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!

The Importance of Natural Pesticides In Your Garden

If you're reading this blog, it's probably no surprise to you that chemical pesticides are an environmental and health hazard.  Large scale commercial farmers use chemicals to kill bugs that harm their crops.  While it’s understandable to want to protect crops and maximize production, it shouldn’t be at the expense of your health or our water supply.  The good news is there are sustainable practices to keep slugs and bugs and other unwanted pests off your garden fruits and vegetables. 

Make Your Own Natural Pesticides

* To combat caterpillars, aphids, and several types of worms, mix together 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, steer clear of your peppers, tomatoes, eggplants, or any other member of the solanaceous family, as the tobacco spray can kill them.

Various land slugs (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

* 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. (For more recipes, check back Thursday.) 

Other garden pest deterrents include:

* Mechanical devices for soft-bodied pests.  Slugs and snails can destroy a garden faster than you can say slime.  However, there are a number of measures to get rid of them.  A pan of beer, copper wire, salt, egg shells, hair, and sharp rocks or shingles all deter or destroy slugs and snails without the use of chemicals.

* Carnivorous bugs.  Ladybugs are wonderful for your garden.  They eat aphids, scales, and mites.

* Finally, many plants work quite well to repel bugs from your garden.  Some examples include:
 - Marigolds repel nematodes, Mexican bean beetles, squash bug, thrips, tomato hornworms, and whitefly
 - Geraniums repel cabbage worms and leaf hoppers
 - Mint repels ants and aphids, and the cucumber beetle. 

What about chemical pesticides?

Environmental contamination with pesticides (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Chemical pesticides (and there are well over 9,000 different acceptable pesticides approved by the FDA) have a number of health implications. 

* Pesticides can be carcinogenic
* Pesticides can cause infertility
* Pesticides can cause neurological complications
* Pesticides can cause birth defects

And a whole lot more. Scientists are only beginning to understand the level of contamination and how pesticides are affecting our health, the health of our children and our planet.  

Reduce or eliminate the damage pesticides can cause by buying organic whenever possible and by using natural pesticides when you grow your own fruits and vegetables.  No one likes a bug-infested garden; however, it takes just a few simple steps to send these bugs running for the high hills.

For 5 safe and natural home-made pesticide recipes you can make yourself to protect your garden, be sure to check back Thursday!