Weapon of mass pest destruction, anyone?

Weedless_ 5/14/2015, 8:41 am

I am making a potent onion-garlic-cayenne tea to be used in the garden to kill caterpillars.
It's steeping right now, after which I am supposed to strain it and add a drop of dish-soap.
Anyone tried it before? How effective is it? Anything I need to know?

Thanks!

**camprn** 5/14/2015, 9:05 am

I have not used such a concoction for broad killing purposes. It aint easy but I encourage you to take care to not kill your beneficial creatures.

good luck.

littlesapphire 5/14/2015, 9:05 am

I've never tried this before, so you'll have to let us know how it works! I just wanted to comment that in the book The Truth Behind Garden Remedies, it says you should be careful with dish soap because too much can damage your plants. But I think one drop would probably be alright. I've used insecticidal soap before for soft bodied bugs and that works super well.

littlejo 5/14/2015, 9:23 am

Weedless, last yr. I was overrun with mosquitoes. And it was very hot outside. So, I searched the net and came up with a solution of garlic, onions, and the dish soap. Dummy me, It said, chop up in food processor, then strain, etc. It was food, plus it was in 90's outside, so I did this inside.

I processed this in the house and then took off the lid. Well, it permeated all the house. I had nothing, including mosquitoes and humans, in the house. It would be a great solution for pollen. Cleared my head good. Worked so-so on the mosquitoes out in the yard.

It might work on regular bugs depending on the dilution.

Good Luck and let us know how it works.

Jo Ann

**sanderson** 5/14/2015, 11:05 am

littlejo wrote:Weedless, last yr. I was overrun with mosquitoes. And it was very hot outside. So, I searched the net and came up with a solution of garlic, onions, and the dish soap. Dummy me, It said, chop up in food processor, then strain, etc. It was food, plus it was in 90's outside, so I did this inside.

I processed this in the house and then took off the lid. Well, it permeated all the house. I had nothing, including mosquitoes and humans, in the house. It would be a great solution for pollen. Cleared my head good. Worked so-so on the mosquitoes out in the yard. Jo Ann

I've wondered if running the dehydrator for garlic outside wouldn't be a better option than inside. Now I'm convinced! Thanks for the chuckle.

**AtlantaMarie** 5/15/2015, 8:55 am

LOL, same for onions! And when they're dehydrated, be sure to put them in glass jars rather than plastic. The smell permeates... Quickly!!

If you have a seal-a-meal, the jars are great for that type of thing or anything that has sharp edges (corn comes to mind... and potato slices!)

vortex 5/15/2015, 10:36 am

littlejo wrote:Weedless, last yr. I was overrun with mosquitoes. And it was very hot outside. So, I searched the net and came up with a solution of garlic, onions, and the dish soap. Dummy me, It said, chop up in food processor, then strain, etc. It was food, plus it was in 90's outside, so I did this inside.

I processed this in the house and then took off the lid. Well, it permeated all the house. I had nothing, including mosquitoes and humans, in the house. It would be a great solution for pollen. Cleared my head good. Worked so-so on the mosquitoes out in the yard.

It might work on regular bugs depending on the dilution.

Good Luck and let us know how it works.

Jo Ann

Why are you crying? lol!

Get it? ha ha ha ha

Agreed that garlic and onion can be excellent deterrents. I have a tea spray recipe that uses garlic, onion, and cayenne (in powder form) as well as a little lemon dish soap.

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Weapon of mass pest destruction, anyone?

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