I've seen a lot of videos and articles about making pepper spray for pests.
It seems to be very effective on everything from insects to racoons.
I feel weird "macing" my plants, but it doesn't seem to bother them.
Has anyone here ever seen negative side effects, other than spraying into a stiff breeze?
I just had an experience trying to get rid of aphids from my pepper plants where they appear to have been burned by the detergent I used in my pepper spray. You should read the comments made in reply to my recent post, especially w.r.t. the use of detergent vs. soap:
//www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic ... ns#p334848
//www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic ... ns#p334848
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pepperhead212
- Super Green Thumb
- Posts: 2881
- Joined: Wed Oct 15, 2014 1:52 pm
- Location: Woodbury NJ Zone 7a/7b
I never use dish detergent when making sprays; even though it is often recommended in books, magazines, and TV shows, it is NOT organic, and they all differ, so some may be especially damaging to plants, and some plants may be especially sensitive, as well. Why take a chance? As a spreader/sticker I use ThermX 70 - a yucca based liquid that only requires 1/2 tsp/gal. of spray. A quart of this lasts me several years.
I make a spray using garlic, hot peppers, rosemary, and coriander seeds - all things I have seen in organic sprays, so I figure why not make my own. No exact recipe - about 2 cloves garlic, 3-4 Thai peppers, a tsp of coriander seeds, and about a 6 in. sprig of rosemary, stripped. All this gets blended with a cup of water, then strained, and used with a gal. of spray. Works great as a prophylactic, though something stronger may be needed to get rid of something already established.
I make a spray using garlic, hot peppers, rosemary, and coriander seeds - all things I have seen in organic sprays, so I figure why not make my own. No exact recipe - about 2 cloves garlic, 3-4 Thai peppers, a tsp of coriander seeds, and about a 6 in. sprig of rosemary, stripped. All this gets blended with a cup of water, then strained, and used with a gal. of spray. Works great as a prophylactic, though something stronger may be needed to get rid of something already established.