This year, we planted a vegetable garden and have been in constant amazement at the miracle of life happening in our back yard. I was so enthralled with my first full-grown snow pea, that I had to take a picture of it to share with you. However, in addition to the life that is our plants, there is other not-as-welcome life: the inevitable garden pests. Critters with teeth have been nibbling and insects have added decorative holes to our greens.
creatures are camouflaged, yet evident, on the leaves of my broccoli
Wanting to keep to our commitment of maintaining a natural garden, we refuse to buy pesticides, and have planted thing like marigolds and hot peppers, which are supposed to deter interlopers. However, it became apparent that we had to take a bit more aggressive action, so I pulled out the neem oil, which I keep in stock for the production of some of my bath and body products. Neem oil is extracted from the tropical neem tree. I had read a while ago that it is a very effective insecticide, miticide and fungicide, and is listed as okay for use in organic production.
According to Plant-care.com, neem oil has the following features:
• Broad spectrum insecticide/fungicide/miticide
• Controls insects and mites including whitefly, aphid and scale
• Controls fungal diseases including black spot, rust, mildew and scab
• For indoor/outdoor use on ornamental plants, flowers, vegetables, trees, shrubs and fruit and nut crops.
Mountain Rose Herbs says that neem biodegrades rapidly in sunlight and within a few weeks in the soil. Neem oil has very low toxicity to humans and pets, but it is not recommended for internal use.
I had also read that rosemary and lavender are effective pesticides, plus they smell better than neem, so I decided to include the in my natural pesticide.
Here is my recipe: Mix 1 gallon of water with 2 tablespoons of neem, and ½ teaspoon each rosemary and lavender essential oils (I used organic version of all the oils). You can also add a couple of tablespoons of phosphate-free liquid dishwashing soap. Mix thoroughly and pour into a spray bottle. Spray over every part of your plants, mixing frequently to keep the oils and water from separating.
By the way, these Sprayco spray bottles, which I buy at my local family-owned hardware store, are made in the US from recycled materials and provide jobs for handicapped individuals.
Great post!
~Kim
Thank you, Kim. I love your blog, by the way!
Thank you for this. We’ll definitely try this on our garden!
You are welcome. Please let me know how it works for you. Happy gardening!
Can’t wait to try this out! I also have cabbage loopers on my broccoli — brought one small head inside the other day, and there were FOUR suckers hidden in there! — and I love that you caught one (or maybe two?) in the photo above.
Is it possible/practical to make your own essential oils? I have lots of fresh lavender & rosemary… but this might be a case where it’s more sensible to buy than DIY.
It’s funny. When I was taking the photo, I didn’t see them. It was only after I blew up the image that I noticed those loopers!
As for essential oils, you need to have a distiller. If you have the room and enough materials, it is definitely something you can make yourself. Let me know if you do!
Setting up your own distiller isn’t terribly hard. You need:
1 stock pot.
2 medium sized metal bowls – they should easily fit inside your stock pot.
1 large metal bowl, big enough to seal off the stock pot, with a rounded base.
Water.
Whatever you’re trying to distill.
Ice.
Put your stockpot on the stove. Put one of the bowls in the water Fill with water to about 2/3 of the way up the side of the bowl. Turn the bowl over, so it’s upside down in the water. Add about 2 cups of your herbs or flowers. Put the second bowl on top of the first one, but right side up.
Then put the big bowl on top. Fill the big bowl with ice. Start heating – you want the water inside at a gentle boil but no more than that. Give it about 25 minutes.
When you pick up the big bowl off the top, the smaller bowl inside will be full of lavender or rosemary water, with a small amount of essential oil floating in that. Skim off the oil. Lavender and rosemary water both are nice for scenting the skin, can be put in a spray bottle and used on fresh laundry, and for other around-the-house scents. They’ll last for about a week in the fridge.
Thanks very much for the tip!
We enjoy being able to pass on effective home prevention remedies! This is the second post I’ve read today on a similar recipe. Will have to try it. Thanks for the information!
You’re welcome! And it’s interesting this is the second post you’ve come across today.
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I’m so glad I found this post. I get so tired of my rose bush and hostas being eaten. I’ve tried to use beer in canisters next to the hostas to attract the bugs. While this works, having to clean the dishes and add more beer nightly is tedious. I’ll try your solution and let you know how it works. Thanks.
