Insects bugging your plants? Are you worried about your plants and not sure how to keep them away from insects? Well, it’s not easy as I myself have lost many plants due to insect infestation. I have tried many insecticides but realised it’s better to avoid chemical-laden ones and go for natural ones. I am sharing few natural and homemade plant insecticides in this post –

Before sharing the insecticides, let me share some tips to keep your plants safe from insects –

  1. First of all, choose plants according to the sunlight your balcony or garden gets. Sometimes less sunlight can also make plants suspectable to insect infestation.
  2. Avoid overwatering and make sure the plant pot has holes at the bottom for extra water draining.
  3. Keep crushed eggshells or fragrant oils like lavender etc to repel the insects from infesting the plants.
  4. Check regularly for insects or any kind of infestations and try removing infested leaves to avoid the spread to the whole plant.

5 natural and homemade plant insecticides –

  1. Neem oil spray – This is a natural insecticide that is mainly for soft-bodied insects like aphids, mites etc. For this, you can buy neem oil from the market and mix 2 parts with 1 gallon of water. Spray on your plants once a week and it is safe to use. This is one of my favourites and one of the best ones as it is not only an insecticide but works as a fungicide too.
  2. Soap water spray – This is a basic one for small insects like aphids and spider mites. For this, mix 2 tbsp normal liquid dish soap with 4-5 cups water and spray on plants. Make sure the soap is free from any fragrances or chemicals and avoid using dishwashing liquid. Also, do a check/test before applying all over as sometimes soap can work negatively. If you see, the leaves are withering or drying, avoid the application otherwise go ahead and spray immediately. Also read, balcony gardening tips in India
  3. Pepper spray – For this, mix pepper/red chilli powder or paprika with water and dish soap. It helps to repel some insects. I have not personally used this one but some of my friends swear by it and recommend it. I feel no harm in trying it but make sure you test it first too.
  4. Herbal spray – For this, you need some basic herbs like thyme, basil, mint, lavender etc. You can either crush the fresh leaves and soak in water overnight or use the market-bought essential oils and mix them with water. This is mainly for repelling the insects and surely smells great.
  5. Baking soda spray – I have tried this but made a huge mistake the first time I used it. I didn’t use the proper quantity and ended up causing drying of leaves and later on realised my mistake. So, make sure you use the proper quantities for this one. Mix 2tbsp baking soda with 1-liter water. Also, add little oil and dish soap to it. (1tsp). This is your organic bug spray.

Last but not least, water when sprayed from the top sometimes helps to remove some insects. So, no harm in trying this first. I hope you found these tips and natural and homemade plant insecticide recipes helpful. Do try and let me know in the comments below or if you have any other suggestions, do share with us.

I am writing this post as a part of the cause – environmental talks and this post is part of Blogchatter’s CauseAChatter

This is my third post. My first post was about balcony gardening.

Also sharing this video which is my second post with basic gardening tips that even a gardener won’t tell you –

 

 

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