 600 ml water and 1 tsp. liquid dish soap. Mix thoroughly. Spray plants with this solution.
Pests affected: Aphids, spider ites, and whiteflies
Fungicide for Mildew and Black Spot
1 tsp. baking soda
1 litre water
1 tsp. soap flakes
Dissolve baking soda in 1 litre of warm water.
Add soap flakes to help solution cling to leaves. Remove infected leaves from plant, then spray top and bottom of remaining leaf surfaces to control spread of the disease.
Sticky Traps
1-2 Tbsp. Vaseline or preferably, Unpetroleum Jelly
4”x8” plastic cards or cardboard
Waterproof yellow paint
Apply paint onto both sides of the card and let it dry. Once the paint is dry, apply
Unpetroleum Jelly liberally over both sides of the card. Place the card just above the plant canopy.
Pests controlled:Flying pests, such as fungus gnats, and whiteflies.
Sowbug Traps
1 small plastic container with lid
2 Tbsp. cornmeal
Cut a small hole at the base of the container, large enough and close enough to the bottom to allow sowbugs to climb in. Place cornmeal in container. Place container into area infested with sowbugs. After feeding on the cornmeal, the bugs will drink and then explode! (Replace cornmeal frequently.)
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66 comments
add your comment »Simple spray that was the backbone of my garden bug-stopping efforts for 20 years of organic gardening:
3-4 cloves of Garlic
1/2 - 1 tsp. Cayenne
8-10 oz. Water
Blend all thoroughly and strain through cheesecloth, very fine strainer or fabric. To help it stick to the plants, add a little liquid soap or a few ounces of cow's milk. You could also add a sliver of bar soap when blending.
Put in a spray bottle. A great preventative and all-purpose bug stopper.
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To get rid of a few unwanted bugs, sprinkle the leaves of your veggies with cayenne pepper
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For your homemade insecticidle soap, if you can't find soap flakes (like Ivory) I use fragrance-free Ivory or Castile soap and grate it on a fine grater then desolve it in warm water. If you have problems with hard-shelled insects (beetles are a major problem here) you can add about 1 tsp. of rubbing or grain alcohol to your garlic spray as it will help to cut through their hard shells.
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soap flakes--like Ivory?
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One remedy for keeping those pesky worms from consuming your corn crop is to put a few drops of vegetable oil on the silk of your developing ears of corn. The moths that lay their eggs and produce those horrid corn earworms won't.
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Thanks for the tips! I'll try them this summer =)
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thanks! wasnt sure!
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You only place a very small amount of sewing machine oil directly onto the weed not into the soil! It has worked for me with no problems to the soil
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isnt it quite bad to put oil in yer soil?
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Sewing machine oil is very for weeds especially onion weed
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