Introduction: Make an All Purpose Organic Pesticide From Vegetables
This instructable will show how I made a cheap, all-purpose organic pesticide for my herb & vegetable garden. It can be used on a variety of insects that live in the dirt or on the plants including worms, mites and other parasites.
This entire pesticide will eventually break down and be reduced to nothing, so it is OK to eat any herbs or vegetables that are growing. This is mainly intended for indoor use, but I see no reason why it wouldn't work outdoors as well.
Step 1: Materials
You will need:
- an empty & clean gallon jug (such as a milk jug)
- a spray bottle with spray nozzle
- a funnel
- a piece of cloth such as a shirt or bandanna
- a pot that can hold 1 gallon
- 2 small onions
- a jalapeño pepper
- a clove of garlic
- some dish soap
Step 2: Killer Salad
Take the vegetables and begin cutting them up. It doesn't have to be pretty, since nobody's going to eat it!
Chop up the 2 onions, the garlic and half or 3/4 of the jalapeño pepper. The seeds can be left in, since they're hot too.
Blend all the veggies together until pasty in a blender. The killer salad is now a killer paste.
***Take care not to rub your eyes or face after handling the liquid or the vegetables. The pepper especially can really burn if it gets in the eye!***
Step 3: Making the Killer Soup
After everything has been blended, dump the paste into the pot of warm water and let it sit for 20 minutes.
The ground up vegetables and water will make the killer soup or tea. It's going to be mighty fragrant at this point. Just let all those offensive tastes and odors seep out into the water.
Step 4: Straining Out the Veggies
Once the soup has been allowed to sit and a lot of the flavor and odor has mixed with the water, the liquid needs to be strained.
I used a funnel and bandanna to catch the vegetable particles as I strained the liquid into the gallon jug.
I tried using a coffee filter at first to strain the liquid, but it clogged easily. Cloth seems to work best.
The mush that collects in the cloth can be squeezed out into the jug and the leftover can simply be thrown out or put into a compost bin.
Step 5: Add Some Dish Soap
After all the straining is complete, I added 2 tablespoons of dish soap to the liquid.
Keeping with the spirit of this being an organic, plant-friendly pesticide, I used a vegetable-based dish soap. It is free of petroleum-based chemicals, dyes and perfumes and biodegrades naturally.
If you are using a soap that is petroleum-based or has dyes or perfumes, try adding half of what I used.
The soap makes the already bad-tasting, stinky liquid soapy and even less palatable to the insects that inhabit the plants.
Step 6: Using the Pesticide
Using the funnel, fill the spray bottle up and set the nozzle to a light mist.
At this point, the rest of the liquid can be capped and stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. Simply shake it up before it is used.
Take the spray bottle and spray the plants first. Try to get all over the plant including the stem and under the leaves. Spray the soil as well so that the top of it is wet.
What this liquid does is make every part of the plant that it touches unpalatable to the insect. The water evaporates and leaves behind the odor and flavor. It smells and tastes gross and they won't eat it. When they won't eat anymore, they eventually starve. The liquid will not kill the insects on contact, so do not get upset if you see increased activity after the application. They're simply struggling to find something to eat.
Treat every 4 or 5 days to kill off the pests and prevent newly-hatched babies from feeding. It may take 3 or 4 treatments, but the numbers should gradually decrease.
172 Comments
Question 4 years ago on Introduction
hi sir how can we apply the killer salad in the lettuce plant?
7 years ago
The dish washing liquid in water is all you need. My dog's vet says a few drops is all it takes.
Reply 5 years ago
So your saying that dishwashing soap and water keeps the pests off all plants.... Even flowers? What kind of dishsoap do you use?
7 years ago
In the UK you would be breaking the law if you were to use this. Only products approved by the government can be used as pesticides in the garden. That means home-made solutions, made from substances such as soaps are technically illegal.
Reply 5 years ago
Neden kapitalist sistemin ağababası lordların ürettiği kimyasal ve toksik maddeler doğa ve hayvanlar için daha iyi mi?Biz Türkler sizin lordlarınızdan daha insancılmışız.Bizim atalarımız 100gr acı biber+1lt su ve 1 yemek kaşığı arap sabunu ile zararsız doğal böcek ilacı yapmış,biz de yapıyoruz.:D Biz daha uygar toplumuz demek. :D :D
7 years ago
will this work on slugs?
Reply 7 years ago
I'd hope that you would use the D.E. (or something else like it that just makes the slugs go away) instead of putting salt on them. They are mostly made of liquid, and the salt literally pulls the liquid out of their bodies and kills them. They foam to try to save their lives and get you to stop. It's a horrible, horrible, way to die. (The same goes for Snails.) Even though they are just slugs - they're still living creatures - and I would just hope you'd find something more humane to deal with them. Just my opinion. :) Have a great day!
