Homemade Insecticide for Vegetable Garden

I was just looking up the same info and came across the following:
http://www.helpfulgardener.com/organic/2006/insects.html

Best wishes!
M.

L.,

You got some great advice already! I use the soapy water solution and the marigolds which work well. Sometimes squashes and zucchini get powdery mildew. If you get this dilute baking soda in water and spray on the leaves directly in the morning avoiding hot sun. Roses can get this too as well as peas, so catch it early.

Happy gardening!

L.

I just wanted you to know that my experience with the ladybugs did not work. They all flew away the next day so it was a waste of money.

Not too long ago some wrote in about this and someone suggested using leftover coffee for the bugs and cornmeal for the ants.

Praying mantis are excellent garden protectors and will eat almost any insect. You can buy bags of praying mantis eggs at any hardware store.

We plant Marygolds around our garden. We don't see bugs until the end of the season.

J.

if they are little white bugs - they are probably aphids - and ladybugs will eat them. you should be able to buy lady bugs at any garden store.

I would recommend going to a gardening store like andersens, bringing in a sample of the bugs, or a leaf they ahve eaten, and there should be people there that can figure out what the bugs are, and how to get rid of them naturally.

best of luck

Hi L., Left over coffee in a spray botle. J.

We went strawberry picking at a farm yesterday and they had green onions growing between each strawberry plant to keep away pests. The tour guide also mentioned using jalapeno spray (no idea how they liquify it unless it is simply pulverized) on other crops such as celery and carrots... All of their crops were organic and we got to sample each fruit and veggie straight from the earth!

Try spraying cooled garilc tea on the leaves. Just boil a feww smashed garlic cloves in a pot of water for a couple minutes and let cool. Marigolds keep pests away too. Or you could mix some natural soap with water and spray it on. I've heard that works with some pests. Ladybugs eat aphids. You can buy both ladybugs and praying mantises for pest control. Check out www.seedsofchange.com for more info on natural pest control. Good luck!

Well, i watched a movie ("weathersby", or something like that)& the same thing was happening with the crops. Anyways, the farmers mixed water & soap & poured around the plants in the soil. Not sure if it works or not, but won't hurt to try it.

Have you tried purchasing ladybugs? I think you need to determine what type of insect is eating in your vegetable garden. The bugs are out at Lowes in Burbank and Osh in Van Nuys, but that was last week. Good luck

Hi L.,
You can try Nature-cide. It's 100% natural, there are different varieties. Go to wwww.nature-cide.com. Hope this helps.

V.

Put some dish soap and water in a spray bottle and add a little tobasco sauce to it for the really stubborn bugs. Spray the plants with it.

I started using ladybugs on my rose garden a few years ago for the same reason -- didn't want chemicals near the pets and family. They worked very well -- better than chemicals. Usually Lowe's and Home Depot have them, but they don't this year for some reason. Try a gardening supply store -- they should have ladybugs. Good luck!

A compost tea would be non-toxic and also help the overall health of your garden. I'm new to the area, but with all the farming in the area, you can probably run a search and track some down. Good luck!

Grow chrysanthemums (spelling?) between your plants. A natural chemical in them is used for commercial repellants. For snails and slugs put flat plates of beer out at night. They drown in it. Won't hurt your dog or cat. Also try spraying the bugs with a drop of dishwashing detergent to a large manual sprayer filled with water (about a quart or so) and spray the insects. This causes them to lose body oils and dehydrates them (aphids). If you are not squeamish, you can do what I did with a long dowel about 1/2 inch or bigger and about three feet long, you can knock large caterpillars (tomato worms, etc) off the plants and squish them with the end of the dowel. Makes fertilizer for the plants they were trying to eat.

We used to live in an area with loads of deer, raccoon, bear, all kinds of wonderful wildlife.
In protecting our vegetable garden, and not damaging anything, including our own horses and dogs, we used Cayenne Pepper mixed with Water.
They try it once, and don't go anywhere near it.

On a recent trip to Tanaka Farms in Irvine, they told us they use garlic oil and chili oil to keep bugs away. They also plant vegetables that keep bugs away. For instance, the strawberries are all planted with onions growing along side. They say it's a natural way to keep the bugs away.

It seemed to work...the strawberries were amazing!

-M

My mom used Chinese hot mustard. It seemed to work.

She also got me a book called "Grandma's Critter Ridder" that has bug-specific recipes.

And http://www.arbico-organics.com/ is a good source for things to purchase. I've used the site before and have been pleased.

Toads are perfect additions to gardens. They eat all the bugs and leave your beautiful plants, flowers, veggies, or fruits alone. The only maintenance they require is a bit of water.

Sluggo is great for slugs, which could easily be your pest. For mealy bug and white fly 2 tbsp per gallon of lemon scent dawn. get yourself one of those dial in sprayers that attach to your garden hose. Otherwise bring in a sample to Armstrong (I like the one on Sepulveda best). There are lots of great organic products out there. Neem oil works well too.

Google beneficial bugs for each thing you are growing. Something for each one :)

a water spray bottle with a drop of dish soap and a bit of olive oil works to get aphids off my roses. Not sure about other bugs.

I've also heard marigolds keep bugs away (was recommended someplace I read to keep bugs off tomato plants)... have been meaning to try it, but haven't started my veg garden ;-)

Soapy water, in a spray bottle.

Or this one, from Burpee :
http://www.burpee.com/product/gardening+supplies/pest+con...

or these:
http://www.groworganic.com/browse_430_Natural_Pest_Contro...

Or these,
http://www.seedsofchange.com/garden_center/browse_categor...

I've gotten things from all these companies and like them very much.

Good luck,
Susan

Good luck,
Susan

Insecticidal soap. Get some Octagon soap which is biodegradable and put it in one of those chemical- feed -into your hose things. Soapy water that is greatly diluted sprayed about once every week or so will not hurt your plants. Never spray in the sun. Do it early morning or late in the day.