Alcohol Sprays
The
idea of using rubbing alcohol as a spray for plants pests has been around
for years. Can cause leaf damage on African Violets, and Apple trees.
Protection
offered: Alcohol sprays work on aphids, mealybugs, scale insects, thrips and whiteflies.
Alcohol sprays have been used successfully on houseplants and tropical
foliage plants. Most of these have heavy, waxy cuticles that are not easily
burned.
How
to Make: Use only 70% isopropyl alcohol(rubbing
alcohol): mix 1 to 2 cups alcohol per quart of water. Using undiluted alcohol
as a spray is very risky for plants. You can also mix up an insecticidal
soap spray according to the dilution on the label but substitute alcohol
for half of the water required.
How
to Use: Since alcohol can damage plants always
test your spray mix on a few leaves or plants first. Tests results should show up within 2 or 3 days.
Tomatoe Leaf
Nightshade family plants, such as tomatoes, potatoes and tobacco,
have toxic compounds called alkaloids in their leaves.
These toxins are water soluble and can be soaked from chopped leaves and
made into home-made sprays. These sprays also work by attracting natural pest enemies. The good bugs follow the smell of the spray in looking for prey.
Protection
Offered: Tomatoe leaf sprays have been used
to protect plants from aphids. Also, spraying tomatoe leaf spray on corn
may reduce corn earworm damage. The corn earworm is also called the tomatoe
fruitworm, as it also attacks tomatoe plants. A scientific study has shown
that corn plants sprayed with tomatoe leaf spray attracted significantly
more Trichogramma wasps to parasitize the corn earworm eggs than the unsprayed
did.
How
to Make: Soak 1 to 2 cups of chopped or mashed
tomatoe leaves in 2 cups of water overnight. Strain through cheescloth
or fine mesh, add about 2 more cups of water to the strained liquid, and
spray. For aphid control, be sure to thoroughly cover the leaf undersides,
especially of lower leaves and growing tips of plants where aphids congregate.
How
to Use: Spray plants thoroughly, particularly
undersides of lower leaves and growing tips where aphids congregate. while
this spray is not poisonous to humans on contact, use care in handling,
especially if you are allergic to the nightshade family.
Garlic
Oil Sprays:
Organic
gardeners have long been familiar with the repellent or toxic affect of
garlic oil on pests. when it is combined with mineral oil and pure soap,as
it is in the recipe that follows, devised at the Henry Doubleday Research
Association in England, it becomes an effective insecticide. Some studies
also suggest that a garlic oil spray has fungicidal properties.
Protection
Offered: Good results, with quick kill, have
been noted against aphids, cabbage loopers, earwigs, June bugs, leafhoppers,
sqaush bugs and whiteflies. The spray does not appear to harm adult lady
beetles, and some gardeners have found that is does'nt work against the
Colorado potaoe beetles, grape leaf skeletonizers, grasshoppers, red ants,
or sowbugs.
How
to Make: Soak 3 ounces of finely minced garlic
cloves in 2 teaspoons of mineral oil for at least 24 hours. Slowly add
1 pint of water that has 1/4 ounce liquid soap or commercial insecticide
soap mixed into it. Stir thoroughly and strain into a glass jar for storage.
use at a rate of 1 to 2 Tablespoons of mixture to a pint of water. If this
is effective, try a more dilute solution in order to use as little as possible.
How
to Use: Spray plants carefully to ensure thorough
coverage. To check for possible leaf damage to sensitive ornamentals from
the oil and soap in the spray, do a test spray on a few leaces or plants
first. If no leaf damage occurs in 2 or 3 days, go ahead and spray more.
Herbal Sprays
Many
organic farmers are familiar with using sprays made from aromatic herbs
to repel pests from the garden plants. Several recent studies confirm the
repellent effect of such sprays. The essential oil of Sage and Thyme and
the alcohol extracts such as Hyssop, Rosemary, Sage, Thyme, and White Clover
can be used in this manner. They have been shown to reduce the number of
eggs laid and the amount of feeding damage to cabbage by caterpillars of
Diamond back moths and large white butterflies. Sprays made from Tansy
have demonstrated a repellent effect on imported cabbageworm on cabbage,
reducing the number of eggs laid on the plants. Teas made from Wormwood
or Nasturtiums are reputed to repel aphids from fruit trees, and sprays
made from ground or blended Catnip, Chives, Feverfew, Marigolds, or Rue
have also been used by gardeners against pests that feed on leaves.