Rhonda
http://musingsofastrongblackwoman.wordpress.com
Thank you for your comment, Rhonda. This solution has to be reapplied regularly, too. Hopefully it will be less work than the beer solution, though!
Thanks for the great info!
You’re welcome!
Thank you for sharing. I’ll be passing this to my gardening pals.
I’ve been trying to figure out what to do about these guests … I know they need to eat too but I planted vegetables for my family and I
Thanks again!
Thank you for your comment. I know what you mean. Sometimes I feel bad about getting rid of the little buggers, but it would defeat the purpose of having a garden if I let them eat everything
Very useful info, thank you! Unfortunately, we don’t seem to have those type of recycled spraybottles in Mexico yet.
No worries! You can use any type of clean spray bottle (I would avoid using one that had contained chemicals, though).
Thank you for this helpful post!
You’re welcome! I’m glad you found it helpful!
Wow! This is great. I’m going to try it out for my garden. I have a friend who writes a co-op blog w/ me, and she maintains a pretty good urban garden in Chicago. She will love to see this blog, for sure. Cheers!
Thanks, Kyle! I’m glad you found my blog! What is the name of your blog? I’d love to see it.
I see you found it already, but it is Garden to Garden. http://gardentogarden.wordpress.com
Yes, I saw your pingback. Great blog!
I am definitely going to need this – I hope I can find neem oil here – I live in the sticks
A great source for neem oil is http://www.mountainroseherbs.com/oils/herbal.php#ho_ne
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I like the recipe, but hope I will not have to use it though. My plants are just starting up here in Western NY.
I’ll keep my fingers crossed for you
Best of luck with your garden!
Thanks for this! I just started my first backyard garden and have been on the search for organic pesticides.
Question: since it shouldn’t be ingested, would this mixture be safe for use on lettuce (washed, of course)? Or should I just spray around the lettuce? Thanks!
I spray it on all of my vegetables. It’s definitely a good idea to thoroughly wash anything that you plan to eat as there is always that possibility that animals have been roaming around your garden (our neighbors’ cats love to hang out in ours).
Interesting post. I grew up eating tender Neem leaves – the local legend had it that it would guard you against toxic insect/scorpion bites. We used to have Neem trees all over the place. People even brushed their teeth using Neem stems.
How interesting! I have never seen a Neem plant. It seems like a very versatile plant.
I only wish I had a big garden enough to plant more plants
I have only planted chilies, and a mango tree. We are harvesting soon.
Thanks for the tip
You are very lucky to be able to grow mangoes! Enjoy the harvest!
Great article! It was very informative.
Thank you for your kind words!
I have noticed by using natural nontoxic mixtures the bees have come back in force. Bugs do eventually get the garden but it’s usually past it’s prime by then. From no bees when I first started to happy buzzing now, it’s been worth the small effort of making your own mixture.
What a nice side benefit! We’ve always enjoyed watching honeybees take advantage of our gardens. This winter, we discovered that a neighbor one street over has hives, so we assume that we are playing host to his swarm
This is such a great post. I’ll share your tips to a friend who’s into gardening. More than that , i work in a health resort where we use organic foods, that’s why i truly value natural pesticide.
Thanks for sharing this through your blog.
Heaven bless you! (~_~)
Thank you so much! How lucky you are to work in such a healthful environment. We should all be so blessed!
Fantastic! Thank you for sharing your experience.
Thank you for stopping by!
This has a lot of potenital use for me! I’m hopefully going to be moving soon and starting a few things outside. It’s always great to know there’s an effective homemade alternative out there for anything. Your blog looks really interesting. I think I’m going to go take a more thorough look at it!
Thank you so much! Hopefully you’ll find lots of helpful green tips and recipes here. Best of luck with your move!
This is a great post and I can’t wait to try this! We just planted our garden and it’s great to know of natural products to use, especially since we have 3 dogs.
Thank you! Yes, I feel good about keeping the garden organic for my family and all the pets who happen to wander through it
Have fun with your garden!
Fantastic! How often did you have to reapply to keep them away?
I apply it weekly, or more often if we get a lot of rain. As with any natural method, there is some trial and error involved. Please let me know how it works out for you!
More and more people are finding the power of natural pesticides. Thanks for your information.
Learning to Green Thumb It,
Mark Edgar Stephens
http://www.MarkEdgarStephens.com
http://www.WhoAreYouChoosingToBe.com
It’s great. It seems to be part of an increasing number of people looking for ways to make their lives better/healthier, as I am sure you are seeing in your work.
