Pest Repellent - D.I.Y. Non Chemical Remedy

Author: Kim Nee aka Owl
Edited By: David

As much as I like gardening, there’s one thing I cannot bear or tolerate, and that is PEST in my plants. No matter what you do sometimes you just can’t get rid all of them!

So I scrambled around searching the Internet for some solution and hope to fight these tiny devils. I found some natural ways to get rid of these beasts without using chemical insecticide/pesticide. All you have to do is a little bit of DIY and it will not harm your health and the environment.

Before you proceed, please read the warnings below…

WARNING:

1) Always perform a test on a small portion of the plant material first. Wait 24 hours to observe any negative reaction. Proceed if there is no damage.

2) More is not better. If you are not getting good results don’t increase the strength of these remedies without testing first.

3) Target just the area you need to treat. When using a spray, remember it can kill beneficial bugs as well as pests, so spray only when you are sure the pests are present.

1. Natural Repellent for Slugs and Aphids

Keep slugs and aphids away from window boxes with a homemade, non-chemical pest spray.

Place one peeled onion, two peeled garlic cloves, and one teaspoon cayenne pepper in the jar of a blender. Add three cups of water, and blend until smooth. Let the mixture sit overnight, strain the liquid into a spray bottle, and coat plants generously. The solution can be kept refrigerated in the bottle for up to one week.

2. Natural Repellent for Ants

Turn away pesky ants for days on end with this non-toxic repellent.

Pour equal amounts of water and white vinegar into a spray bottle, and shake the mixture well. Then spray the solution in areas where ants are common such as kitchen floors or the crevices in painted baseboards from which the pests often enter. You can also use the repellent outside.

3. Alcohol Repellent for Mealy Bugs

Before you read on, please be warned that alcohol may cause leaf damage. Alcohol sprays work on mealy bugs and have been used successfully on houseplants and tropical foliage plants. Most of these have heavy, waxy cuticles that are not easily burned.

Mix 1 to 2 cups alcohol (Use only 70% isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol) per quart of water (1 quart=4 cups) into a sprayer. Using undiluted alcohol as a spray is very risky for plants.

Since alcohol may damage leaves, always test your spray mix on a few leaves of your plants first. If the spray kills the pests and no leaf damage shows within the next 2 or 3 days, go ahead and spray further, using exactly the same ingredients and proportions you tested. If an infestation is well established, it will be necessary to make a series of applications, at 10 to 14 day intervals.

You can also use cotton dip into the mixture and touch each bug individually if you are worried about damage leaves. Although this is time consuming, but it is reliable.

4. Basic Soap Spray

This concoction is most effective on soft bodied insects such as mites, aphids, white flies and thrips. Soap penetrates the cell membrane and causes the pest to dry out.

Two tablespoons of biodegradable dishwashing liquid mix with 1 gallon of warm water (1 US gallon=16 US cups) and use as a spray. Repeat as necessary.

5. Ladybugs as Pests Controllers

You can use a little help from this little bug, as they love aphids. The ladybug lays her eggs near the prey in order to provide its larvae with food, ie. Aphids. How smart! But be careful with carnivorous plant as the poor ladybug may end up as dinner for your carnivore. I certainly hope this does not happen. So if you ever catch one, don’t ‘feed’ it to any of your carnivorous plants, they do not harm your plant.

Personally, I have tried the first method and found that it works fine. However, I have to spray my plants on a regular basis because it is a natural ingredient and does not last for very long. But it is economical and harmless to you. That’s more important as chemical pesticide can harm your health if you inhale or get in contact with it. Of course… unless you wear a mask and gloves, which I doubt most people will be bother to wear them.

Also another very important point to note, natural repellent does not harm the environment.

But I’d say ladybug is the most effective pest controller to kill aphids, as they eat and eat non-stop. I once placed a ladybug under a leaf full with aphids. It devours those nasty aphids within seconds. However, I think that ladybug might have been eaten by a lizard, ‘cause I can’t find it anymore. It’s the only ladybug I caught…, so sad. I only saw that lizard hiding behind the plant. Looking on a bright side, maybe that ladybug flew away cause it does not like my yard.

I hope this information helps; and I also hope it lessen your dependency on chemical pesticides.