Home made recipes to help you to deal with unwanted 'critters'!
Horticultural oil sprays have been commercially available for a long time, they work by smothering the insects and mites they come in contact with, preventing disease-causing pests from destroying your favorite plants. I hate to walk out in my garden in the morning, and find my roses with great holes in their leaves. It can be quite soul destroying.
Aphids, scale insects, and other insects that stay on a plant, are particularly susceptible to oil sprays. Unfortunately, grasshoppers and insects that take a bite and fly away, are not usually affected.
When using any spray, remember that it will kill beneficial insects as well as pests, and make sure you only spray when you know that insects are present on your plants. Oils can also burn plant leaves especially in hot summer months, so before spraying an entire plant, always spray a few leaves and then check back the next day for burning.
For best results, remember to spray the underside of leaves as well as the topside.
Here are recipes for 2 oil sprays to make from your own ingredients:
Basic Oil Spray.
1 cup of vegetable oil ( safflower, corn, soybean, or canola)
1 tablespoon dishwashing liquid.
Place oil and water in a jar or empty plastic bottle .
( Squeezable bottles make for easy pouring and measuring.)
Take one tablespoon of oil mixture as above, then add
2 cups of water.
Place the solution in a spray bottle, and spray your plants. As you know, oil and water do not mix well, so shake the spray bottle as you are using it, to keep the solution well mixed. Repeat the treatment in seven to ten days, if necessary.
Alcohol oil spray.
To increase the effectiveness of the basic oil spray addsome isopropyl alcohol to the mixture.
An alcohol and water solution is lethal to many insects.
1 cup alcohol
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 quart water.
Mix ingredients together and place in spray bottle, spray as necessary.
DO NOT DRINK!!!
Flour Spray.
My grandmother used to use a flour spray as she said it was a good way to kill many pest insects. There wasn't any chemical sprays available to her in those days.
Flour dust turns into a sticky substance that can hold a pest like a sticky trap.
Many insects will eat it, and the flour stops up their digestive tracts. To get more flour onto your plants try spraying it on:
2-4 tablespoons wheat or potato flour
½ teaspoon dishwashing liquid
1 quart water.
Mix well and place in spray bottle, spray on plant and leaves.
Ena Clewes is an author of short stories and is an avid Organic Gardener.Visit Ena's websites at: http://organicgardengardening.com and http://gothicandvictoriangardening.com
Ena has just written an Organic Gardening book available at http://www.lulu.com/content/1725463or on her website.
Garden pests
