Pest Control and How to Make Your Own Natural Insect Spray

Having trouble with insects in your garden? You’re not alone. It’s a big question that comes up in the organic gardening circles. What do I do with ______?! comes the mournful cry… Well, before we get into making an insect spray – there’s a few things of importance to note.
1. Pests are a symptom of a deeper problem Believe it or not, healthy plants are actually resistant to insect pests. We’ve seen this first hand. We had a bed of spinach once where the soil was much richer on one end then on the other and it made a noticeable difference in the plants. The spinach in the end of the bed with the worse soil had smaller and more yellow leaves then the spinach not too far away which was thriving in the good soil. And guess which ones the bugs attacked? You guessed it… the weaker spinach plants. Think of it like your body. The more healthy you are – the more resistant to disease you are.
2. The risk of spraying: some insects are good Guess what? Some insects actually kill of the bad guys. We have a wasp that comes in and infects our tomato horn worms. But if we got rid of the wasp… the tomato horn worms would flourish. On the other hand, when we keep both around nature balances itself out. Another great example is when lady bugs eat aphids. Hmmm…. I kinda like these wasps and lady bugs… When you choose to spray an insecticide in the garden you risk killing off not only the bad guys, but the good fellows as well. This means it is much easier for the bad guys to come back with a vengeance. The best option is to encourage a diversity of life in the garden
3. Hitting at the root of the problem So, if pests are simply a symptom of a plant that isn’t at is prime health-wise, how do we go to the root of the problem? The number one thing you can do is to start improving your soil. Here is the foundation of the organic garden. It’s where your plants are taking up nutrients and water. Build a healthy soil and your garden will begin to thrive.
4. But my garden is WAY infected? What should I do now?! Alright… so building up a healthy soil can take time and you’re in a crunch right now with pests taking over. What can you do? I just came across this blog post over at Today’s Homeowner about making your own natural insect pest spray. It’s a simple little recipe you can make from home.
Click here for how to make your own natural insect spray
Or if you want to skip the step of making it yourself I’d go with Safer Brand’s Organic Insect Killing Soap instead. Give it a try and let me know how it works for you! And here’s what Mother Earth News had to say about making your own insecticide:
Enjoy and let me know what’s worked for you in the comments!