Hi thanks for your interesting blog. I am trying my hand for the first time growing a few herbs and a tomato plant on my ground-floor patio. Are they anymore protected because they are in pots? and…..you said rosemary is a good pesticide. Could I just use a tea made from rosemary on them?
Wish me luck, most of my plants die of fright, the bugs never get a chance!!!
I have found that insects tend to stay away from my herbs, so they generally don’t need to be protected. But I have found that when I’ve grown tomatoes in pots, they still needed some help.
I am not sure whether rosemary tea would be strong enough. You can try making a strong infusion (1 cup of dried herb for each quarter of water, steeped for at least 4 hours) and see how it goes. Let me know if that works!
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Thank you for sharing this. I’ll have to try your recipe!
You’re welcome! Let me know how it works for you!
am going to look into this!
Thanks. Your blog looks great — full of wonderful-sounding recipes!
Thx for the post. I, too,have been dazzled by the wonder of growing a garden, naturally of course. Mine started when I planted tomato seeds that were harvested from my dinner plate. I have been hooked ever since. But I have been bothered by pests. I’ve tried a few remedies and while my latest spray of garlic and soap suds seems to be effective, I’ll try finding neem.
http://lenanozizwe.wordpress.com/2010/05/30/oh-
http://wp.me/pBcWV-ua
How cool that you started plants from your dinner plate! I’ve never tried that. Also, I notice in your blog post on natural pest control (and the Wonderful Shrubs post) that your first line of defense is manually removing the pests. I can’t believe I didn’t think to add that as a first step.
The soapy water is good for certain insects, but I’ve found that I need something a bit stronger for others. I haven’t tried garlic, but I may just add that to my mix!
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Neem oil contains azadirachtin which is a chemical which acts like “diet pills” on the insects. Many insects lose the urge to eat after a small mouthful. It also has some other effects which damage insects.
But is it is not toxic to mammals.
The first synthesis of it was done at Imperial College by Steve Ley.
Thank you for illuminating me on the mechanism by which neem oil works on insects. I appreciate hearing the perspective of an organic chemist on this issue. I came across a couple of articles on the constituents in rosemary oil, but nothing on lavender. If you know of any good references please pass them along!
I recall that lavender oil has lots of terpenes in it, one Spanish paper (Jesús Muñoz-Bertomeu, Isabel Arrillaga and Juan Segura, Biochemical Systematics and Ecology, 2007, vol 35, issue 8, pages 479 to 488) lists α-Pinene, Camphene, β-Pinene, Sabinene, Myrcene, α-Terpinene, Limonene, γ-Terpinene, p-Cymene, Terminolene, Cineol, Sabinene hydrate, Camphor, Linalool, Lavandulyl acetate, Myrtenal, cis-verbenol, trans-pinocarveol, Lavandulol, α-Terpineol, Borneol, Geranyl acetate, Myrtenol, Geraniol, trans-caryophyllene, Caryophyllene oxide as being found in lavenders.
I will have to check the reference book which I keep on my office shelf for lavender, I have a book which lists almost every medicinal plant known.
Thank you very much for the information! I have a couple of books by Dr. Jim Duke on the medicinal constituents of plants, but not having an organic chemistry background, I don’t know how to translate this into how it would affect insects.
I have just consulted my copy of Sandberg and Corrigan (Natural Remedies, published by Taylor and Francis, 2001.)
All it says on Lavender is that the essential oil is 30 to 60% esters (mostly linalyl acetate). The book is mostly about drugs for humans so it has little to say on things for killing insects. But it does mention pyrethrum and nicotine.
I might write in my blog about some of the substances in plants which can be used to deal with garden pests such as insects.
Thank you for the information, Mark. If you do write a post, please come back and leave a link, as I am sure many people would love to learn more about this topic.
I have written a blog entry about some of the science behind how we try to kill insects. It does consider some of the older methods including a few banned chemicals.
I have also explained what in Neem oil is responsible for the anti insect activity. I have shown a picture of the molecule so you can see what has been in your oil.
http://markforeman.wordpress.com/2010/06/13/how-to-off-the-bugs-or-maybe-how-not-to-off-the-bugs/
Thank you for letting us know about your article. It sounds as if we need more research on the mechanisms by which Neem oil works, and definitely more green chemistry efforts that look into natural insecticidal chemicals such as pyrethrins.
ooh, I will keep this on hand for when I graduate to a real vegetable garden. So far, I’m very transient in life and thus have herbs and tomatoes in pots, from which I just pluck the little buggers when I see them.
