- What is an Insecticidal Soap?
Insecticidal soap a.k.a soap salts, is an organic pesticide made of potassium salts of fatty acids and is derived from plant oils like coconut oil, olive oil, etc.
The difference between soap salts and regular soap is the alkali used in making this. In bar soap, they use sodium hydroxide, whereas in insecticidal soap they use potassium hydroxide to make potassium salts of long chain fatty acids which are considered safe, non-toxic and eco-friendly and infact approved for use as an organic pesticide. As always, we always recommend you not to use hazardous chemical fertilizers and pesticides in our website.
PURCHASE LINKS:
Insecticidal Soap (Potassium Soap Salt) Concentrate: https://amzn.to/3vBBzzk
GardenSafe Ready to Spray Insecticidal Soap: https://amzn.to/3hD9MWV
- What is the mechanism of Action of Insecticidal Soap Spray?
Insecticidal soap acts by contact. It kills insects in three ways:
- It damages their cell membranes, causing the contents of the cell to leak out, leading to dehydration and death.
- It melts the protective wax that covers certain insects (mealybugs and other scale insects) and this leads to dehydration from evaporation.
- It blocks the pores through which insects breathe, leading to asphyxiation and death.
The pest treated usually dies very rapidly, within minutes of treatment.
- What are the insects and pests that are sensitive to Insecticidal Soap Spray?
Insecticidal soap is most effective on soft-bodied arthropods, a group that includes most plant pests like Aphids, Earwigs, Leafhoppers, Mealybugs, Sawfly larvae, Spider, mites, Thrips, Whiteflies and even Small caterpillars. Apart from these, insecticidal spray is also recommended and very effective for treating powdery mildew disease. Identify Various Pests here!
- What are the insects that are not harmed by Insecticidal Soap?
Normally, the pollinator insects like bees, butterflies, ladybugs, lacewings, etc. are not harmed by insecticidal soap.
- Ready to Buy Formulations of Insecticidal Soap:
You have two options to choose. One is Ready-to-use insecticidal soap spray that comes packaged in a spray bottle. The second option is to buy a concentrated solution. You have use some 5ml per liter of water and then spray on your plants. Many gardeners like the idea of the ready-to-use product because it’s already mixed in the correct proportions so there’s very little risk of plant damage. The bottle may be labeled as “Suitable for Organic Use,” or “Safer for Plants and Vegetables,” but if it is a true insecticidal soap, its bottle will list “potassium salts of fatty acids” as ingredients. Please check this composition before purchase.
PURCHASE LINKS:
Insecticidal Soap (Potassium Soap Salt) Concentrate: https://amzn.to/3vBBzzk
GardenSafe Ready to Spray Insecticidal Soap: https://amzn.to/3hD9MWV
- How to use these Insecticidal Soap Sprays?
Before we go to making your own powerful insecticidal spray, let’s learn how to use these commercial formulations. The ready to spray bottle is simple to use. Just shake well before use and start spraying thoroughly on the affected areas of your plant. If you have the concentrated solution of the insecticidal spray, use 5ml per liter of water or as directed in the bottle usage instructions. Mix well and spray the plant thoroughly or wet the plant completely, because It is effective only when it is wet and has no residual effect. In other words, it loses all its effect once it dries out. But the pests usually die very rapidly, within minutes of treatment. You may also perform a patch test before using it for the first time. We will discuss about it later.
- DIY Powerful Pesticide Recipe:
The active ingredient in insecticidal soap is the soap, itself. While many homemade recipes may tell you to add additional stuff, such as garlic, chili powder, etc, the insecticidal soap is actually the main ingredient. We will make the recipe for 1 liter of water in this demonstration.
- Take 1 liter of water in a container which can be closed (Distilled water is best. Do not use hard water)
- Add 1 full teaspoon of mild liquid soap – like hand wash liquid. Do not use stronger ones like dish wash soap. Liquid soaps contain potassium salts of fatty acids which are soap salts.
- Add 1 full teaspoon of vegetable oil like coconut oil to this. Now this will be your home made insecticidal spray. But to add more power to this, you need to add Neem oil to it, like about 5 ml, especially if the pests infestation is too extensive or resistant to any of the treatments.
- Mix it well by closing the cap and shaking it well for few minutes.
- Fill your spray bottle and shake every time before you spray.
