ORGANIC PESTICIDES & NATURAL INSECTICIDES: HOMEMADE ALL PURPOSE INSECTICIDE SPRAY

1/2 cup rubbing alcohol

1 quart liquid soap

Mix directly into a spray container. Do not spray in direct sunlight as leaf damage may occur. Spray, then let sit for 20 minutes. Spray plant down with clear water to reduce foliage damage. Spray every 3 days for 2 weeks.

Alcohol sprays is effective on aphids, mealy bugs, scale insects, thrips and whiteflies.

ORGANIC PESTICIDES & NATURAL INSECTICIDES: HOMEMADE CHAMOMILE SPRAY

This spray is used to prevent the damping off of seedlings and powdery mildew. Take 1 cup chamomile leaves and place in a non-metal bowl. Add 3 cups of boiling water and allow to steep until cool. Strain. Dilute with equal parts of mixture to water.

ORGANIC PESTICIDES & NATURAL INSECTICIDES: HOMEMADE GARLIC SPRAY

This organic pest control is useful against sucking insects and some caterpillars.

90 g chopped garlic cloves

2 T mineral oil or liquid paraffin

15 g of pure soap or soap flakes

500 ml warm water.

Mix garlic and oil together and let is steep for 48 hours. Dissolve grated soap or flakes in warm water and then mix the 2 solutions together and then strain. Use 1 part mixture to 50 parts water. Spray as usual.

ORGANIC PESTICIDES & NATURAL INSECTICIDES: HOMEMADE LANTANA SPRAY

In some countries Lantana has been banned as it is seen as a noxious weed. However, this organic spray is effective against aphids.

ORGANIC PESTICIDES & NATURAL INSECTICIDES: HOMEMADE MILK SPRAY

This homemade insecticide is effective against the tiny red spider mite.

1/2 cup buttermilk

4 cups flour

20 L water

Mix the buttermilk with the flour and then add the water. Spray over a 2 day period to make sure that the infestation has been successfully been eradicated.

ORGANIC PESTICIDES & NATURAL INSECTICIDES: HOMEMADE MUSTARD SPRAY

If you find that your plants have scale this is the organic insecticide for you. Take one 1 tablespoon ground mustard seeds and add 20 parts of water to the seeds. Place in a sprayer and spray the affected plant.

ORGANIC PESTICIDES & NATURAL INSECTICIDES: HOMEMADE NASTURTIUM SPRAY

This natural pest control is effective against woolly aphids Mix 1 cup nasturtium leaves with 1 cup of water. Simmer together on top of stove in an old pot for about 15 minutes. Cool and strain. Dilute with equal parts mixture to water. Spray where needed.

ORGANIC PESTICIDES & NATURAL INSECTICIDES: HOMEMADE NICOTINE SPRAY

1 cup liquid dish soap

1 cup antiseptic mouthwash

1 cup chewing tobacco juice (Place 3 fingers of chewing tobacco in an old nylon stocking and soak in a gallon of hot water until mixture turns dark brown.)

Put mixture into a 20 gallon sprayer and fill the rest of the container with warm water. Spray on vegetables every alternate week.

ORGANIC PESTICIDES & NATURAL INSECTICIDES: HOMEMADE OIL SPRAY

Oil is great for suffocating the eggs and insects, especially in winter when the eggs are more porous at this time, and the oil more effective as a method of getting rid of a variety of pests. However, use only in winter, or when the temperatures are below 25°C. Any higher and the oil will burn the leaves.

1 kg soap

8 L oil

Combine oil and soap and boil until it dissolves. Dilute with 20 times the volume of water. It doesn’t store well, so should be used immediately. Oil spray is effective against ants, aphids, leafhoppers, squash bugs and whiteflies.

ORGANIC PESTICIDES & NATURAL INSECTICIDES: HOMEMADE ONION & CHILI SPRAY

This homemade insecticide and pesticide is very effective against any leaf-eating insects and has a limited effect against most scale and hard-surfaced pests such as shield bugs.

4 bird’s eye chilies, chopped (or as hot as you can find)

4 large onions, chopped

2 bulbs garlic, chopped

2 L soapy water

Combine all the ingredients, including the seeds from the chilies. Cover with the soapy water and allow to steep for 24 hours. Strain. Add water to dilute if required and spray. Can be stored in a sealed container in a dark place for up to 2 weeks.

Pyrethrum is by far the most effective natural insecticide and miticide there is and kills most aphids, cabbage loopers, celery leaf tiers, codling moth, Colarado potato beetles, leafhoppers, Mexican bean beetles, spider mites, stink bugs, several species of thrips, tomato pinworms, and whiteflies, flies, gnats, mosquitoes and midgies.

As soon as insects come into contact with the spray, they will die, attacking the nervous system. Pyrethrum is an African flowering plant from the chrysanthemum family and is deadly to most insects. However, because it is not systemic and is destroyed by UV light, it is not deadly to mammals and can be safely sprayed on vegetables and fruit when picked 12-48 hours after application. Unfortunately, it is also deadly to good bugs as well, so use with care and only spray on heavily infested plants as a last resort.

