Natural insecticides and fungicides

Here's a list of non chemical, natural insecticides and fungicides:


A few definitions:

Decoction or Brewing: Put plants in a water pot for 24 hours before you boil them for 15-20 mins. Put a lid when its cooling off.

Infusion: Put the plants in the water and boil. Wait 24 hours after boiling.

Fermented slurry: Leave plants in a water container in the shade for 1-2 weeks. Don't cover with a lot of water. Mix daily. You can also put the plant in a permeable bag (mesh) in the bucket to avoid straining.

Slurry: Place plants in a water container in the sun for 4-5 days.

Soaking: Leave plants in water 2 or 3 days to avoid fermentation.



Handle with care (protect eyes, skin, wash hands after ...). Don't spray insecticides on your plants if they are fine. Inspect your plants closely (under leaves...) for miniature spiders, aphids, caterpillars, small white flies etc... Little white, grey moths (they make white webs) are ok -here-, and often settle on my plants. They're my little buddies. Preventive insecticide is not used for mj, a usually insect resistant strain. Fungicides can be used preventively if your region gets rainy, cold in the Fall. Spray in the morning so it's not wet at night (mold).


Some foes:

Aphids:
 aphids.jpg   40.16K   695 downloads
Spider mites:
 spider mites.jpg   35.25K   737 downloads

1. Nettles

Fermented Nettles slurry (fertilizer tea and fungicide, repellant) (fresh -very smelly to brew- or powdered) repels aphids, acarids, prevents mildew, brown rot. Nettles are very ecological and less harmful to other life than stronger natural insecticides like Pyrethrin.

Take 1 kg of nettle plants (without roots), place in 10 liters water for 10-15 days in the shade (18 ° celsius for the reaction to work best). Mix every day (without lid). It's ready when it doesn't make any more bubbles. Strain. Use the liquid. Nettles feed the plant with N + trace elements and protect it from diseases too ( more preventive than curative). Use esp. in veg. period every 3 weeks because of the high N. Store in shade (basement) up to 1 year in a closed container (so fermentation doesn't start up). Dilution 5% for foliar feeding. 20% as tea.

Nettles slurry (insecticide and fungicide spray): Place 1kg nettles in 10 liters water for 12-24 hours. Dilute 5% foliar, 20% for tea. Spray on your plants if insects on them. Use every 15 days.

Nettles:
 Nettles.jpg   28.86K   511 downloads


2. Garlic

Garlic insecticides are more efficient in decoctions than in infusions. They won't make the bud taste like garlic! Use mainly as a curative (on the plant and insects if they appear). Spray on plants infested with spider mites, whiteflies, aphids, acarids, thrips, kills caterpillars too.

Garlic insecticide decoction (add black pepper if you want):

80-100g garlic for 10 liters of water. Blend the garlic with some water, place all in the 10 liter recipent, cover and let sit for 24 hours. Boil for 15-20 mins. Filter through cheese cloth or a strainer. Add a few drops of liquid soap to make the mixture adhere to plant leaves and insects. . No need to dilute.

Smaller proportions:

Place a clove of garlic in a blender and add 500 ml (2 cups) of water. Blend until smooth. Pour the liquid into a container with 2 liters of water, cover and let sit for 24 hours. Boil. Filter through cheese cloth or a strainer. Add one or two drops of soap.

Other garlic recipes:

Garlic concentrate :
- grind 2 garlic bulbs
- Cover with 4 TBS oil.
- Soak for 24-48 hours in 4 liters water + 2 tsp liquid soap.

Dilute 1 liter for 20 liters. Spray in the morning. Rince.


Garlic/Black soap/Pepper insecticide:

- grind 2 garlic cloves
- grind 1 oignon
- 1 TBS ground Cayenne pepper
- Place in 1l water. Boil for 1-2 hours.
- Add 1 TBS black soap.
- Ferment for 1 week
- Strain
- Use in spray.

Garlic/Onion infusion:

Grind 50 g of garlic and 250g onions with skins. Put in 10 liters of already boiling water for a few minutes. Leave alone for 12 hours. Foliar spray without diluting.



