Pest Control Spray's

[Uid]

Hey guys

I have seen the last few days that a lot people are haveing insect problems because of the bad weather so i thought that it would be helpful to post a list of sprays for your pest problems.

Lime Spray

Target insects: Cucumber beetles, mites and general purpose.

To make: Mix 1 ounce of hydrated lime, 32 ounces of water and 1 teaspoon of castille soap. Use up to twice a week.

Orange Peel Spray

Oranges and other citrus fruit contain natural ocurring pesticide compounds called limonene and linalool. These compounds can be used as a treatment for soft bodied pests such as aphids, fungus gnats, mealy bugs and as an ant repellant.

To Make: Pour 2 cups of boiling water over peelings of one orange. Let this steep for about 24 hours. Strain the mixture into a glass jar and toss the peels into the compost. Use this liquid as a spray mixing in a few drops of castille soap on target insects or on ants and their nests. Smells nice too!

Pepper and Herb Dusts

Target Insects: General

Peppers and certain herbs contain the compound "capasaicin" which will irritate and repel many insects. Cayenne, chili, dill, paprika, red and black peppers can be used as dusts. Purchase the cheapest you can find (or grow hot peppers and dill in your garden. Dry them and pulverize them in a food processor). Sprinkle on moist plant foliage and the surrounding soil.

Pepper Spray

Target insects: All?purpose

Just like the pepper dusts a spray made from hot peppers will release the capasaicin compound to repel insects.

NOTE: To make: Mix 1/2 cup of finely chopped or ground hot peppers with 1 pint of water. Let this sit for 24 hours. Use as is for a soil drench application or strain the mixture through cheesecloth until you have a clear liquid. Add a few drops of castille soap and use as a foliar application. Keep away from your eyes and skin when using.

Tomato or Potato Leaf Spray

Target insects: Repels asparagus beetles and flea beetles.This will kill earworms and maggots and acts as an antifeedent for other insects.

Plants belonging to the nightshade family (tomatoes, potatoes etc.) have large amounts of compounds called "alkaloids" in their leaves. These compounds are water soluble and can be extracted by soaking chopped leaves then using as a spray. The toxicity of the alkaloids may account for only part of their effectiveness. The sprays may also attract beneficial insects that follow the chemicals in these plants as a cue in searching for their prey.

To make: Soak 2 cups of chopped tomato leaves in 1 pint of water overnight. Strain this mixture then add another pint of water and 1/4 teaspoon of castille soap a sticker. Spray foliage and soil as needed.

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Spray your plants before bringing them indoors!

Plants brought indoors in the fall may harbor insects and pass them on to your other house plants. Here's a suggestion for a homemade insecticide:

Put 3 tablespoons of rubbing alcohol in a quart spray bottle, and fill with barely lukewarm water. Add 1 teaspoon of insecticidal soap (e.g., Safer's) or liquid detergent. Spray plant thoroughly, including top and underside of leaves. Let spray sit a few minutes, then rinse. (Leaving the spray on longer may cause injury to the plant.)"

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Homemade insecticide information and recipes

Description:A few homemade insecticides and repellent recipes.

[from http://mama.essortment.com/homemadeinsecti_rvxg.htm]

Although prevention is in the beginning of insect control (companion planting, cleanliness, healthy and disease-resistant plants), insecticides can come in handy at some points. With that in mind I developed this short guide to insecticides to help you choose the one which is best for you, but at the same time remembering the toxic nature of some insecticides. So this guide progresses from the less toxic, homemade insecticides (which can be very beneficial with small or beginning infestations) to the more powerful pyrethrum and insecticidal soaps.

Many of the homemade pest repellent mixtures can be very effective against garden pests. Strong hot tastes or smelly odors are common characteristics of most home?brewed pest repellents. Most sprays are just repellent plants (plants that repel insects while growing) blended with water and strained through cheesecloth or nylon mesh, leaving a basic repellent tea. The tea is then diluted in water to concoct a spray. The sprays are not usually cooked due to the fact that heat generally destroys the active ingredients. Instead the repellent plant is dried and minced, and allowed to soak in mineral oil for a couple of days. This is then added to water including a little detergent or soap to suspend the oil on top the water, and a teaspoon of alcohol per quart to help dissolve the soap.

