Here at SpiderMiteHq.com we like to go organic as often as possible. And when we can we also like to make our own products and sprays. We feel that taking the time to make your own insect repellant/killer somehow keeps you more in tune with your plants needs.
Our favorite concoction is our Home Made Insecticidal Soap. This “brew” takes a few days to properly absorb the flavors we will be adding.
What we will Need to make Home Made Insecticidal Soap
- Container with lid, disposable is better (big enough for amount of liquid desired)
- Water, clean and natural
- Tobacco, old cigars work great, so does pipe tobacco chewing tobacco, etc. Oh, ya, tobacco has natural pesticides built in.
- Hot pepper flakes, If you think they are hot imagine being only 1/32″ across.
- Peppermint or Rosemary extract, the bugs absolutely hate these strong extracts
- Cheese Cloth, to strain
- An Organic Biodegradable Soap.
How to make the Home Made Insecticidal Soap
- You are going to want to Fill your container about 3/4 full. I typically use a 5 gallon bucket with a lid so put in about 4 gallons or a little less water.
- Use about 2 ounces or so Hot pepper flakes per gallon of water. Yep just dump it in there with the hot water.
- Next, Break up some old cigars or cigarettes or pipe tobacco and toss them in the container also. I use 3-4 old cigars per gallon of water. I was given a huge amount of cigars when a dear friend passed away so i use these. They may be too old for smoking but they work great in Home Made Insecticidal Soap.
- Stir Vigorously.
- Cover.
- Let sit for 2-3 days in a dark cool corner.
- Wearing Gloves, strain you Home Made Insecticidal Soap through the cheese cloth into another container.
- Stir in 1 teaspoon extract per gallon of water
- Stir in 1 Tablespoon Biodegradable soap per gallon of water
- USE!!! dump in to a spray container such as Solo 420 2-liter one-hand pressure sprayer and you are set!
Directions for use
It is highly recommended that you use gloves and eye protection when you are spraying this spray. It is very strong, if it gets on your skin or eyes it may be an irritant.
Also, when using this home made insecticidal soap you should NEVER spray your plants when the sun is over head or when your indoor lights are running. You should spray first thing in the morning or 1 hour before sun down. This will give your plants a chance to dry before the sun becomes hot or before it becomes cool and mold becomes an issue.
If you still need help with spider Mites check out our article