Protection
Offered: Try herbal sprays against any leaf-eating
pests and make note of what works for future reference.
How
to Make: In General, herbal sprays are made
by mashing or blending 1 to 2 cups of fresh leaves with 2 to 4 cups of
water and leaving them to soak overnight. Oor you can make a herbal tea
by pouring the same amount of boiling water over 2 to 4 cups fresh or 1
to 2 cups dry leaves and leaving them to steep until cool. Strain the water
through a cheesecloth before spraying and dilute further with 2 to 4 cups
water. Add a very small amount of nondetergent liquid soap (1/4 teaspoon
in 1 to 2 quarts of water) to help spray stick to leaves and spread better.
You can also buy commercial essential herbal oils and dilute with water
to make a spray. Experiment with proportions, starting with a few drops
of oil per cup of water.
How
to Use: Spray plants thoroughly, especially
undersides of leaves, and repeat at weekly intervals if neccessary.
"Hot" Dusts
Black pepper, chili pepper, dill, ginger, paprika, and red pepper all contain capsaicin, a compound shown to repel insects. Synthetic capsaicin is also available for feild use. Researchers have found that as little as 1/25 ounce of capsaicin sprinkled around an onion plant reduced the number of onion maggot eggs laid around the plant by 75%, compared to a control plant.
Protection Offered: Capsaicin-containing dusts repel onion maggots from seedlings, as well as other root maggot flies from cabbage family plants and carrots. Pepper dusts around the base of the plants help repel ants, which is desirable in a garden where ants often protect and maintain aphid colonies on plants.
How To Make: It can be rather expensive to buy enough packaged pepper dusts to sprinkle throughout your garden. However, if you grow and dry your own red peppers, chili peppers, or dill, you can make lots of dust at low cost. Use a mortar and pestle to grind the peppers, or dill, including the seeds, to dust. Be careful handling the hot peppers because they irritate sensitive skin.
How to Use:
Sprinkle along seeded rows of onions, cabbage, or carrots, in a band at least 6 inches wider than the row or planting bed. A fine sprinkling will suffice, but the more dust you use, the better the effect. Renew after a heavy rain or irragation. To protect plants from ants, sprinkle around the base of plants in an area as wide as the widest leaves.
Pyrethrin
The dried, powdered flowers of the pyrethrum daisy, Tanacetum cinerarifolium, were used as early as 1880 to control mosquitoes. The popularity of pyrethrum insecticides waned when synthetic insecticides were introduced, but they are now enjoying a commercial comeback. Many new products formulated with natural pyrethrums are available. Pyrethrins are the insecticidal chemicals extracted from the pyrethrum daisy. Do not confuse them with pyrethroids, the term for a new class of synthetic pesticides. Pyrethrums, which are mainly concentrated in the seeds of the flower head, are a contact insecticide, meaning the insect only has to touch the substance to be affected. Pyrthrins have a quick knockdown effect on insects: Flying insects are paralyzed. pyrethrins can be applied up to one day before harvest because they are quickly destroyed by light and heat and are not persistent in the environment. Pyrthrins will kill lady beetes but do not appear to be harmful to bees. They are toxic to fish and to the aqautic insects and other small animals that fish eat. Pyrethrins do not seem to be toxic to birds or mammals.
Protection Offered:
Pyrethrins are registered for flowers, fruits, and vegetables, including greenhouse crops. they are effective on many chewing and sucking insects, including most aphids, cabbage loopers, celery leaftiers, codling moth, Colarado potaotoe beetles, leafhoppers, Mexican bean beetles, spider mites, stink bugs, several species of thrips, tomato pinworms, and whiteflies. they are especially good against flies, gnats, mosquitoes, and stored products pests. Flea beetles are not affected, nor are imported cabbageworms, diamondback moths, pear psylla, and tarnished plant bugs.
