When it comes to keeping your crops safe in the face of massive numbers of plant-munching bugs insects, there are a variety of methods that can help turn the tide in favor of your own harvests. While extracting insects by hand is one time-tested process, it can also be incredibly challenging to do this.
If you have a persistent pest problem, you can contact local pest control in your area. Rove Pest Control, for example, has great solutions. You can also reach out to whichever pest control company is around. However, do this quickly before your pest problem gets too out of hand! If you don’t want to go professional on this, keep reading to find some natural remedies that will deter pests from taking over your plants.
Oil Spray
A homemade insecticide made from vegetable oil combined with a mild soap may have a devastating effect on some alarming insects, such as aphids, mites, thrips, etc. The oil coats the insects ‘ bodies, potentially suffocating them because it blocks the pores they breathe from.
Soap Spray
A very similar homemade pesticide to oil spray is a soap spray, which is also effective in controlling mites, aphids, whiteflies, beetles and other small hungry insects. A soap spray insecticide works in the same way as an oil spray pesticide and can be applied as appropriate (although it is often recommended to apply it during the night and not when it’s sunny outside).
Neem Oil
The oil extracted from the neem tree seeds is an effective natural insecticide, capable of disrupting the insect life cycle at all stages (adult, larvae, and egg), making it a great tool for the organic gardener. Neem oil serves as a disruptor to the hormone and an “antifeedant” to insects that feed on leaves and other parts of plants. Neem oil is biodegradable and non-toxic to cattle, birds, fish, and other wildlife, and is effective against a number of common insect pests in the garden, as well as being a natural fungicide capable of combating powdery mildew and other fungal infections.
Garlic Spray
Garlic is well known for its pungent aroma, which is delightful to some and yet repellent to others, and when used as a natural insecticide, it is this strong scent that comes into play. In fact, it is not really clear if garlic spray and chili spray (below) are in fact insecticides or are more likely to be insect repellents but can function to some extent.
Tomato Leaf
Tomato plants are part of the family of nightshades and as such contain alkaloids such as the aptly named “tomatine,” which can combat aphids and other insects effectively. Chop 2 cups of fresh tomato leaves (which can be taken from the bottom of the plant) into 1 quarter of water to make tomato leaf spray for a natural insecticide, and allow it to steep overnight.
The Bottomline
Just remember that killing all the insects in your garden is not the desired result here, as any healthy environment needs an abundance of beneficial insects, bacteria, and fungi, both in the soil and on the plants themselves, thus introducing or creating good habitat for other predatory insects (ladybugs, praying mantis, etc.). Go easy with the repellants because some bugs are good bugs after all!
