It’s Green Thumb Friday! Todays requested topic is insecticides, and what’s better than organic insecticides?
With winterization of plants in full swing, we thought what better Friday to do insecticides than today?!
We have listed four general insecticide methods to kill common plant insects, as well as three methods that specifically help rid of, and keep away, Fungus Nats, which are very common during the winter.
Method #1: Dish Soap
- About 1-3 teaspoons of mild liquid soap
- 1 quart of water
- Mix into spray bottle of choice
- Helps against Aphids, Mites, and Scale
Method #2: Neem Oil
- 1/2 teaspoon of mild liquid dish soap
- 1 quart of water
- Mix into spray bottle of choice
- Then, mix in 1 teaspoon of Neem Oil
- Helps Against Aphids, Mealybugs, Mites, Thrips and Whiteflies
Method #3: Rubbing Alcohol
- Around 20 ounces of rubbing alcohol
- Around 12 ounces of water
- Mix into spray bottle of choice
- Helps against Aphids, Mealybugs, Spider Mites and Whiteflies
Method #4: Apple Cider Vinegar
- 2 teaspoons of organic apple cider vinegar
- 1 quart of water
- Mix into spray bottle of choice
- Helps against powdery mildew and mold on plants and soil
Be sure to test these methods out on a small portion of your plant before applying to the entire plant to see how the plant reacts to said method.
There are many different mixture sizes to all of these methods. We chose the most standard. All of these methods should be used once a week on plants until problem subsides! Depending on how large the infestation is on the plant and how big the plant is, it may require the methods to be used more than once a week or a more concentrated solution. It is all very case dependent. Always feel free to give us a call with further questions!
With going into the winter, our watering methods starts to differ than they did in summer, plants are getting acclimated to the indoors, plants are staying moist longer, and the most common little pest we find on our plants are the Fungus Nats. Below we have three ways to specifically deal with these little buggers!
Fungas Nat Removal Method #1:
- Mosquito Dunk (Organic) – Type of bacteria that you sprinkle on soil and flush through the soil system through waterings. Mosquito Drunk kills the larva of Fungus Nats
Fungas Nat Removal Method #2:
- Sand (Organic) – Place a thick layer of fine grain sand, at least an inch thick on top of soil. When the larva stage matures they crawl up through dirt and into sand. The sand then, scratches them (to death). Gruesome we know, but hey we have to keep our plants healthy!
Fungas Nat Removal Method #3:
- Diatomaceous Earth (Organic) – This method acts in the same ways that the sand method does. However, for this method, you don’t need as thick of a layer of Diatomaceous Earth as you would sand. Just make sure that it is evenly spread with no gaps!
Similar to the general insecticide methods, it is important to evaluate the size of your plant and the infestation to properly determine how many uses you should be doing of these methods.
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