How
to Make:
If you grow your own pyrethrum daisies, you'll have the main ingredient for a make-it-yourself spray. The concentration of pyrethrums is at its peak when the flowers are in full bloom, from the time the first row of florets open on the central disk opens too the time all the florets are open. pick flowers in full bloom and hang them in a sheltered, dark spot to dry. Once the flowers have dried thoroughly, grind them to afine powder, using a mortar and pestle, old blender or small hammer mill. Mix with water and add a few drops of liquid soap. Store in a glass jar and keep the lid tightly closed, because the mixture looses activity if left open. You'll have to experiment with the amount of water to add, because the concentration of pyrethins in the flowers is an unknown variable. If the spray you make does not seem to kill insects, use less water the next time you make the concentrated spray. Also keep in mind whole flower heads stay potent longer so do not grind until ready to use.
How to Use:
Pyrethrins are more effective at lower temperatures, so for best results, apply in early evening when temperatures are lower. Spray both the upper and lower surfaces of the leaves, because spray must directly contact the insects such as thrips that hide in leaf sheaths and crevices. The first spray will excite them and bring them out of hiding, the second will kill them. Never use pyrethrin products around waterways and ponds.
Nicotine
One of the top three insecticides in the 1880s, nicotine in several forms is still widely used. Nicotine comes from the tobacco plant and is extremely toxic to insects. The great advantage of home-made nicotine tea is that it is very short ived, retaining its toxicity for only a few hours after spraying. It is relatively nonhazardous to bees and lady beetles because of its short persistence.
Protection Offered:
Nicotine is effective against ground and soil pests, especially root aphids and fungus gnats, and on many leaf-chewing insects, such as aphids, immature scales, leafhoppers, thrips, leafminers, pear psylla, and asparagus beetle larvae.
How To Make:
You can brew your own batch of nicotine tea by soaking tobacco leaves or cigarette butts in water to make a spray. Soak 1 cup of dried, crushed tobacco leaves, or an equivalent amount of cigarette butts, in one gallon of warm water with 1/4 teaspoon pure soap added. Strain the mixture through cheesecloth after it has soaked for 1/2 hour. The solution will keep for several weeks if stored in a tightly closed container.
How to Use:
For soil pests, pour the spray mixture onto the soil in the area of the stem base and root zone. for leaf pests, spray leaves thoroughly, especially the undersides. Nicotine can be absorbed by plant leaves and remain there for several weeks. to be safe, use nicotine only on young plants and only up to one month before harvest. It's probably safest not to spray nicotine on eggplant, peppers or tomatoes. While most tobacco cultivars now grown are resistant to tobacco mosaic virus, nicotine sprays could contain the pathogen, which will infect nightshade family crops.
Tobacco teas are sometimes prepared by home gardeners to control garden pests, and while not as toxic as nicotine sulfate sprays, any nicotine solution toxic enough to kill insects can also be harmful to humans” (http://www.agweb.okstate.edu/pearl/hort/ornamental/f6433.htm)
Resources: Rodale's Chemical-Free
Yard and Garden
Bug Cap
Bug Pants
Two 60-Watt Lifetime Bug Bulbs
Bug Stick
Car Bug Remover
Garlic Clips, 25 Pack
Deer and Rabbits Won't Get Past the Smell Deer and rabbits have a sense of smell a hundred times greater than ours, so just imagine how they react to these powerful garlic repellent clips! They're made with a concentrated garlic oil that is 1,000 times stronger than garlic juice, yet is organic a
Slug-X Trap
Moveable Trap Kills 50 Slugs Overnight! Leave it to a gardener in rainy England to improve on the tried-and-true “beer cup” method of trapping slugs. The Slug-X Trap has a low roof that keeps beer bait fresh and concentrates its enticing aroma. Inside, three large reservoirs dispatch an army
Cat Scat, set of 5
Clothes Moth Alert
Trap moths and pests before they damage your clothes or food.
Wasp Trap
Just bait the jar and the wasps or flies crawl in and stay trapped.
Six Mosquito Dunks
The floating Dunk kills mosquito larvae without harmful poisons.
Garden Toad House
This whimsical stoneware shelter provides an environment toads love.
Live Ladybugs
Offer ladybugs their own hibernation nooks and crannies with our stained pine Ladybug Village.
Victorian Toad House
This whimsical stoneware shelter provides an environment toads love.
Sonic Mole Chaser
Our Mole Chaser gets rid of burrowing rodents in your yard.
Deer Off' Spray, 32 oz.