- Both the liquid soap and the oil act as surfactants to help keep the solution from quickly running off the plant’s leaves when sprayed. The longer the solution remains on the plant’s foliage, the better the chance of killing the pests.
- What is Patch Test?
Whenever you make or use a pesticide for the first time, always do a patch test on a leaf first before spraying on the entire plant. You never know, how strong it is and may damage your plant. So, first spray it on a leaf or branch and wait for 1 or 2 hours. If the leaves start wilting, then its too strong to use. Dilute it accordingly and use.
- How often Should I spray?
For pest prevention, spray plants thoroughly with insecticidal soap once in 10 – 15 days. For treatment once weekly or max twice weekly. And after a heavy rain, you have to reapply the spray.
- Can I store this solution once prepared?
You can refrigerate it to store. But always better to make fresh solution every week.
PURCHASE LINKS:
Insecticidal Soap (Potassium Soap Salt) Concentrate: https://amzn.to/3vBBzzk
GardenSafe Ready to Spray Insecticidal Soap: https://amzn.to/3hD9MWV
Mealybugs are like a coronavirus. They spread quickly from plant to plant and sometimes it can be difficult to get rid of them.
Mealybugs are infact insects and considered sap sucking pests in gardening. They are soft-bodied insects covered with a white, waxy, cottony material. Dissolving this protective waxy layer will kill these mealy bugs. There are different entomological types of mealy bugs but in home gardening we are mainly concerned with root mealy bugs or ground mealybugs and the sap sucking leaf mealybugs. This is a complete step by step guide.
If you see mealybugs and ants together, then this is a serious issue and difficult to eradicate them. Because they have a mutual symbiotic relationship and these ants protect the bugs from predators and parasites. This also applies to aphids. The ants, especially the fire ants help mealybugs by carrying them to the tips of growing plants and in return they get to eat the honeydew excreted out of their anus.
Having said that, let’s look into the treatments: Please follow the same order for treatment and resort to the last option only if you fail.
10. MOVE YOUR INFECTED PLANT AWAY from the other plants because it can spread quickly from one plant to another.
9. PRUNING: This is the simplest treatment especially if a group of mealy bugs are concentrated at the tips of the branches. Remove those branches and dispose them carefully or burn those branches if possible.
8. BUG BLASTER METHOD: This means spraying water, preferably warm water with high pressure to dislodge the mealy bugs from the plants. This can be used to treat if the infestation is not so high and if there are no ants seen around them, else they tend to return back to the plant in no time.
7. SOAP WATER: This is another simple method if the mealybug load is not so high. Add 1 teaspoon of dish wash liquid soap or even some shampoo to 1 litre of water and mix well before spraying on the plant. This again works by dislodging the mealybugs from the plant. But do not use it when they exist together with ants.
6. NEEM OIL: This is a universal most commonly used broad spectrum pesticide in organic gardening. 1 teaspoon of Neem oil per litre of water + some 10 drops of liquid dish wash soap actually works for mealybugs. But remember to completely drench the plant with this spray and also spray on the top soil surrounding the plant. This solution may take time to completely eradicate the bugs and you may have to repeat this every week until eradication. Please perform a patch test on a leaf before spraying on the entire plant. Patch test means spraying on a single leaf or branch to see the potency of your pesticide. If its wilts or damaged in 1 to 2 hours, then you need to dilute it further, so that your plant is not harmed.
5. ALCOHOL: Do not use any alcohol specially ethanol and methanol because they can damage your plant. Safest is the rubbing alcohol which is 70% Isopropyl Alcohol. This works 100% on mealybugs. Do not worry if you do not have this rubbing alcohol. I will show you some easy alternatives shortly. So, How to use this on mealy bugs. If infestation is very little, just take a cotton swab and soak it with rubbing alcohol and wipe the mealy bugs. If infestation is high, then some recommend spraying directly on the plant using a sprayer. But it can damage some plants. To be safe, its better to dilute this with water in 1:1 ratio and spray on the plants. Alcohol dissolves the waxy coating of mealybugs almost instantly and they die in no time. Repeat this if required after one week. But remember to perform a patch test before spraying.
4. THE COCKTAIL METHOD: In this method, we mix up many ingredients to make a cocktail solution. Take 500 ml water in a spray can. Add half to 1 teaspoon of Neem Oil. Then You add one cup or 250 ml of rubbing alcohol. If you do not have this, you can use a hand sanitizer or even after shave lotion. Then add about 10 drops of liquid soap to this. This is the most powerful mixture to destroy all the mealy bugs in one shot. But please perform the patch test on a leaf before spraying on the entire plant.