It’s great that you are growing tomatoes and herbs in pots. And it’s even better that you’re able to keep the pests under control without having to use anything on them! That’s the best solution!
I am so glad you wrote this! Neem is a very important Ayurvedic herb, used for thousands and thousands of years for medicinal purposes. Keeping a neem plant in your home will purify the air you breathe and eliminate toxins. I recommend anyone with allergies or asthma to keep a neem plant (if you can find it). You can use pure neem oil on your scalp to prevent hair loss (however, it does stink) or use neem powder for certain skin conditions.
Great pictures too!
Thank you for sharing those other great uses for neem. I will try to locate a neem plant. csreeraman also said that she grew up eating the leaves, and that she knew people who used it to brush their teeth. What a wonderfully versatile plant!
Can’t wait to try this out on my tomatoes.
Let me know how it goes!
Not sure if these will be applicable in your case, but just wanted to throw them “in the pot” with all the other great advice!
Try garlic (crushed) infused water in a normal spray bottle. It’s kept out apple tree complete free of worms and other pests for years. It works best if you do it while the apples are still tiny – and no! It doesn’t smell. Of course, the scent will linger as you spray it on, but within a day or two – weather depending – the smell has evaporated. Usually one or two treatments early in the season is enough.
For lilies (and against lily beetles, those red bugs) put 3-4 cloves of garlic into the soil about 4 inches from the stem. This keeps the beetles away and does no damage at all to neither the flowers, other plants or the soil itself. If you already have the infestation of beetles make sure to remove them first. It only works “on approach”. Repeat treatment after about 4-5 weeks if necessary.
For keeping roses free of bugs make sure to water them HEAVILY very early in the season. By watering I mean… literally, shower them… make sure to get under all the leaves (that’s where the eggs are). This flushes away any pests and bugs without any need for pesticides or other toxins.
Great blog – enjoy your garden!
Rayn
http://www.scatteredrayn.wordpress.com/
This is great information! Thank you for sharing! I’ve only concentrated on my vegetables, and have not taken any preventive actions with my flowers. I will give the garlic a try.
Am happy to share in return for the great info you provided! Will be keeping an eye on your blog from now on!
Thanks. Timely post. My poor garden is being attacked these days.
Congratulations being featured on the freshly pressed page! Gloris
Sorry to hear about your garden — I hope this helps! And thank you so much for your support!
How did it work for you? Are you fairly pest free now? We are struggling with our plants…word for the new gardening folks – don’t plant dahlias unless you’re prepared for a looooot of earwigs. Blech.
As long as I’m diligent about it, it keeps most of the pests away. But the new problem is critters – I am now finding little bite marks on the edges of the leaves of some of the plants
Yeah, we are having that problem as well, most recently with our pepino fruit. We are also noticing days where most of our plants seemt o shed a powdery white substance. Today it was exceptionally bad. I’m off to do some Google research
This is great. My girlfriend and I recently planted some fruits and veggies and are having some pest problems. Will probably try this!
–Louie
Thanks! Best of luck with your new garden! I don’t have any fruit in my garden (except blueberries, which the birds keep getting before the bugs do), so I don’t know how this will work on them. Let me know!
Hey,
Great Post. Just put up a Topsy Turvey (sadly the extend of my black…ah…green thumb) and it looks to be working.
Do you think this spray could be used on the yard to get rid of the ichy looking pincher bugs?
Debby
My dad puts soap in water then boils it and puts it on bugs.
Hey there Herban, looks like we are on the same page! I had posted earlier this year on using Neem indoors. Check it out if you’d like. Keep up the great work!
xo Herbaloo
http://herbaloo.wordpress.com/2010/03/04/aphid-problem-no-problem/
Yes, we are! That’s very interesting that you also wrote a Neem post recently. You have a wonderful blog, and I see that you have links to two of my herb mentors – Jim Duke and Susun Weed.
Adding crushed marigolds and crushed hot peppers might up the longer-term repellant capabilities of your herbal pesticide, as they’ll keep working for days.
~Kali
http://www.brilliantmindbrokenbody.wordpress.com
Thank you very much for the tip. With these ingredients plus garlic, I think it would be a great, long-lasting formula with a wide range of applications.
It’s great to learn about things like this that are good for the environment. Thanks for sharing and we’ll have to try that.
