Insecticidal soap can be used to control pests in your organic garden. Integrating proper pest control measures will ensure you maintain your plants. The emergence of ways to locally make insecticidal soap is an economical and environmentally friendly practice.
What is Insecticidal Soap?
Insecticidal soap is not used for cleaning purposes, but on foliage. It is championed for being environmentally friendly.
It helps to remove pests found on the surface of plants, mostly referred to as soft-bodied pests/insects. These insects include aphids, spider mites, mealybugs, and whiteflies.
They are not dependent on either outdoor or indoor plants but can work on both types. These major advantages are:
- Non-poisonous to animals, including birds
- Harmless to beneficial insects and animals in the soil, such as nitrogen-fixing bacteria
- Residue is not toxic
- Pocket-friendly solution to control pests
These types of soap are generated from plant oils, formally referred to as petroleum.
Their work is notable when sprayed on the plant leaves. When they come into contact with the pests directly, they kill them. They block the cell membranes of the insects leading to suffocation which kills the insects.
For efficient working of the insecticidal soap, it is recommended to apply it consecutively after every week to give the desired results. They are also beneficial in the removal of various types of fungi such as honeydew and sooty mold.
For efficient working of the insecticidal soap, it is recommended to apply it consecutively every week to give the desired results. They are also beneficial in removing various fungi, such as honeydew and sooty mold.
How to Make Insecticidal Soap at Home
Items you need:
Sprayer – This does not necessarily have to be a commercially purchased spray bottle, but any clean bottle with a spray gun would help, or a garden sprayer that has not been initially used for herbicides.
Pure Soap – Castile or natural soap is ideal because they contain fatty acids. This animal fat or vegetable oil is useful for insecticide formation. However, do not use detergents.
Pure Water – Tap water is most preferred; bottled water is advised when the only available water is hard water to prevent soap scum from building on the plants.
There are various methods for making insecticidal soap. The factors that determine how to make the soap are the types of ingredients present.
It is also determined by how much you want to use natural ingredients. That would be ingredients without dyes or perfumes.
- Measure one cup {240 milliliters} of any variety of oil such as corn or vegetable oil with a tablespoon {15 milliliters} of “pure” soap or dishwashing liquid.
- From the measured soap, mix two teaspoons of the mixture to every 240 milliliters of warm water. Put the mixture in a spray bottle. Do not store the mixed concussion, but just use the needed amount for single-day use.
Other Ways of Making Insecticidal Soap
Natural soap products can also help make homemade horticultural sprays that are non-perfumed and do not have synthetic additives. The materials can be sourced from natural food stores available locally.
Combine the warm water with a heavy tablespoon {5 milliliters} of liquid soap; you can use the available tap water; hard water is not preferred since it forms soap scum.
To the formulated soap mixture, add 5 milliliters of garlic or red pepper. It acts as a repellant to chewing insects. Remember to add 5 milliliters of cider vinegar, which helps in the removal of powdery mildew.
Add a pinch of bar soap, then leave it overnight. Remove the bar soap and shake the mixture well before use.
These soaps do have some disadvantages:
- It only works when wet
- Cannot be applied on hot days; it prevents photo toxicity
Points to Note
- Always carry out some small tests on the plants you want to spray before spraying the whole field.
- Do not use bleach soaps on the plants since they could toxify the soil and harm the other crops.
- Do not apply the home mixture on a bright sunny day since that will scotch and dry the plants.
- Even though many professionals recommend using these insecticides, there are some plants that it is not advised to use on. Some of these plants are bleeding heart, cherries, a crown of thorns, portulaca, plum, sweet pea, gardenias, maidenhair fern, mountain ash, nasturtiums, and Easter lilies.
- Conifers are also not supposed to be sprayed during the dry season, but generally, it’s not advisable to treat any plant during this season.
Start Using Homemade Insecticides to Protect Your Garden!
Whenever the treated plants show signs of wilting or browning after applying the insecticides, rinse them thoroughly to remove all the soap. Plants with waxy leaves, which give them a bluish color, are not advised to spray this type of soap.
The blue tint in the plants can be taken away by the soap since it dissolves the wax coating on the leaves, which is the specialty of the plant. It is always wise to do a spot test trial to plants which you doubt the outcome after spraying and wait for 24 to 48 hours before the broad application of the insecticides.