3. Diatomaceous Earth or DE powder: Reserve this as the next organic option, because if it’s a flowering or fruiting plant, pollinators may be harmed specially if you sprinkle this powder on flowers. This powder is particularly useful if you also have ants in symbiosis with the mealybugs. Sprinkling or dusting this powder will take care of both these insects.
2. INSECTICIDES like Malathion, carbaryl and other organo-phosphorous compounds kill these bugs. But the use of chemicals is not recommended. If only one or few plants are infested, destroying your plant is another option recommended by some gardeners so that it doesn’t spread to the other healthy plants.
1. HYDROGEN PEROXIDE: This is great especially for root or ground mealy bugs. Use 2 cups of 3% hydrogen peroxide or 1 cup of 6% peroxide per litre of water and water your plant with this solution and repeat after a week if necessary.
Slugs and snails are actually cute looking creatures, but they eat away a lot of your garden, leaving only plant or leaf skeletons. They are active during the night and really difficult to get rid-off. In our previous posts, we discussed so many natural methods to control slugs and snails like using a Beer Trap, Food grade Diatomaceous earth boundaries, sprinkling Epsom salt, encouraging natural predators like birds, frogs, toads, chicken and stuff like that. But none of these are 100% effective and in fact some of these are difficult to implement.
In this post, we will discuss on the barrier or the fence method using copper wire or copper tape and show you the 100% effective electric fence method. Some of you might be worried hearing the word “Electric”! Do not worry, its 100% safe for humans and pets because we are using just a 9V DC battery which does not cause any electric shock and, it is infact quite inexpensive, permanent and 100% working method. Inexpensive! Yes indeed, because the battery will not be consumed unless the slugs and snails complete the circuit by trying to cross this barrier.
Many companies sell some slugs and snail copper tapes and claim they repel these creatures. No doubt copper is a repellent for slugs and snails, but there has to be a good concentration of copper in the tapes and also the tape has to be more than 2 inches wide to create the copper repelling effect on the snails.
Now Lets quickly build this DIY slugs and Snail electric fence in three simple steps:
But Before
that, lets List out Few basic Things You need:
a. 9V Battery with its connecting wires.
You can also try using a 3 volt battery
for smaller pots. But the best effect is seen with a 9V battery.
b. Bare or non-insulated copper wire or
any bare metallic wire, preferably a galvanized wire because its resists
corrosion. You can also strip some copper wires from old electric wires if you
have some.
c. A small plastic container as a
battery holder. You can even use a small glass bottle to build a water
proof housing for the battery.
d. Optionally you may need a soldering gun, glue gun, wire cutters, staplers particularly
if you are installing on wooden containers or raised beds, then you may also
need some insulation tape and other stuff as required.
Step 1: Water Proofing the Battery Housing: For better durability and water proofing, place the battery into a plastic container and seal any openings to make it water proof using a glue gun or any other method. Try to make a downward loop of the wire, so that water does not get into the unit.
Step 2: Wrap the copper wire around the containers in two parallel lines. Make sure the distance between these two lines is not more than 2 cm and also make sure they do no touch each other. This can even be installed on raised beds or wooden pots using staplers. You can also stick copper tapes in a similar fashion specially if you use plastic containers. These tapes come in one sided stickers and easy to fix on plastic containers. After fixing these two lines, you can solder the wires from the battery, one to each track and fix the battery housing to the container properly to avoid water exposure and any extreme weather.
Step 3: The Connections: It’s simple! Take both ends of the top wire, and “twist” them together, do the same with the bottom wire. Connect one line to the positive terminal of the battery and the other to the negative terminal. That’s it. Its now an open circuit and not consuming any battery power. You can optionally check the continuity of the wires or copper tape if you have a multimeter and also the voltage running through the line.
Let’s see what happens when slugs and snails try to cross this fence. You know these are slimy wet creatures and when they try to cross the track they complete the circuit and get a nice shock and get repelled. Watch Video Below:
Diatomaceous earth also called Diatomite or in short DE, is rightly called MAGIC POWDER because it has got several important uses not only in gardening but also in medical field and multiple other uses.
This is a naturally occurring organic substance obtained from certain natural rocks. It is made up of fossilized diatoms. Diatoms are single-celled organisms having a silica rich shells. This powder looks and feels like chalk powder and has great porosity and abrasive properties. This is not so expensive and you can purchase this online from HERE!