3. Neem oil

Neem oil is both preventive and curative. Ecological. Many trace elements and nutrients for your plant. Against acarids, aphids and mildew. Does not kill bees and lady bugs etc... (Lady bugs eat aphids naturally). An efficient neem oil contains minimum 1600 ppm azadirachtine (check on bottle).
Neem blocks insects' appetite, they vomit (so don't eat your leaves), and neutralizes the reproduction system of female insects (so numbers don't increase). Most bugs aren't killed with neem oil. Only mosquito larvae, fruit flies etc... die. Contact with local insects doesn't kill them but repels them (they go throw up somewhere else!). However, the oil can burn your plants' leaves with the sun. So spray in the morning (before sun), rince after 15 minutes.



4. Easy Recipes

Soap insecticide:

- Put 1 tsp of liquid soap in
- 1l of boiling water for 5 minutes.
- Spray.

Black pepper insecticide:

- grind 30 g. of black pepper
- Place black pepper in 1l of boiling water.
- Let simmer for 30 minutes.
- Spray.


General Homemade insecticide and fungicide:

- 1 liter water
- 10-20 ml soap
- 10-30 ml baby oil
- 10-20 ml baking soda (against fungi)

Use in the morning. Rince before sun comes (excess oil can burn).



5. Uncommon recipes

Horsetail decoction: a natural fungicide. One of the only natural ones against Botrytis which can attack mj if too humid,wet.

Place 1 kg horsetail in 10 liters of water for 24 hours. Boil 15-20 minutes. Let cool off with lid. Leave 12 hours. Strain. Dilute 1 to 5. The combination of nettles + horsetail is an excellent insecticide and fungicide.

Horsetail:
 horsetail.jpg   46.1K   457 downloads

Rhubarb decoction: Kills aphids. 5OO g rhubarb leaves (in strips) in 5l water for 24 hours. Boil for 30 mins. Strain. Foliar feed undiluted.

Rhubarb:
 rhubarb.jpg   52.74K   364 downloads

Wormwood decoction: Against aphids too. Place 250 g dried (2,5 kg if fresh) wormwood in 10 liters of water for 24 hours. Boil. Strain.

Wormwood:
 wormwood.jpg   64.07K   405 downloads

Matches: Place a few matches upside down in your soil. The sulfur in the matches repels aphids.

Garlic, Oignons: Place them whole on your soil.



6. Fungicides

Against mildew and bud rot spray baking soda solution (1TBS in 4 cups of water, add a few drops of liquid soap so it sticks), 10 % milk solution, horsetail decoction, neem oil, nettles, chamomile flower infusion.

Powdery mildew:
 powdery mildew.jpg   30.64K   521 downloads
Bud rot:
 bud rot.jpg   46.93K   688 downloads


7. Stronger, natural "last resort" insecticides:

Pyrethrin. It paralyzes the nervous system of insects. It is a curative treatment because it doesn't last long (rain, sun breaks it down).
Make sure the pyrethrin used is a natural extract. Do not use synthetic pyrethrin (cypermethrin, alphametrine...) and a powder called piperonyl-butoxid. Unknown side effects possible.
Use against acarids, aphids, white flies (aleyrodes)...
Warning: this is also deadly to lady bugs, bees, batrachians, fish and other insects touching it. So use it carefully. Doesn't kill mammals (!). Combine Pyrethrin and Rotenon for a very powerful curative spray. (one of the strongest before chemicals).

Bacillus Thuringiensis is an age old excellent insecticide (natural). Against many insects and caterpillars. Curative. It is a combination of several bacteria. B.T is also known as Bactospein (in that case it contains natural pyrethrin: avoid). Advantages: It can be used in hot weather and stays longer than pyrethrin. The bacteria goes inside the caterpillar and kills it: radical. Some of my spots are close to caterpillar nests. I'll cut them off from the trees soon (gross). I might need this if my plants are invaded.

Caterpillar in bud:
 bud caterpillar.jpg   37.53K   843 downloads
Mj eaten by caterpillars:
 caterpillars ate the plant.jpg   32.18K   692 downloads

__________________

Edited by Corto Malteze, 02 March 2009 - 04:47 PM.

nice write up Corto...+rep

Thanks man.

very nice, i have used garlic spray for catepillars before and it worked great. the only thing was i got some in my eyes haha.

