Homemade natural pest repellent spray

I typically only garden with plants that are quite hardy and suitable for my local environment, but every now and then pests still pose a challenge.

Last year we had such a mild winter that it was a very bad year for bugs, at least bad for us gardeners but good for the bugs.  My hardy Rugosa Rose bushes got infested with aphids in what appeared to be an overnight explosion of them.  I couldn't just pick them off or hose them off like I usually do.  I had previously had good luck with a homemade garlic dish detergent spray and decided to try it again.  Needless to say, even though I know it works, I was completely and pleasantly surprised when the aphids totally disappeared.

Check out this cool photo diagramming the aphids and ants on this rose bud:

The way this winter is progressing I don't think we will have a repeat of last years bug explosion but that doesn't mean we won't have any bugs.  I found this super cool recipe for a stellar bug spray and wanted to share it with all of you: Rodale's Organic Pest Spray.  Rodale's Organic Life is such a great site for so much helpful information, I am constantly checking for new articles.  Here is their recipe for homemade pest spray:

Precautions
The ingredients can cause painful skin and eye irritation. When preparing and applying, wear rubber gloves and keep the mixture well away from your eyes and nose.

Ingredients
1 garlic bulb
1 small onion
1 teaspoon of powdered cayenne pepper
1 quart of water
1 tablespoon liquid dish soap

Chop, grind, or liquefy garlic and onion. Add cayenne pepper and mix with water. Steep 1 hour, strain through cheesecloth, then add liquid dish soa. Mix well. Spray your plants thoroughly, including the undersides of the leafs. Store the mixture for up to a week in a labeled, covered container in the refrigerator.

One thing to remember before your each for that bug spray, how bad is the infestation?  Is it just a few bugs that you can wipe off or live with?  Any pest spray will work on all pests, good or bad and most bugs in the garden are actually beneficial.  Make it a habit to walk through your garden on a regular basis and check the health of your plants and if there are any bugs you can deal with them easily before they get out of hand.  Happy Gardening!

One of my favorite plants for the High Desert of Central Oregon, the Hardy Rugosa Rose:

Plus they are deliciously fragrant!  Enjoy!

Aphid Management

Notice I didn't say "Aphid Control"? Aphids are a natural part of a natural garden. You have nice pretty plants then you will aphids.

A friend of mine called recently asking for advice for controlling the aphids in his yard and here is a more detailed version of what I told him.
The aphid is a sucking insect and sucks the plants juices, creating stunted or curled leaves and potentially killing the whole plant. They hang out mostly on the stems and tops and bottoms of leaves and reproduce rather quickly. Sometimes you will see ants running around with aphids too. One person asked me if the ants eat the aphids but they actually "farm" them, tending to them for a sweet substance that they excrete. Yum.

There are other beneficial insects used to help control or manage the aphid population such as ladybugs and lacewings. You need a pretty good population of aphids to keep the beneficial insects around and they are usually more effective in a greenhouse environment. Most nurseries though have bags of live ladybugs and kids love helping with them so give it a try, at least it'll be fun.
According to Rodale's Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening, some tips to help prevent aphids in the first place is to plant nasturtiums, to eliminate all weeds and to have humus rich soil . You will hear me say to everyone I meet that the soil is the foundation of the garden. Think you've added enough compost to your soil? Add more. Especially here in Central Oregon where our soil is practically sterile. And if you add top soil to your garden, that is just sterile soil from somewhere else in Central Oregon. If you prepare your planting area well you will avoid much of the problems people have in their gardens and lawns.

Aphids have never caused me much trouble but I also make sure to grow plants that are relatively hardy on their own and don't require much coddling to survive.
For aphids I've always sprayed them off with a gentle yet firm spray from the hose, making sure to get the underside of the leaf too. You probably will need to do this a few times to really eliminate them.
If that is not working then you can try the homemade version of insecticidal soap (you can also buy insecticidal soap too). The soap breaks down the bodies of the aphids, thus killing them.
About.com had a good article in their Organic Gardening section with a recipe for Tomato Leaf Spray. I've never used it but it sounds really interesting. Click here to see their article. The simplest version is to use about 4 ounces (3 tablespoons) of dish soap per gallon of water, spraying this solution on the tops and undersides of the leaves. You may need to spray a few times to get the entire population. As with most sprays, if it's a hot sunny day the water can cause some burn on the leaves so spray earlier or later. This kind of solution, as far as I have read, does not harm beneficial insects.

If you have other questions about gardening or landscaping just leave a comment or send me an email and I'll be happy to help you out. Happy gardening!

Sources: Sciencejrant, Life123, "The Encyclopdedia of Organic Gardening" by Rodale and Staff