EN bORRADOR
We've got lots of tips and ideas for how you can use household items to ward off pests in your garden this year.
By Roni Robbins
Mother Nature News
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| A homemade Pesticide |
Start with a
little chopped garlic. Add equal parts onion, hot pepper, horseradish
and vinegar. Nope, you’re not whipping up a lovely Italian meal. We’re
talking organic pesticides here.
It seems bugs
and other pests don’t like it hot and spicy. So if you’re looking for
natural alternatives to the synthetic killers on the market, try using
non-toxic household substances already in your pantry.
Ingredients such as garlic, salt, peppers, baking soda, orange peels and cooking oils can be found in many homemade organic pesticide recipes. Herbs, seasonings and other food products also are contained in the commercial pesticides sold at home improvement stores.
Since the vast
majority of garden pests are beneficial to plants, genuine organic
pesticides — applied properly — can ward off harmful critters without
damaging the environment.
Biggest Turn-offs
Bugs are
attracted to most plants because of their fragrance. It makes sense,
then, that they’d be turned off by foul-smelling garlic, tobacco, basil,
sage, chives and rosemary.
Let’s consider
garlic. Organic gardeners have long known garlic makes for an odorous
and toxic repellent to pests. Planting edible garlic between rows of
vegetables or roses will repel aphids and other insects, according to Go Organic Gardening, which offers advice and resources for organic gardening.
A number of
recipes for garlic sprays combine mixed garlic or garlic powder with
other products such as mineral or vegetable oils, onions, peppers, even
dishwashing soap, another popular bug-zapper.
Garlic sprays
work on aphids, cabbage loopers, June bugs, leafhoppers, squash bugs and
whiteflies, reports Comfy Country Creations, a Canadian-based website
offering gardening tips and homemade bug spray recipes.
The Sonora Environmental Research Institute Inc. in Tucson suggests citrus oil or cayenne pepper as pesticide alternatives.
Natural Pesticides
Among the
natural pesticides on the market, Go Organic Gardening lists Orange
Guard Home Pest Control Spray. The commercial product uses
steam-distilled orange peel oil to kill cockroaches, ants, fleas,
locusts and weevils.
The garden itself offers a host of pesticides.
The dried,
powdered flowers of the pyrethrum daisy have become a popular
insecticide ingredient. Not to be confused with pyrethroids, a new class
of synthetic pesticides, pyrethrins are concentrated in the seeds of
the flower head.
Pyrethrins are
considered a contact insecticide; insects merely touching the substance
are affected. The product only works on certain insects such as flies,
gnats, mosquitoes, spider mites, leafhoppers, stink bugs and aphids. Mix
the dried powder with water and a few drops of liquid soap and you can
use it to protect other flowers, fruits and vegetables, Comfy Country Creations reports.
A commercial brand that uses pyrethrins is Safer Yard and Garden Insect Killer Spray, as cited by Go Organic Gardening.
Plant Extracts
When considering commercial insecticides, opt for those made from naturally-occurring plant extracts, as recommended by the Home Depot Garden Club.
As with all
organic pesticides, research first whether the bugs you are trying to
destroy are harmful or not; take note of the product’s intended use;
test it on a single plant to determine its effect; and only spot-treat
targeted plants and bugs. Also, recognize that many so-called organic
pesticides may not be as effective as the synthetic variety, according
to the Backyard Conservation Fact Sheet of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).
The NRCS fact
sheet lists beneficial insects, the bugs they control and natural pest
management strategies. Simple solutions include spraying water from a
hose to remove insects and applying a baking soda solution to control
fungal diseases on roses.
For more information about choosing least-toxic pest control products and other pest management tips, consult the National Pesticide Information Center (NPIC).
Organic
pesticide products may also require larger doses, making it just as
toxic as the commercial brand, and may kill off natural predators.
Of course, if it is toxic, you won’t want to use it in that Italian meal after all.
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