Pest control can take a lot of work, but it doesn’t have to be chemically oriented. A lot of pesticides that can be bought at the store are harmful and somewhat toxic to the produce they’re used on, and this is obviously less than ideal for a lot of gardeners. There are several recipes for pesticides you can make at home that are less chemically harmful, and in some cases cheaper.
This article is going to overview several recipes that will enable you to take matters into your own hands. This can be rewarding in and of itself, to know that the pests are gone as a direct result of something you made in your own home.
Biodynamic Fruit Fly Bait
Biodynamic brew is one of the more popular home remedies for fruit flies. It’s cheap, it works, and it’s easy to make!
Mix up the following ingredients in 20 litres of water:
50 ml vanilla essence
400 ml cloudy ammonia
3kg sugar
Take the composite mix and pour it so that it quarter fills a two litre bottle. Once you spray it around your property, you’ll have a lot less fruit flies flitting about in no time.
Black Spot Spray/Bicarb Soda Spray
Black spot spray, as the name suggests, is used to combat mildew spots that can crop up in the garden. You’ll only need a few ingredients to deal with any mildew problems.
1 tbsp bicarbonate soda
1 tbsp of (vegetable) oil spray (commercial or homemade)
4.5 litres of water
Take the resulting spray and treat once a week to reduce mildew. Be very careful not to get it on the foliage itself, as it can’t help with mildew anyway. Leaves that have mildew cannot be fixed, and must be removed immediately regardless of whether you’re treating with the spray or not.
ChilliChilli Spray
Chilli spray is a mixture that battles several types of garden pests (ants, aphids, and more!). You can use actual chillis from your garden or chilli powder.
Combine the following ingredients and then spray directly onto plants.
5 grams of soap flakes or liquid soap drops
2 litres water
40-50 Small hot chillis (or powder)
You can combine this easily by blender (the chillies and half the water), and then add the remaining ingredients. As stated above, it can then be regularly sprayed directly onto plants.
Garlic Spray
Garlic is known for being both anti-bacterial and anti-fungal, hugely valuable for any garden maintenance tool (let alone a homemade one).
Combine the following ingredients and leave overnight to saturate before use.
1 tsp liquid soap
1 tbsp vegetable oil
3 crushed garlic cloves
1 litre water
This treatment can be used regularly to repel pests and care for your plants.
Milk spray/powdery mildew spray
Milk spray helps to fight that unfortunate powdery mildew that can form on leaves. When left untended, this mildew will pucker the leaves, and occasionally even kill them right off.
Combine the following ingredients and then spray regularly, particularly on newer sprouts.
1 part milk
9 parts water
Molasses spray
This spray can help to battle caterpillars when it’s used regularly. On top of which, it’s easy to make and relatively cheap.
This recipe is fairly simple, mix a single tablespoon of molasses into a litre of warm water and stir until it dissolves.
Oil spray
Remember how we said the oil spray used in black spot spray (see above) can be commercial or homemade? Well, here’s a recipe for a do-it-yourself oil spray that will help not just with black spots but also with mites and scales.
1/2 cup Liquid soap (dish washing or hand washing)
500 ml Vegetable oil
Once blended, it can be sealed into a jar and stored. When you’re ready to use it, add one tablespoon of the mix into one litre of water to give your plants a spritz.