Now, lets list out the top 7 uses of diatomaceous earth in gardening.
- Ant Control
Why is it so important to control ants in your garden? Actually Mealybugs and Aphids have a symbiotic relationship with Ants which protect these pests from predators and also carry them to the plant tips. The Ants in turn get the honeydew sugars excreted out of their anus as their gift.
How to use DE for ant control? Sprinkle DE dust over the infested plants and also over anthills and you should get great results. - Get Rid of Slugs and Snails
These creatures eat away a lot of your plants in your garden overnight. To get rid of slugs and snails, apply DE powder in a circle around the plant and when their soft bodies come in contact with the powder, the sharp silica particles inflict tiny cuts on the skin. The dehydrating effect of the powder causes them to lose too much fluid and they eventually die. - In Compost
Bin
Maggots in your unfinished compost pile can be a nuisance. Just sprinkle this powder in your compost pile and get rid of maggots organically without using any chemical pesticides. - Mix it in your Potting Soil
Although it doesn’t have much to offer by way of nutrition, it has the properties to hold the nutrients from fertilizers and then offer it as a slow release to the roots. Plus it also makes your soil well draining and well aerated. - Prevent
Rodents and Animals from Entering your Garden
How to use it for this purpose? Do You know most rodents and animals run away from the smell of citrus and peppermint?
You can use small containers with DE powder and add few drops of the essential oils of lemon or peppermint and keep these near the entry points of these animals. The DE powder absorbs these oils and retains the smell for a longer period of time unlike some cotton balls or a piece of cloth soaked with these oils. - Control Other
Insects like Flies, Ticks and Mites
These are not only troublesome but can transmit diseases in humans and pets and hence dusting DE powder on your plants and around them will keep your garden clean from these insects.
1. As an Organic Pesticide
Diatomaceous earth is a non-toxic way to control pests in the garden. It is very
effective against all types of pests on your plants like aphids, mites, thrips,
mealy bugs, caterpillars and almost every pest. The mechanism of action is it’s
a contact poison which kills pests by extreme dehydration.
How to use Diatomaceous earth on plants?
First of all Water your plants for the day. Then dust the plants with an
applicator or just sprinkle the powder on your plants. This will help the powder stick to plant
surfaces. Since dehydration is the main mechanism of action, moisture on your
plants renders the powder ineffective and also in rainy season – apply when
there is no rain.
To avoid killing beneficial pollinators like bees and butterflies, do not sprinkle on flowers.
So, there you
have it folks. With DE powder and neem oil, you can eliminate most of the pests
in your garden safely and organically without using any harmful chemicals.
Please Like and Share this post with your friends and social media.
Happy Gardening!
The greenhouse millipede, also known as the hothouse millipede, short-flange millipede, or the garden millipede, is a common creepy pest in your garden that can cause severe damage to emergent vegetable seedlings and young plants.
How do I identify These Millipedes?
There are few types of these millipedes with hundreds of legs and can be white or brown or black in color. Unlike their cousin, the centipede, millipedes are not carnivores, instead they eat dead and rotting vegetation and they hide in moist places like your soil mulch layer, debris or inside the top layer of soil. They prefer darkness and moisture and hence they are more common in rainy season.
Are Millipedes Poisonous or Venomous?
Do not be
too scared, Millipedes, unlike centipedes, are not venomous and are generally
considered to be non-poisonous. However, there are some millipede species that release
some fluids that can cause irritation to human skin. Hence its always better to
wear garden gloves and employ safety precautions.
How do I kill or get rid off these
garden pests?
There are many solutions to control millipedes. We will list out these one
by one in 5 steps:
5. Visible Millipedes can be smashed or can be swept with a broom or a vacuum cleaner and can be disposed. But this is difficult because most of these are not visible and are found hiding under the soil or mulch layer.
4. Sticky Traps and Light Traps are another option that attract and trap these millipedes. But these are not available easily.
3. Chemical Pesticides: We will just name these pesticides because, we will not use any chemicals in our garden, specially vegetable gardening. The chemical pesticides that work are Propoxur, Cyfluthrin, Pyrethrins, Piperonyl butoxide, Deltamethrin, Cypermethrin, bifenthrin, etc.
