What is the preferred home recipe for something to spray on plants to keep the bugs off? Ants seem to be a problem on my peach trees. Not sure what is eating the topmost leaves of my pear trees. The nutria in the pond behind my house has discovered my small sunflower plants.
I’ve been thinking Tabasco and dish-soap but freepers give the best advice. What do you suggest?
Although I have no experience with fruit trees, I spray neem oil on everything for every issue: slugs, cabbage moths, blight, you name it. It works on everything except large critters.
As goodwithagun stated, neem oil is good, but tabasco and soap also works. If you are overloaded with bugs and are careful, malathion will take care of them.
I’m thinking that would work. I have an all purpose spray that works on most of the insects around here:
Chop up an onion and a handfull of garlic cloves and put them in a quart jar. Add a few tsp of cayenne pepper, and fill the jar with hot boiling water. Let it sit overnight.
Strain and add a couple of drops of dish washing liquid and a couple of drops of oil to the liquid. Put it into a spray bottle and shake it up before using.
I was very skeptical of this when I tried it. Just after I filled the spray bottle the first time, I saw a bug running across the basement floor, squirted him, and 30 seconds later he was laying belly up dead as a doornail.
Greeneyes sent me this one back in May:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/3154134/posts?page=225#225
Borax for ants. Neem oil works pretty good for a number of things.