Reply 6 years ago
Bury a disposable container so top edge is just above the soil. Fill container with beer 1-2" deep. Slugs LOVE beer...they dive in and drown. A better way to go, no?
Reply 7 years ago
I haven't and wouldn't use cruel methods. No poisons etc. I've tried copper, but that hasn't worked. I think a combination of approaches is best; water plants in the morning rather than at night/evening, pine leaves seem to have worked a bit in the past, my favourite method so far is a 9v electric fence surrounding a raised bed to prevent them getting to plants;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZoBeKS64_xc
I'm always looking for humane ways to stop me working my a***e off on my allotment garden just to feed slugs and lose all my crops!
:O)
Reply 7 years ago
You've absolutely made my day - in saying you won't be using cruel methods to kill the Snails and Slugs. You're a very kind and compassionate person to care enough to not be cruel in dealing with getting rid of them, even though they're hurting something you care deeply about as well. I believe all creatures have a reason and right to be here with us, but I'm also a little biased when it comes to Snails and Slugs, as I have 4 Snails for pets. :P Okay, SO - after reading your reply, I went online and did a little research for you - and sadly, it's a horrible problem to find just *one* thing that will work for everyone, everywhere. But I found some articles you may be interested in reading. One link, about garlic, is very good news! I hope you'll try it, and that it works for you. :) Here they are:
*This article lists a bunch of options, even sad ones, but it's worth reading what they've tried, how to use them, and what success they've had at using each item (also read the comments):
http://www.weekendgardener.net/how-to/snails-slugs...
*This one is the good news - Garlic Extract Oil:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/science-ne...
***These ones tell you how to make Garlic Extract Oil & Garlic Spray::
*(This one also has great reference links at the bottom to the studies):
http://motherhood.modernmom.com/garlic-spray-slugs...
*This one also has a Red Pepper Spray, and is a great site for gardening!:
http://oldworldgardenfarms.com/2013/07/16/how-to-b...
*This one is a link to a Google Book Excerpt Result - the link is ridiculously long, so I used Bitly.com to shorten it. It tells you how to make and use Garlic Extract Oil to repel slugs:
http://bit.ly/2c0yeOX
I really appreciate your writing back and letting me know that no Slugs/Snails will be suffering in your garden - at least by your hands. I know you can't control what others do in their parts of the garden. I also hope that you'll report back and let us know what you've tried, and whether it was successful or not. It would be interesting to know, esp. considering the topic of your Instructable. What all are you growing, if you don't mind my asking? That's fantastic that you're taking the time to grow your own - it's hard work, but very rewarding, and tastes so much better! Well, I've yapped up your entire page - I apologize, but hope the links were helpful! :P You have a super day!
Reply 7 years ago
Two things I know that work on slugs is:
1: Salt sprinkled on the little buggers. It works like acid and they foam up and die.
2. Diatomaceous Earth put in a continuous circle on the ground around the plant(s) will keep slugs away. The sharp edges of the D.E. cut into the soft body of the slug and they avoid it.
Reply 7 years ago
Thanks!
Reply 7 years ago
Don't forget to reapply the D. E. after it rains.
Reply 7 years ago
Don't forget to reapply the D. E. after it rains.
Reply 7 years ago
Don't forget to reapply the D. E. after it rains.
6 years ago
Unforunely it must be ingested to break down into cyandie i tested a mini lethal dose on ants and the sucrose cyandie molecule did nothing for ants for contact exposure. Yes I know that this is not very enviromentally friendly.
6 years ago
I did an experement at home where I used natural chemicals to control ants. One was sucrose cyanide at levels at 30 mg cyanide. However I would only use 10 mg of the solution. I got the natural cyanide from black walnut trees.
7 years ago
Neem oil is made from the Neem tree located in South Sudan, Ethiopia and possibly other parts of East Africa. The native peoples just grab a handful and rub and crush the leaves and apply them to their skin as insecticide for mosquitos. In addition, it actually used in over 400 different medical compounds and especially for bowel cleansing by the people of India. It grows among the Gum Arabic trees which secreet a thick red resin in powder form is what is used in all Soda Pop as a preservative. I believe it is also used by string players to rosin their bows. It is used heavily in most cosmetics for the same purpose. The native people use it to make glasses and eating utensils and it is a very good cash crop for them. I am not aware if they use it on their gardens, but probably should. It also was the main money maker for Osama bin Laden who owned the entire business in Sudan. I have spent time in South Sudan in the Upper Nile city of Malakal which was the starting place of Osama bin Laden.
7 years ago
I wonder how the Rabbit's like this stuff? Does it repel them too?
7 years ago
Perhaps after eading all the concerns, you should label the product appropriately; "Do Not Drink","Do not feed to animals", "Do not use to, season eggs", "Do not dip with sharp stick then poke in eye", "Do Not Run With Scissors While Spraying".