Sunday, May 22, 2011

For Erin's bugs

Whitefly and Aphid 'death juice'.

When we lived in Virginia, we had a terrible time with whitefly on our tomatoes one year.  I stumbled across a great recipe for a spray to get rid of many bugs: especially whitefly and aphids.  It takes two days to make it so you'll have to wait to treat your pests.
Day 1:
Chop 2-3 heads of garlic (not just cloves- the entire head!) in a food processor or blender. Transfer to a jar. Add one to two tablespoons of vegetable oil.  I don't think I ever actually measured. Cover and let sit over night.
Combine two cups of boiling water with 1/4 cup soap flakes or shaved scraps of leftover soap (this is a great way to get rid of those odds and ends of bar soap).  Pour into a jar and cover.  Let sit overnight.
Day 2:
Combine the two jars of goo.  Strain out the chunks (You can use old pantyhose- which work great- cheesecloth or a strainer).  Pour into a tightly sealed, well labeled jar.
When you're ready to use it, add one cup of this mix to a gallon of water and spray the infested plants.

To add a extra little zing, you can add chopped jalapenos to the soapy water.

Anybody else got any good pest/disease control recipes?

Anything for Japanese beetles???  Please.....

4 comments:

  1. Hooray for recipes calling for "goo"! I'm already chopping LOL... I had some horrible smelling garlic soap spray that I PAID for a few years ago and it did the trick on my indoor seedlings, but I'm not paying for it again :)

    Jalapenos? I still have 3 gallon size bags in the freezer from last year :)

    As far as Japanese Beetles, we have them REALLY bad here and the best thing I've found is diversion... I planted grapes and they leave EVERYTHING else alone, they don't even visit the fruit trees anymore. Bonus, they congregate on the grapes like a moving wallpaper, it's kind of gross, but they are easy targets when massed this way:)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Boy I could have used this last year. I have to bookmark this. Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Have tried your recipe, with chilli's added, with great success. Can also recommend the following:

    http://ecofootprintsa.blogspot.com/2011/04/where-were-all-easter-bunnies-then.html

    Dani

    ReplyDelete
  4. Dani- welcome! I'm glad you had success. I've used it in the past and it is great.
    Judy

    ReplyDelete

Glad you stopped in. I would love to hear from you.