2. Chicken and Cats: Before we proceed to our natural remedies, we will discuss on chicken. Chicken love to eat these type of insects and pests. Keeping a few hens can do wonders to get rid of these millipedes and even other pests in your garden.Cats, though they do not eat millipedes, they may chase them, play with them and smash them to some extent.
- Natural and Organic Pesticides. The mechanism of action of any pesticide whether organic or inorganic chemical is Systemic effect which can be slow in action and Contact poisons which kill the pests when they come in contact with it.
- Diatomaceous Earth is first in the list: This white powder is easily available at many garden stores and even online. Its completely harmless to people and pets.
- Borax: Similar to Diatomacous Earth, Borax is derived from boric acid and dries the millipedes out and kills them. It also acts as a stomach poison that will kill millipedes if ingested. It’s completely safe to humans. Just sprinkle the boric acid over the areas of infestation and do not water it for atleast 24 hours. You can check out my detailed video and article on boric acid or borax powder for plants and garden.
- Wood Ash: The action is similar to borax powder which dries out the soil and the pests. I also have a detailed video and article on the benefits of wood ash in gardening.
How would you feel, when oneday on your early morning garden inspection you find part of your garden disappeared while you slept, or realize your flower buds are torn apart and very badly damaged?
I am sure after seeing this damage, Your first instinct is likely to spray some powerful chemical pesticide all over your plants to kill those culprits without even investigating further. This is not a right decision. Please Spend a little time to find out what’s eating your plants and then take necessary action particularly prescribed for that pest or insect.
Yes, Today we will look into Identifying those common pests by scanning their leaf signatures – that’s the leaf damage pattern they leave after feeding on your plants. So lets begin.
Chewed Leaves or Slime Trails
- Chewed Leaves or Slime Trails: If you seeirregular-shaped holes in the leaf (but not along the edges) and if you seeslime trails or lines, then most likely the Culprits are Slugs and Snails. So Whats the Solution? There are lot ofremedies for slugs and snails but Beer Trap is the most effective oneconsidered by many. Pour some beer in a saucer and leave it overnight. Thisattracts and kills these creatures. Chewed Leaves along the edges: Leafcutting bees are the culprits. So whats the solution? Generally unless its tooextensive damage, you need not take any step to kill or drive away these bees,because they are beneficial insects and required for pollination in yourgarden.
- Chewed Leaves with central holes in betweenveins – like Skeletonised leaves. The culprit here is Caterpillars if largerholes, then the other insects which can cause this pattern are Beetles, Earwigsand Saw flies. So whats the remedy. For caterpillars, hand pick and eliminatethem including their eggs from the leaves. After doing this apply a neem oil +soap solution weekly twice. 10 ml neem oil + 10 drops or 10 ml of liquid soapor shampoo and spray it thoroughly including the undersides of the leaves.
Skeletonised leaves
Discolored Leaves + Sucking Damage: Thisis commonly caused by Thrips and Spider Mites, common thrips are the CubanLaurel Thrips. As you can see here, the leaf is discoloured and then foldedonto itself to form a pouch or cover these creatures and its eggs. If leftuntreated, these thrips will multiply drastically and can cause a considerabledamage to your plant. So Whats thesolution? You can use the same Neem oil + soap spray weekly twice or can addanother oil like clove oil or eucalyptus oil if they are too extensive. If theystill persist, then go for a chemical sprays like those containing Imidaclopridas the last resort. If you still want organic solution like me, consideranother option called diatomaceous earth (DE).
Zig zag leaf mining Pattern: Obviouslythese are called Leaf miners. Leafminers are very tiny larvae of a variety ofinsects like flies, moths and beetles. Leafminers do not actually cause majorinjury to the infested plant, but rather give an unattractive look to theplant. This mining pattern of zig zag lines on the leaves are produced as thesetiny larvae burry and eat along the infested leaves. If you want to control these, Neem oil is thebest solution. You can watch my detailed video on leaf miners and its remediesfrom HERE.
Sucking Damage and Deformed Leaves and Leaf Curls: Common Sucking pests are Aphids,Whiteflies and Mealy Bugs. The mealy bugs are very common and are found suckingthe new growth and tips. Infact, Mealybugs as well as Aphids have a symbioticrelationship with Ants which protect these pests from predators and also carrythem to the plants. The Ants in turn get the honeydew sugars excreted out oftheir anus as their gift. So, Whats the Solution? I have been using theMagic organic mix containing multiple ingredients along with neem oil tocontrol these. But they need a weekly spray with this solution depending on theseverity. There are lot of solutions to these pests including alcohol basedsprays, neem oil and many others. Please check a video on this topic HERE.
