USDA Recommends Soap and Oil for Insect Control : Household liquid detergents and cooking oils are being recommended by the U.S. Department of Agriculture as low-cost, effective killers of garden pests.
- USDA scientists recommend using 1 tablespoon of detergent and 1 cup of oil – either peanut, safflower, corn, soybean, or sunflower.
- When ready to use, mix 1 to 2 ½ tsp of the prepared solution to one cup of water. The detergent-oil mix has been used successfully on eggplants, carrots, lettuce, Swiss chard, celery, watermelons, peppers, and cucumbers.
Cucumber Beetle Repellent
1 Pkg chewing tobacco
1 cup ivory dish soap
1 qt Epsom salts
Mix in a 5 gallon bucket of water. Spray liquid on cucumber plants to repel beetles.
Spider Mites
1 drop of ivory dish soap
1 qt water
Mix and spray the under sides of the foliage.
Japanese Beetle Hot Pepper Spray
½ cup dried cayenne peppers
½ cup of jalapeno peppers
1 gal of water
Add the peppers to the water and bring the pot to a boil and let it simmer for a half an hour. Let the mixture cool and strain out the solids and pour the liquid into a spray bottle to spray your plants after every rainfall.
Aphids
Solution #1
3 tbsp of garlic and onion juice
3 tbsp of skim milk
2 tbsp of baby shampoo
1 tsp of Tabasco sauce
1 gal of water
Mix these ingredients in a bucket and pour the solution into a 20-gallon hose-end sprayer. Spray every 10 days until the aphids are gone.
Solution #2
1 tbsp of garlic oil
3 drops of liquid dish soap
1 qt of water
Mix these ingredients together in a blender, and pour the solution into a spray bottle.
Misc. Bug Killers
Solution #1
1/3 cup of vegetable oil
1 tsp of baking soda
1 cup of water
Mix the oil and baking soda together, then combine the 2 tsp of the mixture with the cup of water in a handheld sprayer.
Solution #2
1 cup of antiseptic mouthwash
1 cup of tobacco tea
1 cup chamomile teal
1 cup of urine
½ cup of Murphy’s Oil Soap
½ cup of lemon-scented dishwashing liquid
Mix these ingredients in a large bucket and pour it into a 20 gallon hose-end sprayer. Apply to your flowers to the point of run-off.
Treat Scale
Dab insects with a cotton swab dipped in rubbing alcohol.
