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Organic Gardening

Please help with specific insect repellent recipe

17 years ago

I bought an organic insecticidal soap at the local garden center to use for pest control. Used product according to manufacturers instructions and it burned everything I put it on. I would like a home made organic insecticidal spray that is effective on aphids, ants, earwigs, etc. please advise specific recipe if you have one that works well. Please also advise how often to apply. Also looking for pest control to combat earwigs on corn. Any suggestions would be helpful.

Thank You !

Jen

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Comments (6)

jean001
17 years ago
If used according to directions, tt shouldn't have burned everything.

But it could burn if applied to plants with hairy leaves, or if the temperature exceeded 85F that day.
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jean001
17 years ago
I should have added: Aphids are easy. Blast them off with a harsh water spry, then repeat every several days.

Anats aren't a problem. But if they're in your plants, look for aphids or scale.

And earwigs can be collected in a rolled up newspaper that's set outdoors (where they tend to hang out) overnight. They'll hide in the nooks and crannies, so dump them into soapy water in the morning.
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byron
17 years ago
A real mild spray is 1 Tbsp of Castile, baby or horse shampoo in a gal of water
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gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
17 years ago
Many plants are sensitive to soap sprays on their foliage during the hot, sunny parts of the day. It produces a reaction called phytotoxicity and does result in burnt or scorched looking leaves. These sprays are best used early in the day so that the foliage can dry before the heat of the sun gets to it or in the evening or on overcast days. Even homemade remedies can have this effect.

FWIW, insecticidal soaps, homemade or those manufactured for horticultural purposes, target a specific set of insect pests - those with soft bodies like aphids, mealy bugs, soft scales or the crawler stage of hard scales, etc. They are not effective on ants or earwigs or similar hard bodied pests. Jean's recommendations are excellent - I always start with a good hosing down with plain water first, moving to more specific controls only if that is not effective (and it usually is).
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darkcloud
17 years ago
anyone who has tried to 'blast' their plants with a 'hard' spray of water knows it only beats your plants to death - end of problem
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tucker303
17 years ago
I will vouch for the water method. I have always been "fearful" of infestations of aphids, spider mites etc. The fear being that I felt nothing would control them...not even chemicals....and all my hard work would be lost.

I bought lady bugs the last couple of years and they helped clean out the aphids. This year I have not had to buy any and whatever aphids I saw, the hose and water trick worked great. Same with spider mites. Now I just monitor the plants and the first sight...a blast of water once a day for a few days and they are gone.
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