Deer Off' effectively repels deer and other pests for up to 3 months.
This lightweight, battery-powered device lets you quickly capture and dispose of insects at a comfortable distance without ever having to touch them.
Performing like an anti-insect force field, this small device uses a natural scent extracted from common plants to repel biting bugs in the vicinity.
This toaster-size trap can be used indoors to take care of mosquitos, flies, and other flying insects.
Garlic Clips, 25 Pack
Deer and Rabbits Won't Get Past the Smell Deer and rabbits have a sense of smell a hundred times greater than ours, so just imagine how they react to these powerful garlic repellent clips! They're made with a concentrated garlic oil that is 1,000 times stronger than garlic juice, yet is organic a
Slug-X Trap
Moveable Trap Kills 50 Slugs Overnight! Leave it to a gardener in rainy England to improve on the tried-and-true “beer cup” method of trapping slugs. The Slug-X Trap has a low roof that keeps beer bait fresh and concentrates its enticing aroma. Inside, three large reservoirs dispatch an army
Cat Scat, set of 5
Pantry Bug Trap, set of 2
Here's a safe, non-toxic way to help keep flour, cereals, and pet food free of pesky meal moths. The disposable cardboard trap lures moths with a natural sex lure, trapping them on the sticky surface inside. Keeps your pantry moth-free. Earth-friendly, non-chemical insect control. Effective for up to three months. Traps have two-year shelf life, if unopened.
Two Fruit Fly Traps with Soapstone Box
Unlike sticky, unsightly flypaper, our Fruit Fly Traps are enclosed in a tasteful hand-carved soapstone box. The all-natural, non-toxic lures are simple to use, mess-free and safe around food. Flies are trapped out of sight. After a month you simply throw the trap away. Set includes 1 Soapstone Box and 2 Fruit Fly Traps. Traps are safe to use around food. Each non-toxic lure lasts one month. Box can also hold potpourri or jewelry. Additional traps also available.
Roach Traps, set of 9
It's tempting to go all out with chemical sprays when you spot disgusting, disease-carrying roaches in the house, but you don't need them. These non-toxic traps work with a natural attractant to lure roaches to a sure and sticky end. Each trap lasts 2 months; you get over a year's supply. Set of 9 disposable traps for under $10! Clean and easy to use. Safe around food. Rids your home of roaches without risking your family's health.
Silverfish Traps, set of 12
Silverfish are attracted by starchy foods, photos and old paper, and they can ruin valuable books and mementos before you even know they're around. Stop infestations before they start with these safe, non-toxic traps. They use a natural lure to attract pests, then trap them on the sticky inside surface. Each disposable trap lasts up to 3 months; set of 12 gives you 3 years of protection. Protect valuable books and photos from being ruined by silverfish. Safe for use around food. Non-toxic d
Mosquito Trap
Stop mosquito outbreaks before they happen with this innovative trap. It uses a powerful pheromone to lure fertile female mosquitoes inside, getting rid of them and their thousands of young. Easy to use; simply add rainwater or pond water and a handful of grass clippings and the lure to the trap. Traps disease-carrying mosquitoes! Breaks the egg-laying cycle. Uses a powerful pheromone lure. 1/2-gallon trap includes one 6-week lure. Additional Mosquito Lures sold separately (set of 2).
Slug and Snail Trap & Bait
The only thing more repulsive than a live slug is a dead one. This professional-quality trap has a removable inner chamber you simply lift out, empty, and rinse clean. What's more, the trap sits underground so it practically disappears in the garden; only the earth-colored lid is visible. You'll never again have to touch a slimy slug! Removable inner chamber rinses clean. Lid is self-locking to keep out rainwater and animals. Includes 6-month supply of all-natural, non-toxic bait. Bait is eco-fr
Wasp Trap
Just bait the jar and the wasps or flies crawl in and stay trapped.
Mosquito Power Trap
Why do mosquitoes love you' They're attracted by the scent of your breath. This chemical-free, propane-powered Mosquito Power Trap uses moist carbon dioxide, scented octenol, and heat to mimic human breath. Mosquitoes and biting flies are irresistibly drawn to it, where they're vacuumed into a remov
Fruit Fly Traps, set of 2
Keep fruit flies away for up to four weeks with these decorative traps.
