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Gary350
Super Green Thumb
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Joined: Mon Mar 23, 2009 1:59 pm
Location: TN. 50 years of gardening experience.

Organic spray and dust.

I usually have no problem with bugs with 14 bird houses but this years we have had a problem with, aphids, mites, very small tiny bugs, what ever their real name is. It may have something to do with this years weather, rain almost every day for 4 months, not very cold since March and no hot weather until now.

I have tried several things that all work. 2 tablespoons of cayenne pepper in 1/2 gallon of boiling water. Turn off heat let it cool naturally. When cool pour through a coffee filter add a few drops of dish soap so the water sticks to plants then spray the plants. I put this liquid in a 2 gallon weed sprayer the tiny bugs are on the under side of my leaves. I tried the same thing with table salt dissolved in water with dish soap it works too.

Put a container of table salt in the kitchen blender 1/4 cup each time run on high speed until salt is turned into powder. Pour 1 cup of powdered salt into a sock. Shake the sock in the garden the breeze will carry the white dust cloud into and through the plants. Do this very early every morning when dew is on the leaves the salt dust sticks to the leaves and every part of the plant. Do this every morning no more bugs.

I am not sure 1 works better than the other but cayenne pepper tea seems to be the longest lasting.

JONA
Greener Thumb
Posts: 812
Joined: Fri Jul 25, 2014 7:11 am
Location: Sussex. England

I like the pepper idea Gary.....I'm going to give that one a go.
Not to sure of the salt one though. I've seen what salt damage can by like if you get too much in the soil.
Guess just now and then's ok.
Thanks.

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Gary350
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Posts: 7392
Joined: Mon Mar 23, 2009 1:59 pm
Location: TN. 50 years of gardening experience.

I have been making this,

2 quarts of boiling water.

2 tablespoons of cayenne pepper.

3/4 cup table salt.

1 teaspoon dish soap.

Turn off the heat let it set until cool. Pour water through a strainer or coffee filter. Put water in 2 gallon sprayer.

My tomatoes leaves looked like early blight they had mites on the under side of the leaves, no more mites.

pepperhead212
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Posts: 2844
Joined: Wed Oct 15, 2014 1:52 pm
Location: Woodbury NJ Zone 7a/7b

Other natural things that work against bugs and some diseases are garlic, rosemary, and coriander seed - things that I have seen in commercial sprays. I often use my old garlic and dried peppers to make spray.

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TomatoNut95
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Posts: 2069
Joined: Sun May 26, 2019 11:11 am
Location: Texas Zone 8

@Gary, is it necessary to put the salt in the pepper spray? I need a quick-fix aphid killer reciepe to give my Mom. I gave her my DE to use and she said it did not work, aphids and ants are still present on the plants. Wouldn't that much salt eventually cause salt-burn on the plants? Especially if you sprayed the plants more than once?



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