Spray both the upper and lower surfaces of the leaves, because spray must directly contact the insects such as thrips that hide in leaf sheaths and crevices. Spray in cooler temperatures as it is more effective then, evening or late afternoon being ideal. Never use pyrethrin products around waterways and ponds. And for those of you who have dermatitis, asthma and sinus you may have an allergic reaction when using pyrethrum.

Grow your own pyrethrum from seed, which can be bought from your local seedman and use the flowers that are in full bloom. The active ingredient is found in the immature seed. Cut them off early in the morning and hang upside down to dry and leave in a well-ventilated dark place to dry. Light will cause the plant to lose its potency. When dried, grind with a pestle and mortar until you have a fine powder.

Mix 10 gm of pyrethrum powder to 3 litres of water. Let stand for 3 hours in a dark place. Add 1 teaspoon of dish washing liquid as a fixative just before use.

You can also steep your flowers in a jar filled with boiling water, and apply after it has cooled down.

However, the best way is to cover the flowers in a container with brandy, although kerosene and mineral oil will also work but not as well. Leave this mixture overnight keeping it away from any light. Strain the liquid and use 1 part liquid to 6 parts water.

To store your flowers place them in a freezer up to 6 months and use accordingly.

ORGANIC PESTICIDES & NATURAL INSECTICIDES: HOMEMADE RHUBARB SPRAY

This is a very effective general spray that is extremely poisonous, however unfortunately it is also poisonous to bees so use with care, and keep out of reach of children.

Boil 1.5 kg rhubarb leaves in 3.5 L of water, straining and bottling. Dissolve 100 g soft soap in 2 L of hot water and add to the leaf mixture when cold.

Use only on ornamental shrubs, and flowers, but NEVER on herbs or vegetables.

ORGANIC PESTICIDES & NATURAL INSECTICIDES: HOMEMADE SOAP SPRAY

This is useful against aphids and some caterpillars.

56 g of soap flakes or pure grated soap mixed with 5 L of hot water, which must be cooled before use.

ORGANIC PESTICIDES & NATURAL INSECTICIDES: HOMEMADE SUGAR SPRAY

This organic spray control is effective against nematodes. Dissolve 2 kg sugar in a bucket of water. Drench the soil to kill nematodes. Molasses can also be used, but don’t use honey as this may transmit disease back to the bees.

ORGANIC PESTICIDES & NATURAL INSECTICIDES: HOMEMADE TOMATO LEAF SPRAY

2 cups of chopped tomato leaves

2 pints of water

1/4 tsp of liquid soap

Soak tomato leaves in water overnight. Strain this mixture then add another pint of water and liquid soap. Spray foliage and soil as needed. This spray is effective against asparagus beetles and flea beetles, ear-worms and maggots.

ORGANIC PESTICIDES & NATURAL INSECTICIDES: HOMEMADE WHITE OIL SPRAY

White Oil can be purchased at your local gardening store at great expense. Or, you can make your own at a fraction of the cost using the same simple ingredients!

This is effective against scale. Pour a cup of cooking oil and a few drops of washing-up detergent into a 1 L plastic bottle.

Add 1/2 cup of water and shake well. Pour 250 ml into a 9 L bucket of water and mix.

Spray the mixture over and under infested leaves.

ORGANIC PESTICIDES & NATURAL INSECTICIDES: HOMEMADE WORMWOOD SPRAY

This is effective against fleas, flies, moths, mosquitoes, aphids and snails.

Collect large amount of wormwood leaves and cover with a bucket of boiling water. Steep for 3 hours. Dilute, using 1 part mixture to 4 parts water. Allow to cool before using.

ORGANIC PESTICIDES & NATURAL INSECTICIDES: GETTING RID OF FLEAS

Add a little sulphur to the dog’s drinking water. Another method is to put 1/2 cup vinegar into the final rinsing water of your dog’s bath water. Another is to boil a large quantity of mint leaves in 2 L of water. Strain and cool. After washing and rinsing the dog, pour the cooled mint solution over the dog and allow him to dry off naturally. Any fleas that remain will leave immediately.

ORGANIC PESTICIDES & NATURAL INSECTICIDES: GETTING RID OF CANE TOADS

For those of you who live in Australia, and particularly Queensland, you are probably plagued with cane toads. Using them as golf balls in the dark is not very humane, although a common practice for the desperate! However, if you fill up a sprayer with pure Dettol and spray the cane toads directly, they will die almost immediately.

Large numbers can be rounded up and placed in a bucket and then doused with Dettol. Not strictly organic but it does work, and I talk from personal experience! Wear gloves and protective eye-glasses so you are not affected by their poison yourself.

ORGANIC PESTICIDES & NATURAL INSECTICIDES: GETTING RID OF FRUIT FLIES

The best way to do this is to set up fruit fly traps in the orchard. These can be made out of jam jars, or old ice cream containers and then strung up in the tree boughs.

Prepare 300g pulped oranges, 15 g ammonium carbonate (purchase from the chemist), and add 600 ml water. Mix and fill jars or buckets with the bait.

Natural pest control is always better than toxic insecticides and pesticides as they usually only target the pest at hand, and are not harmful to bees and other useful insects.

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