All Natural Garden Pesticide

Beautiful vibrant gardens such as this can every now and then become a target for pests of various kinds.
Fruits and vegetables attract pests such as beetles. For edibles, most don’t want to risk the really strong insecticides or other store blends that may be too harsh on the plant itself or harmful to consume over time.
Damage such as this can be hard to target the cause. Over the years we’ve tried many “safe” insecticides and other things that just promoted more growth of and/or attracted more beetles or other pests. Vinegar was a good option but it in high doses (enough to detract) can harm the actual plants causing them to shrivel up and waste away.

Frustrated with experimental sprays that were overpriced and didn’t work and other blends, we discovered this homemade blend that deters pests including lizards, beetles, and small animals.
Materials:

1 Large Bottle Sprayer
Dish Soap
Crushed Red Pepper, Cayenne and/or Pepper Sauce
Measuring cup
Ziplock Bag
Cayenne is a great choice for this since it’s super potent even in powder form.
Also consider using a strong pepper just slice the pieces with seeds directly into your container for a more potent mixture as it sits.
Either mix 1 part soap, 1-3 TBSP of red pepper, cayenne and/ or pepper sauce into a ziplock or measuring cup and pour into the bottle or just pour directly into the bottle.
Fill with about 3 parts water.
Squeeze out extra bubbles.

To deter small animals increase the amount of pepper/ pepper sauce. Small animals like rabbits hate the taste of pepper.

Let it sit for at least 15-30 minutes to give the pepper a chance to be absorbed. The longer the blend sits the more potent.

Shake before use.
Another method for strong cases:
Spray the tops and bottoms of the leaves with soapy mixture and sprinkle cayenne directly onto the plant where the pests are visible.

The soap works as a slippery coating to the leaves and the strong pepper flavor deters pests from eating and nesting in your garden. Try to not spray in direct sunlight to avoid extra damage to the leaves.

For leafy herbs such a basil or other fruit or vegetables, don’t worry this blend will not
change the flavor just be sure to clean as
normal after harvesting and consuming.

Copyright © 2020-2023. Original Photography, Writing, Garden Pesticide Concept & Creation, and Post by Andrea Danielle of thetaste100.com

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