Leaf Galls or Leaf Bumps: This is astrange and rare pattern which presents as tumour like boils on the leafsurface. This is considered to be due to irritation or stimulation of plantcells due to feeding or egg-laying by insects such as aphids, wasps and mites.
The main idea behind these methods is, this saves me a lot of time and Time is really precious!
Here s a list of few easy methods I use. These include natural pesticides and other simple methods.
1. Grow Plants Full of Health and Vigour: Yes, Regularly Adding organic composts like vermicompost, decomposed cowdung or horsedung on your top layer of soil is the best way to develop strong and vigorous plants which can resist or withstand these pest attacks. I also mix organic neem seed meal powder into the soil which combats many pathogens in the soil and also neem cake is a natural fertilizer with many micronutrients.
2. Keep Pest Repelling Plants in your garden. This is infact an easy way of keep many pests away including mosquitoes. You have to do this strategically – like placing these insect-repelling plants near entrances and also interspersed between your other plants which are more prone to pest attacks. There is a long list of such plants – I have listed out these names in these slides on the screen. This is taken from Wikipedia website. CHECK HERE.
3. Trimming or Pruning the Affected Leaves or branches. This step is really important because this has two benefits. This will reduce the load of pests to be eliminated by a pesticide and also offers the benefits of pruning a plant, that is giving out more branching.
4. Hand Pick and Eliminate. This is actually the best method to eliminate some worms and insects like caterpillars, slugs and snails and other leaf eating worms.
5. Neem Oil Spray: This is by far the most widely accepted natural pesticide spray worldwide. When you have lot of pests, spray your plants thoroughly once weekly or atleast once in 15 days. Then a maintenance or prophylactic dose of once a month if you have no pests in your garden. The Formula is Add 5 ml Pure Neem oil in 1 litre of water + some 10 drops of any liquid soap for the surfactant effect and to coat the leaves. Do a patch test on a leaf and then spray the whole garden. WATCH a Detailed Video HERE.
6. My Cocktail Organic Pest Spray: If your plant pest load is too high, consider using a mixture of multiple natural oils and other stuff to make a cocktail pesticide spray. I have discussed this recipe in detail in my video titled Universal Pesticide recipe. You can check this VIDEO HERE. What I used is a mixture of Clove Oil, Neem Oil and Optionally Eucalyptus Oil and then liquid soap. This is a really powerful organic pesticide solution. And again, Always do a patch test on a leaf to check the result before applying on entire plant.
7. And FINALLY, the Best method of pest control which can eliminate more than 80 percent of pests in 1 single shot. When we see these pests damaging our beloved plants, am sure we all feel like burning them to death. But we are helpless, we cannot burn our plants. You can only burn the cut out branches and leaves loaded with pests, which is infact the best way to prevent contamination to other plants. Incineration or burning is one of the best sterilization methods.
So, The only best way is to either kill them on the plants without damaging our plants or somehow dissociate them from our plants. Yes, This method is to separate these pests from our plants. I will demonstrate how powerful this is, so keep watching. Yes, Am talking about the high pressure water spray in misting mode using your garden spray gun with the correct pressure. I will reveal you everything now. How I experimented many methods to finally settle on this method and also the other benefits of this method. First of all there is absolutely no water pressure on your teres garden, because overhead tanks are sitting on the teres or slightly above it. I am sure all of you agree with me on this point. Most of us must be using the bottle spray to pump or spray pesticides which is a manual method to spray with very little pressure and with lot of effort and time and energy consuming specially if you have too many plants. To overcome this, First I started with the rechargeable battery operated 16 litre sprayer can. This was actually a good option with good pressure and other benefits like portability and things like that. But I wanted to connect my multi-mode spray gun with something like a multipurpose gadget where I can use my coiled hose with this multimode spray gun to do all tasks like water the plants and also spray pesticides and do all in one activity. And So, I connected my hose to this Double barrelled Self priming 12 v DC pump which is available online actually as a car wash pump. YOU CAN CHECK THIS POST to get all these products used here. I am not promoting this product. You can buy any similar pump and connect according to your plan and requirement and also please suggest more ideas in the comment box so that everyone is benefited.