+Rep for a great guide

edit: cant give u rep...damnit

Yep. Nice of you to put this together! Stickied:D

thank you corto!

Lol. Thanks guys! Just a few recipes I picked up to protect our precious plants in case.

However, the oil can burn your plants' leaves with the sun. So spray in the morning (before sun), rince after 15 minutes.

Another warning is if you're using 'Dyna-Gro Neem Oil' then please disregard the amount to be mixed as it appears on the label.

The way that it is written is 'Add 1 1/2 tsp. per quart of water' - now maybe I'm not all that bright but I took it to mean '1.5 tsp' and not 'one each 1/2 tsp' which is the correct amount: 1/2 tsp. per quart.

Great product and definitely far better priced than Einstein Neem Seed Oil. The only 'genius' at this company was the person who came up with a way to increase the price of neem seed oil by 500% and nothing in value or performance was added.

Adding neem seed meal to your soil adds a great 'N' source as well as a decent 'K' source complemented by a wide range of micro-nutrients. Very effective against gnats I would add. Neem seed meal is what is left over after the oil is pressed. It's widely used in Asia (India & China in particular) as a fertilizer, livestock feed, et al.

HTH

LumperDawgz

Another warning is if you're using 'Dyna-Gro Neem Oil' then please disregard the amount to be mixed as it appears on the label.

The way that it is written is 'Add 1 1/2 tsp. per quart of water' - now maybe I'm not all that bright but I took it to mean '1.5 tsp' and not 'one each 1/2 tsp' which is the correct amount: 1/2 tsp. per quart.

Great product and definitely far better priced than Einstein Neem Seed Oil. The only 'genius' at this company was the person who came up with a way to increase the price of neem seed oil by 500% and nothing in value or performance was added.

Adding neem seed meal to your soil adds a great 'N' source as well as a decent 'K' source complemented by a wide range of micro-nutrients. Very effective against gnats I would add. Neem seed meal is what is left over after the oil is pressed. It's widely used in Asia (India & China in particular) as a fertilizer, livestock feed, et al.

HTH

LumperDawgz

Ok thanks.

if anyone has trouble with aphids, like if ur growing in a corn field, gather some ladybugs and put them on ur plant, they will love to eat them and they will bring luck to ur babies too!

Important and nice information .Thanks for sharing.

Thanks.

Anyone use Bt ( Bacillus thuringiensis ) for caterpillars? My understanding is that it is a natural occuring bacteria and soil and there is no health concerns associated with it.

Anyone have input or opinion????

I never used it but it seems to be a good old fashioned remedy against caterpillars:

Bacillus Thuringiensis is an age old excellent insecticide (natural). Against many insects and caterpillars. Curative. It is a combination of several bacteria. B.T is also known as Bactospein (in that case it contains natural pyrethrin: avoid). Advantages: It can be used in hot weather and stays longer than pyrethrin. The bacteria goes inside the caterpillar and kills it: radical. Some of my spots are close to caterpillar nests. I'll cut them off from the trees soon (gross). I might need this if my plants are invaded.

After reading your views in this post it really makes me more amazed just because of you did a wonderful job. Thanks for the knowledgeable facts about the pesticides like non chemical, natural insecticides and fungicide. Reading your post made me exhausted or maybe I started out that way because I know how much planting I have coming up myself.

Thanks Allvira.

thanks for all the info you got the answers i was lookin for:hello:

You can also use Avon's Skin So Soft, mixed with Dawn dishwashing (surficant)

Mix a tablespoon of Skin So Soft with one drop of Dawn, then shake in a typical spray bottle. Add 5 drops of vinegar. Use at will.


Rosemary, Wormwood, Lavender, Sage, Mint spray -
Place in a jar and cover with vinegar, let set 7 days. Add "juice" to spray bottle at 70-30 ratio with one drop of Dawn. Works wonders.

Peace,
FG

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Thanks for additions. Keep em coming. Whatever works is cool.

thanks corto that was a big help!!! i'll be using the milk solution to help control bud rot. any idea how long i should wait till harvest or how much milk would effect it? thanks again