There are hundreds, maybe even thousands of good homemade insect repellent recipes that you can find in books and on the internet. The following are a few I have found work best in my garden:

1) Combine one teaspoon of hot pepper or tabasco sauce, 4 cloves of garlic and a quart of water. Blend well in a blender and strain, with cheesecloth or nylon mesh before placing in your sprayer. This will repel many insects including whiteflies, apids, spidermites and caterpillars.

2) Mix 1/8?1/4 cup of hydrated lime with one quart of water. This creates an effective spray against many insects, especially spidermites. Add a drop of non?detergent soap to act as a sticking agent and insecticide. Lime can cause serious harm to plants if you use too much, so always spray a test plant first and watch it for a few days, to check for any adverse effects on plants.

3) Take one ounce of tomato leaves and add to one quart of water and blend thoroughly. Strain the resulting liquid and use to repel insects. This works well on white cabbage butterflies too.

4) Take a copious amount (as many as you can collect) of the insect you wish to repel and grind their corpses up into a powder. Mix the resulting powder with one quart of water and, spray as a repellent for the insect that you ground up for the powder.

Insecticidal soaps are mild, contact insecticides that are made from the fatty acids of animals and plants. These insecticides are safe for humans, as well as bees and animals. The soaps will help to control soft?bodied insects such as spidermites, thrips, mealybugs, whiteflies and aphids. Insecticidal soaps penetrate and clog their bodies' membranes, thereby killing them. You can buy a commercial soap product, such as Safer's Inecticidal Soap, or make your own insecticidal soaps which can prove very effective against your garden pests.

You should use a soft soap (do not use detergent soaps because these can be problematic to your plants' health) such as Ivory liquid dish soap, Murphy's Oil soap, or Castille soap, all of which are biodegradable and can kill insects in a similar fashion to commercially manufactured brands. Mix three capfuls of any of these soft soaps with one quart of water for a very effective insecticidal soap. These soft soaps will only last about a day before they dissipate, and need to be reapplied after above-ground watering or rain.

Nicotine can be a very effective method of pest control as well. It is naturally derived; however, it is not usually used in organic gardens due to its toxicity. Nicotine can be deadly to most insects (and humans when swallowed in concentrate). This poisonous compound affects the neuromuscular system causing insects to go into convulsions and die. Sometimes you can see it sold commercially, mixed with sulfur. One commonly used product is Black Flag's Nicotine Sulfate.

Nicotine sulfate (tobacco/water tea combined with sulfur) is excellent for use on all plants except members of the nightshade family (potatoes, eggplants, peppers, tomatoes). To make your own tobacco spray: simply combine 1/2 ounce of tobacco per quart of water, soak for one day at room temperature and strain the resultant tea. Nicotine sprays are useful on all insects, but are usually used for aphids. It is not recommended to use nicotine sulfate on plants you intend to use for consumption.

Horticultural oils are a non?poisonous, safe, and non?polluting insecticides. They are usually used to kill slow-moving or immobile sucking insects by suffocating them with a thin layer of oily film. These types of insecticides are usually produced by manufacturers and not concocted by gardeners themselves. Horticultural oil spray can be useful against many bugs including aphids, scales, thrips, spidermites, whiteflies and mealybugs.

Pyrethrum is . . . by far the most effective and most-used of the insecticides. It is extracted from the flowers of the pyrethrum chrysanthemum. Seeing as how the main ingredient in pyrethrum comes from Africa, it is hard to make at home and can be found commercially sold at retail nurseries (there are many types available so I will not mention any brand names). Being an insecticide with a wide array of uses, pyrethrum is very toxic to most insects, even those that are beneficial. When applied as a spray it can also be useful against flying insects. If the insect doesn't receive a large enough quantity, it may revive, so pyrethrum is usually combined with rotenone or ryania to ensure effectiveness. Pyrethrum should be used to spot spray only heavily infested plants. It is non?toxic to animals and humans and is very effective when applied to your garden manually.

Hope this helps

Cheers

[Maffro]

Excellent work old chap - jolly good

[Romeu9]

Thanks

[kupobg]

Great I'll try your recipies before i use chemical sprays ... hope it works fine and i wont need to use that chemical crap

[Uid]

Glad to hear you like the info