You’re welcome. And, I always feel good whenever I can do my part, even if it is just one small step at a time.
Natural pesticide is the best becuase there is no chemical contamination.
I will try what I have read.
I will be interested to hear your results!
Thank you for this post! I tried growing cabbage, broccoli, and cauliflower for the first time this year and have been plagued with those green caterpillars! I call my cabbage “swiss cheese cabbage.” I don’t even think it’s going to be edible.
Would love to hear your results from this spray.
I even have those green caterpillars eating up a nasturtium plant. I was hoping for some pretty flowers, but it’s almost dead now.
I feel your pain. The spray took care of the insects, but some furry critter started nibbling on the leaves of my broccoli. The nasturtium are doing very well, though. So I definitely recommend you give this a try.
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Hi! Thanks for sharing this with us. This is exactly what I am looking for. I have started to live a green life a few months ago, doing things like replacing commercial chemical cleansers with soda bicarbonate and trying to make my garden as ‘organic’ as possible.
Just a question, does this work against caterpillars and grasshopper? These two pest are the busiest in my garden and up till now, I am using commercial pesticides (which of course is very unhealthy for both my plants and my family).
You’re welcome! I have found it works very well against the caterpillars. I haven’t seen any grasshoppers in my garden, so I don’t have any personal experience, but from what I’ve read, it is very effective against them.
Thanks, I can’t wait to try it out
Can’t wait to try this out! I’m all over an organic pesticide. Are you using any kind of fertilizer? My farmer boyfriend is convinced we need some kind of fertilizer as well. I’m not as convinced.
I have used Plant-tone on my vegetable garden. I’m not sure if it is necessary, but I wanted to give them a boost. I also added compost from our compost pile, which is a great source of nutrients for the garden. There are many recipes for homemade fertilizer on the web if you want to stay away from commercial ones.
I’ll use this tip for sure as soon as I’ll have my own garden
Nice post!
Such a great hint and exactly the kind of thing I like to know. I will have to check back and look forward to sharing this tip with some folks that I know as well. Also, previous thing about Mulberries was spot on giving that ours are just starting to turn.
love this!
This is a very great information. I can’t wait to try it in my garden.
Thank you for this post! I’ve been looking for a good natural insecticide recipe as I’ve noticed a few nibbles in my garden as well! =]
Niche info about eco-pesticide, simply and functional. Thanks for the info.
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I just spoke with my mom the other day. She said there is scale on one of her rose bushes and she’s ready to use pesticide. I’m so glad I found your post in time!
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Wow! Thank you for sharing!! I am always worried about the effect of the pesticides- and have not known there to be an alternative- I will give these ideas a try. Thanks for posting these!
I just stumbled up from the front page and I’m so happy I landed here. I’m a newbie to gardening and your blog will just be around to help me. Thank you so much!
but this not applicable in large scale
Nice re-discovery of life in our dear planet. How about introducing some friendly little creeps that eat insects in your garden to balance pests? Small lizards are cute.
Yes, introduction of predator insects, like praying mantis and lady bugs, is another great natural solution to garden pests.
Great post! I started a small container garden this year for the first time, but something is eating my basil. My husband thinks is may be Japanese beetles. Does your formula work for those?
Karen
http://acarolinagirl.wordpress.com
From what I’ve read, it should work against Japanese beetles. You have to reapply every 3-4 days. It’s also good to remove beetle grubs from the soil manually. Best of luck!
Thank you very much for the information and sharings!
Fantastic! Thank you for sharing,I like it
great post and perfect timing as my plants are just starting to take in lodgers!
I’m glad to hear that I could help! Best of luck with your garden!
thanks so much for posting this! you rock.
Wow, you’ve clearly hit upon a very popular topic! We’ve been seeing quite a few ants lately and I’ve been trying to figure out what I can do to make them go away. I’ll try this.
Yes, it seems that many, many people are looking for natural alternatives to garden chemicals. I found a trail of ants walking on my greenhouse door, and I tried spraying Neem oil on their path. I walked away and returned 5 minutes later — not one ant remained on the door. Hopefully this will work in your garden, too. Let me know!
Nice post. Same with our vision, using organic vegetable and ingredients for our menus
Thank you! And your menu looks lovely — especially the gelato
I am going to try this on the spider population that has gotten out of control around my farm. Wish me luck.
Let me know how it works for you. I’ve used it successfully in my house on the little ants that have invaded my kitchen.
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