Dealing with garden pests and insects in the garden does not need to cost a lot. It does not need to cause harm either.
Commercial insecticides take an incredible approach to battle numerous issues in the garden. But, for pennies you can make a homemade insecticidal soap spray made of Castile liquid soap to stop garden pests.
Making an insecticidal soap spray for plants takes little effort while its advantages show regardless of the additional exertion.
Homemade Castile soap plant spray serves as a natural spray (and does not harm beneficial insects) to get rid of aphid populations or wipe out little, delicate soft bodied creepy crawlies such as whiteflies, thrips, arachnids, spider mites, and mealybugs.
Related: How To Use Castile Soap For Aphids
To make such a spray to prevent the initial infestation of mealybug pests, prepare the pure castile soap and a few other readily available ingredients.
Many other homemade recipes promise to do the same job, but castile soap exceeds all of these solutions.
Read on to know how you can use this all-purpose cleaner – castile soap in your garden.
Why Is Castile Soap Spray Good For Getting Rid Of Insects?
Use these dish soap mixtures on houseplants or plants outside, including vegetables.
These homemade insecticidal sprays hold great advantages over traditional pesticides. They leave no awful buildup which can ruin a plant’s growth.
The insecticidal soap spray consists of natural substances not harmful to animals, ladybugs, and birds visiting your garden, nor do they affect advantageous insects like butterflies. They serve as the best low-cost way to prevent bug issues.
Castile soap sprays come from petroleum or, more frequently, plant essential oils. When you apply it to the plants using a spray bottle of the mixture, the fatty acids dissolve the soft-bodied insects and kill these pests, including fungus gnats.
These liquid castile soap mixtures disturb the cell layers of the insects, causing suffocation. They also work as a soil wetting agent.
To make sure it works at its best, take your spray bottle of castile soap and spray the plant all over. Also, re-apply it week after week until you achieve your desired result. These sprays also possess the advantage of expelling dirty mold and other detrimental organisms.
How To Make A Castile Soap Bug Spray?
You can make a basic castile soap mixture using the following steps:
- You can create homemade insecticidal sprays using products like Dr. Bronner Castile soap lacks additives like perfumes and colors.
- Mix one tablespoon of fluid soap into one quart of warm water and pour into a spray bottle.
- For the most part, use distilled water. However, you can substitute filtered bottled water to avoid leaving soap powder residue on the leaves. Tap water will also work, and hard water may reduce the effectiveness of the spray.
- Use a pinch of bar soap by placing one bar into a gallon of water and leaving to sit overnight, then removing any solid remnants and shaking well before use.
Variations In Castile Soap Mixture
You can use many variations to create your castile soap mixture. Some of them include:
- Cooking Oil: To help the soap mixture stick a bit better, add two tablespoons of light cooking oil (ex. corn, canola, olive, or sunflower) per gallon of water. You can use coconut oil, olive oil or vegetable oil.
- White vinegar or apple cider vinegar: To make a spray that better prevents buildup, include a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar per gallon of water.
- Garlic or Pepper: To better repulse insects, add a teaspoon of ground red pepper and/or garlic per gallon of water. Cayenne pepper
- Essential oil: For added scent, effectiveness, and other benefits, add drops of essential oil, such as pure neem oil and lavender oil.
Precautions To Taken When Using Castile Mixtures
- Make sure to test out your spray on a small hidden patch of the plant first to ensure it does no harm.
- Likewise, stay away from using any harsh detergents or soaps since this can badly affect your plants.
- Abstain from spraying your plants on hotter or particularly sunny days, as this can prompt smoldering of the plant, possibly causing death.
With all the above variations and solutions, you will surely find Castile soap mixture to work wonders on your infested plants. You should use this wonderful low-cost natural solution pesticide with care. Also, these effects remain only until it gets washed away due to rain or dries up in the sunlight.
Using this budget-friendly solution, taking care of your unhealthy plants becomes safe and hassle free.