5 Natural Home-Made Pesticide Recipes

There’s no doubt, a few bugs can ruin a great garden.  Yet if you don’t like the idea of consuming poisons with your fruits and vegetables, you’re probably a bit wary of spraying your garden with chemical pesticides.  The good news is there are several natural steps you can take to eliminate garden pests, including making your own pesticides for your organic garden.  Here are five natural pesticides you can safely make at home.

Spray bottle - you'll need one for most recipes. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

1.  Tobacco Spray

To combat caterpillars, aphids, and several types of worms, mix a gallon of water and a cup of tobacco.  Allow the mixture to set for a day, until it resembles weak tea.  Spray on your garden vegetables.  However, avoid your peppers, tomatoes, eggplants, or any other member of the solanaceous family, as the tobacco spray can kill them.

2.  Garlic Pepper Spray

To combat slugs and a number of other insects, mix together one minced garlic bulb, one minced onion, one quart of water, a tablespoon of cayenne pepper and a tablespoon of dish soap.  Spray veggies to protect against bugs. 

3.  Liquid Dish Soap Spray

This pesticide works quite well on mites for both indoor and outdoor plants. Use natural, biodegradable soaps or something like Murphy’s Oil soap.  Mix one cup of soap with one gallon of water.  Pour into a spray bottle and mist the leaves of plants.  Take care not to overuse because it can slow the growth of fruits and vegetables.  However, it is ideal for indoor household plants. 

4.  Horseradish Spray

Cayenne Pepper. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

To kill aphids, blister beetles, Colorado beetles and whiteflies, a spicy horseradish spray will get the job done.  Add two cups of diced cayenne peppers, a one-inch piece of chopped horseradish, and two cups of geranium leaves to three quarts of boiling water.  Remove from burner and let steep for one hour.  Strain and add cooled mixture to spray bottles.  Spray garden plants to get rid of bugs.

5.  Yarrow Tea Spray

Great for aphids and other pests, yarrow works quite well as a deterrent when applied every week or so to your garden vegetables.  Steep one cup of chopped yarrow in a quart of water for about a day.  You can steep it in the sun in a glass container.  Strain the mixture, add a cup of coffee and a ¼ teaspoon of liquid dish detergent to help the material adhere to leaves.  Pour into spray bottle and chase those pests away.

There’s no reason to let your garden go to the bugs in lieu of using chemical pesticides.  Chances are you have the makings for a great bug spray in your home right now.  Try one of these home-made pesticides and get rid of bugs naturally and safely.

Got your own recipes that work for you? Feel free to share below!

Keeping Mosquitoes Out of Your Summer Garden

Our summer gardens are filled with all kinds of pests at one time or another. One pest that has potentially nasty health consequences to many species that may be welcome additions to your summer garden habitat is the very unwelcome mosquito. Keep reading to discover steps you can take to keep mosquitoes from invading your personal space and keep friends, families, and animals safe and protected in your summer garden, without using toxic chemical sprays.

Image via WikipediaOne way to minimize your exposure to mosquitoes is by minimizing their ability to procreate. They must lay eggs in still water in order to breed and you can remove as many sources of potential breeding ground as possible by keeping your lawn and summer garden area free of any debris that will allow even a minimal amount of standing water to collect after a rainfall. This means you must keep your gutters clean and free of debris, and make sure all cans and bottles are picked up and placed inside a garbage can that is lidded. Keep lids on garbage cans at all times, and change animal bowls daily.

Burn citronella oil. This is highly effective at dusk when the mosquitoes seem to be at their worst as it not only provides a natural repellant for mosquitoes so that you can enjoy your summer garden a little better but also because it provides its own mood setting light that is well suited for enjoying in a summer garden environment. In addition to the oil you can also choose to burn citronella candles and use repellants that are created to spray or rub onto the skin using natural ingredients for added protection for you and your children from these dangerous pests.

It is also possible to find natural garlic based mosquito repellants that are highly effective at making your garden inhospitable to mosquitoes, fleas, and ticks. This is a little different than citronella as it is applied to your lawn and garden area rather than burned or applied to the skin.

Another thing you can do to make your garden inhospitable to mosquitoes is to fill it with creatures that prey on mosquitoes. There is nothing like a bigger fish in the sea to run the smaller fish to different hunting grounds! Plant trees, shrubs, and bushes that attract the birds that eat mosquitoes. This will provide plenty of nutrition for these birds while diminishing the mosquito population one snack at a time. Purple Martins are well known for eating mosquitoes and a great addition to any summer garden (though not for this reason alone). (Bats also love snacking on mosquitoes at dusk!)

Image via WikipediaPlant lemon thyme in your summer garden. If you crush the leaves it is believed to be an effective repellent for mosquitoes. Choosing this plant for your garden can help you naturally repel mosquitoes without smelling bad in the process, which is something that most rubs, sprays, and oils cannot always claim.

Mosquitoes can be a huge problem in summer garden areas largely due to increased fears of West Nile Virus and other diseases they may carry from one person to the next. For this reason it is now more important than ever to control the population and limit our exposure to these harmful insects. Most of us wish to do this without adding new risks due to chemical exposure. Hopefully this article has given you plenty of natural alternatives to consider when it comes to controlling the mosquito population in your summer garden.