Using a Natural Pesticide vs a Chemical Pesticide

Summertime is a time for fun, sun and enjoying the outdoors. Many of us grow gardens of many varieties, flower, vegetable, ornamental. But we all have the same problem. They all are attacked by bugs of one type or another and the biggest challenge we face when that happens is what type of chemical pesticide do we buy...there are so many to choose from! And in are ignorance, we go to WalMart, or Home Depot or wherevr you buy your spray for various garden pests and do not realize several things.

One, is when you spray a chemical on your plant, even though the product claims to be safe for it, you are still getting chemicals on yourself. And your flowers or vegetables. If vegetable, can leave a yukky taste even after washing it totally. The chemicals leak through the skins. Oh and let us not forget our skin. We have to scrub and scrub after spraying. In case you never really read the warning labels all the way, some can cause blindness, irritate your skin, and ultimate other ugly things ans so we are just "careful".  An alternative to this mess is to use a natural pesticide and believe it or not, you most likely have all the ingredients in your kitchen cabinet. Clean up is easy as it is natural and will not harm you nor your plants whatever type they may be. Of course, to lessen the bug problem, it is always best to keep your weeds pulled. and do a bit of mulching or composting....

Making your own natural pesticide is really easy and will kill a variety of bugs which terrorize your plants and some of these bugs are so hungry they end up devouring what you had planned to eat yourself, or destroying your prize winning roses....I offer you alternatives here.

These homeade pesticides will kill immediately all manner of bugs on your plants.  From aphids, to June Beetles, spider mites, thrips, grasshoppers, chewing and sucking insects as well.  Read on...

Yes, these are some of the ingredients you need to make your own natural and organic pesticide. Oh and water. Now did any of these things ever cause you to go blind or have a rash, or irritate your skin?? I would hope not unless you were allergic to them....But upi need tp start treating your plants as soon as you notice the pests and always remember to fertalize as well. Never apply any type of natural or chemical pesticide before it is going to rain. And always apply late in the day after the sun is not so strong on your garden. Lets begin with a very simple natural spray which I used myself this afternoon.

This simple spray will kill a multitude of garden pests immediately and your plant will look refreshed after being sprayed with it!

Dish Detergent and Baking Soda

2 tbls dish detergen, 2 tbls baking soda, 1 gallon of water Mix all ingredients together and spray on plants. This is very effective and works!

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Garlic, Peppers & Onion Insecticide: Spray on Roses, Azaleas and Vegetables

2 hot peppers, 1 large onion, 1 whole bulb (the entire thing) of garlic, 1/4 Cup of Water Put all veggies in food processor or blender and add water, blend until a mash is made. Cover mash with 1 gallon of hot (not boiling just hot) water and let it stand for 24 hours. Strain. You can use cheesecloth for this or a regular small strainer. Will kill: thrips, aphids, grasshoppers and all types of chewing insects......

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Salt Spray (yes salt)

2 Tbls Salt, and 1.5 (one and a half) Gallons warm water Mix salt and water to dissolve, allow to cool to room temperature. Will Kill: spider mites, caterpillars, cabbage worms, and chewing insects

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Tomato Leave Spray

Crush leaves from a tomato plant and soak in water for a couple days. Strain then spray Good for:grasshoppers and white flies...........Tomato leaves are poisonous..take care when preparing and handling, Do Not Use ON food bearing plants......

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SLUG BAIT TRAP: Set out beer in shallow containers to attract slugs, they will drown in the beer............(evidently slugs like to drink!)

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Horticultural Oil Spray:

1 Tbls vegetable oil , 1 tsp liquid dish detergent, 2 Cups Water Fill a spray bottle with the ingredients and then shake to mix.

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Peppermint Tea (yes this is a natural insecticide!)

1 Tbls peppermint essential oil, 1 quart of water Mix together and spray For Ants!

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Japanese Beetle Trap:

2 Cups of water, 1 mashed banana, 1/2 C Sugar, 1/2 C wine and 1/2 C of yeast (Japanese beetles evidently are used to being wine drinkers) Mix ingredients together and put in an old margarine container, cover with lid and set contqiner out in the hot sun for a day. The next day, remove the lid and set in the garden where the beetles are--use a shallow container....

Tips for using these natural goodies:

Apply on the tops of leaves and the bottom and do not overdo as excess spraying can damage plants.

Most recipes can be used on a weekly basis and you don't want to run off your good garden guys like earthworms, bees, ladybugs, etc with too much.

Spray in the cool evening hours to reduce leaf burn.

If it looks like rain, don't spray. If it has just rained, wait a day til the garden dries a little.

So you see, you have all the things in your home to make really killer (literal here) insecticide----Why not opt for natural instead of chemical???? What is that old saying???? "Try it, you'll like it"    And I have a whole lot more of these using different ingredients if you would like... Aloha!!