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)
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