We talk about eating healthy and keeping the environment safe. Why not start with your own home and garden?! Do you wonder how the farmers in early times kept those garden pests away, when the chemical industry had not taken over our lives? (Yep, the carcinogenic chemicals) - Home remedies from our everyday items in kitchen! Food was healthier and so were our bodies.
We decided to make a list of organic, all-natural inexpensive remedies to help you keep those chemical induced pesticides at bay. So, you can actually live organically without harming your bodies or the planet.
1.) Neem Spray: One of the age old favorite Indian plants with one of the most powerful antibacterial qualities that helps in warding off almost all kinds of bugs in your garden while keeping the plants healthy. Neem is biodegradable and nontoxic to pets, plants and humans and a highly effective insecticide for your garden bugs. Just add 2 teaspoons neem oil and 1 teaspoon of liquid castile soap in a quart of water. Shake it well and spray it on the affected parts. You can even use just neem oil and water if you don’t want to add liquid soap. You can even use it as a preventive measure to keep bugs at bay before the infestation.
Neem oil can be found in the garden stores or even in foods store. Check out the ingredients list on the bottle to see if it’s pure or has chemical additives.
Tip- Pure organic oil can be used as a skin care as well and is a natural mosquito repellent and a fabulous friend of your pets to keep the ticks away. (Do check the quality and research before using it on yourself or your loved ones).
2.) Oil and Soap Spray: This is as basic and old fashioned (yet effective) as it gets. All you need is the vegetable oil, a mild castile soap and water to make your insecticide. The soap gets into the cuticles of the pests and collapses their cells causing desiccation (drying them from inside). Soapy sprays are effective on soft body bugs like aphids, lerps, mealybugs etc. but won’t work on caterpillars and beetles which are mainly chewing insects. Make a very mild solution by mixing 1 cup vegetable oil and 1 tablespoon of a mild castile soap and shaking it thoroughly. When the mixture is ready add 2 teaspoons of the mix to a quart of water and spray on the affected parts of the plants directly. The oil helps in suffocating the insects by coating their bodies in it and blocking their pores while soap gets absorbed and helps in desiccating.
3.) Garlic Spray: The very pungent and strong aroma that flavors our food is the end of the garden bugs as well. You can use one head of garlic and puree the cloves along with 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil and add a quart of water. Let it sit overnight and strain it next day. Add a table spoon of mild castile soap and shake it thoroughly. Put this mixture in the spray bottle and use it on your affected plants.
4.) Turmeric Spray: The famous golden superfood packed with antioxidants and antiseptics properties is not just good for you but also your garden. You can simply sprinkle the turmeric powder on your plants to avoid infestation or you can dilute 1-part turmeric powder to 10 parts of water for spraying on your plants.
5.) Chile pepper spray: Not just for making your food spicy and flavorful but cayenne pepper powder can be used to get rid of bugs as well. Just mix 1 tablespoon of pepper powder with 1 quart of water and a few drops of castile soap, mix well and spray on the plants as a bug repellent. (Be careful while handling the powder and wear gloves so as to not harm yourself.)
TIP: While all of the above-mentioned remedies are safe and easy to make, it might be possible that certain plants may not react well to the solutions. You can test the solution on a small part of your plant and see if it is curling up or turning brown or any other symptoms of the plant not reacting well to it. If that happens, stop using the solution or dilute it further more. A few tests and you might find the perfect healthy and safe alternative to keep your garden safe from the bugs.
Another important and useful reminder is that, when using organic and natural solution, remember that persistence is the key. These pesticides might not be as potent in the first go but they will surely work after a few uses. We need to keep in mind that chemical pesticides are just that “chemical pesticides” which is why you might see it work in the first go but the harm may not be visible to the naked eye.
Stay Safe and Stay healthy!