As you can see, I am spraying this in pressure mist mode on this plant loaded with mealy bugs. See the pressure and with this pressure of fine misting, any pest will definitely dissociate from the plant, even including the underside of the leaves. After washing, you can then spray your regular pesticide.
For me, This is looking perfect so far, with the desired pressure and options to use it as a watering equipment , pest spraying, misting my plants and also misting or watering my seedlings and do a lot of stuff. It really saves me a lot of time.
So, there we have it folks, that was in brief on the best ways to control pests in your garden. Please give me a thumbs up If you liked this post. Also tweet or share the video with your gardener friends. Comment below with any query or any feedback regarding this.
Happy Gardening.
Recommended Products:
- Battery Operated Pesticide Sprayer ( 16 L): https://goo.gl/wxqyYM
- Boston Double Pump – Car Washer Set (BEST): https://goo.gl/4jb3PB
- Multi-mode Spray Gun with Re-Coiling Garden Hose Pipe: https://goo.gl/GNS4b1
Recommended Related Videos:
- Cocktail Organic Pesticide: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKJOEMtz9jQ
- Neem Oil in Gardening: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6TtdKGIE-0
- Blog Article – http://www.gkvks.com/top-7-best-natural-pest-control-methods-organic-pesticides/
- Products Links: http://www.gkvks.com/electric-pesticide-sprayer-with-pressure-washer-car-wash-pump/
By using Chemical Pesticides in our garden, we intentionally release harmful toxic and cancer producing substances into our environment.
Thankfully, there are a number of easily available natural substances that act as organic pesticides and are completely safe to use on our plants.
These home made natural pesticides can kill a variety of pests and bugs in our garden, either singly or in combinations. Combination of multiple substances can help you to provide a broad spectrum killing of a variety of pests like Aphids, whiteflies, mealybugs, spider mites, beetles, fleas, flies, mosquitoes, larvae, caterpillars, slugs and snails and many more.
Today, we will look into the formula or the recipe to make this All-purpose cocktail pesticide and most important its completely organic and safe to use.
Before we go into the ingredients, make sure you follow these three rules in applying this natural pesticide for your plants.
1. First and foremost, Always do a patch test on a leaf or a branch before applying all over your garden. If your leaf is getting burnt or wilting, then probably you need to reduce the concentration. And if you learn this adjustment, am sure you will have a pest free garden one day.
2. Secondly, make sure your spray even on the under sides of the leaves, and also flower buds and new growing shoots.
3. And lastly, do not apply during the sunny hours. Best time is evening and after sunset.
Now the Formula or the Recipe for this All purpose Organic Pesticide: We add 4 Ingredients to make this powerful pesticide liquid. This formula is to make 1 litre of this solution. So to 1 litre of warm water we add:
10 Drops Clove Oil – if you do not have clove oil, you can make a clove solution by taking 1 tablespoon of cloves and then crush them roughly and add this to a cup of warm water and leave it for 1 or 2 hours and then use this solution. Add a cup of this solution to water. But if you are using pure clove oil, you can use 10 drops only. The one you are seeing here I purchased online and this is approved by the ministry as a safe pesticide for organic vegetable gardening. You can use any pure clove oil brand from your store. You can find a link to purchase this at my website www.gkvk.in and also from a link in description below this video.
10 Drops Pure Neem Oil – get this from a trusted source. Even this purchase link you can find in description.
5 – 10 Drops of Eucalyptus Oil – This actually drives away bees and wasps. Use it if you do not mind driving away these pollinators or sometimes they are scary for your kids or you have a risk of anaphylaxis or allergic shock to bee or wasp stings or use them in special areas to protect your kids from bee or wasp stings.
10 drops of liquid soap like dish wash soap liquid for the coating or surfactant effect.
Its easy to remember this Formula like the Rule of 10 – that is 10 drops of each of these 4 ingredients.
Mix this well and load into your spray bottle and spray on your plants but first do a patch test and follow the rules already mentioned earlier.
i have used this same recipe and cleared almost all pests from my plants.
Initially you can use this weekly once for 3 weeks and eradicate all pests from your garden. Then as a maintenance dose or prophylactic use it in little lesser dilution atleast once every fortnight or atleast once a month.
Also watch my videos on Universal Fertilizer Recipe and Universal Potting Mix Recipes from the end screen links.
So there you have it folks, if you like this video click a thumbs up for me and share the video with your friends. Please do not forget to write your feedback in the comments section below the video.
Happy Gardening!