Making insecticidal soap spray for plants can be simple and beneficial, too!
What is Horticultural Soap?
One of the best things about using a horticultural soap is to get rid of small soft bodied insects like aphids, whiteflies and spider mites is that it leaves no nasty residue.
It also doesn’t harm animals or birds in any way so this eco-friendly product can be used on both indoor plants as well outdoor ones!
Horticultural soaps are a great way to keep pesky insects away from your plants. These specially formulated sprays come into contact with the pest, disrupting its cell membranes and resulting in suffocation for both pests as well as beneficial microbes such as mold spores or honey dew on leaves that can cause disease if allowed too long without removal.
To be most effective however you should make sure it’s thoroughly applied every week until desired result has been reached – this means constantly re-applying even if there seems like plenty left over!
Soap Spray for Plants
The home-brewed version of insecticidal soap is more commonly used by gardeners, but when you want the best results and are dealing with pesky bugs that just won’t go away it’s time to invest in a commercial spray made specially for this task.
Commercially formulated horticultural soaps can be found at most stores selling these goods – either as concentrates or RTUs (ready-to use). Some of these names include:
- Bonide Multi-Purpose Insect Control Soap Concentrate
- Safer Rose & Flower Insect Killer Concentrate
- Schultz Garden Safe Insecticidal Soap Insect Killer RTU
- Safer Insect Killing Soap RTU
How to Make Insecticidal Soap
There are many ways to make an insecticidal soap.
The choice depends on what ingredients you put in and whether or not natural products like those without perfumes, dyes, etc., will be used for the soap-making process.
In order to create this type of product all one needs is a horticultural recipe that consists mainly out garden soaps with some other ingredients mixed together thoroughly:
- Combine 1 cup of oil with 1 tsp of dishwashing liquid or other “pure” soap.
- Make sure to avoid any dishes that contain degreaser and bleach because they will only make things worse!
- Add 2 teaspoons into each cup of warm water. Mix together until it is combined well enough so as not be lumpy looking when spraying onto your plants.
Alternate Horticultural Soap Recipe
You can also make your own homemade horticultural sprays using a natural soap product like Dr. Bronner’s Pure Castile Soap or some other kind without any synthetic additives, found in the local grocery store’s alternative section of food items.
- Mix together 1 tbsp. of liquid soap into 1 quart of warm water.
- Add 1 tsp. ground pepper (or garlic will work good too), and 1 tsp of cider vinegar.
- When applying, wet the insects well and avoid spraying if the weather is too hot (above 90 F).
NOTE: Using a homemade mix is always exciting, but it’s important to take the time to make sure that your plant does not get too much of an excess.
You should also be careful about using soaps and detergents on plants because they might harm them in some way or burn their leaves by exposing them to hot weather conditions too soon after application.