Simple Green Idea #7 - Insect/Pest Control Recipes & Methods

Are you looking for simple, natural ways to control harmful insects in your garden and home? Here are a couple of recipes for insect treatments that might work for you:

Insect/Pest Repellents

All-Purpose Insect Spray

2 garlic bulbs
1 onion
1 Tbsp. cayenne pepper
1 quart water

Blend together and steep for 1 hour. Then strain and add 1 Tbsp liquid soap. Store in the fridge for up to a week. Spray generously on plants.

Aphid & Slug Spray

3 Tbsp. soap flakes or 3 - 6 Tbsp. liquid soap mixed into 1 Gallon water.
Spray on plants.

When I was a kid, my mother used to throw the pan of soapy dishwater onto the rosebushes. We seldom had aphids and we did have beautiful roses.

Control Methods for Specific Insects/Pests

For specific insect problems, you could try some of these “green” ideas.

Fleas

Scatter walnut leaves (in the doghouse)

Mosquitoes

Empty/cover containers that allow water to sit.

Spray area with 1 quart water mixed with 1 cup lemon-scented ammonia

Slugs

Water with cool coffee.

Sprinkle coffee grounds on soil under plants.

Spray leaves and soil with mix of 10 parts water and 1 part ammonia

Earwigs

Set out mix of equal parts canola oil and soya sauce in shallow dish.

Lay pieces of corrugated cardboard on soil, collect and crush in morning

Aphids/Whiteflies

Set out shallow dish with yellow colored water and few drops of vegetable oil.

Boil 6 rhubarb leaves in 3 quarts water, cool, strain and spray on plants.

Hang yellow cardboard squares coated with petroleum jelly, honey or molasses.

Fungus Gnats

Pour a few drops of vegetable oil in the sink drain at night.

Carpenter Ants

Mix 1 part Borax with 2 parts icing sugar and set where you see signs of sawdust.

Wasps

Deter by hanging a stuffed brown paper bag in a tree.

Cut the curved top off a pop bottle and invert it over the bottom part; pour in a mix of 1oz Grenadine syrup, few drops dish soap and 1 cup water.

Fruit Flies

Set out a small glass of apple cider.

Put a piece of banana in a small jar, cover with plastic wrap, poke 5 holes with a toothpick in plastic and set on counter (replace often)