Organic pesticide. Please share your experiences

[Kaiser]

Garlic Spray – MOSQUITO REPELIANT

Blend one whole garlic bulb and mix with one gallon of water.
Allow the mixture to stand for 24 hours.
Strain the mixture.
Add one tablespoon of cooking oil.
Used for aphids, snails, chewing caterpillars or any soft-bodied insects.
Note: Garlic spray is an excellent mosquito repellant, spraying on plants & ponds will surely repel mosquitoes.

I find this interesting and going to try this weekend. Presently I placed lime grass potted plants & Mint filled plants around other containers to discourage mosquitos.

[Izhar]

It works, though need regular spraying...

[M Farooq]

Garlic Spray – MOSQUITO REPELIANT

Blend one whole garlic bulb and mix with one gallon of water.
Allow the mixture to stand for 24 hours.
Strain the mixture.
Add one tablespoon of cooking oil.
Used for aphids, snails, chewing caterpillars or any soft-bodied insects.
Note: Garlic spray is an excellent mosquito repellant, spraying on plants & ponds will surely repel mosquitoes.

I find this interesting and going to try this weekend. Presently I placed lime grass potted plants & Mint filled plants around other containers to discourage mosquitos.

It works, not sure of the purpose of adding cooking oil, since oil is not miscible with water until and unless you shake it extremely well into an emulsion. I would rather suggest to add a drop or so of a dishwashing liquid to enhance the wetting properties of your organic pesticide rather than the cooking oil. And as Izhar sahab has said- it is not long lasting as the key "insect toxic" components in garlic are sulfur based compounds which are volatile and relatively easily destroyed by oxygen in the air.

A more elegant and non-smelling organic insecticide that I used for small plants was just boiling lots of reetha (Saponaria officinalis, easily available) in hot water. It is a natural surfactant plus contains compounds (saponins) which instantly send the pests to the graveyard. It is non staining, simpler and more stable than the garlic spray. Although reetha is used for washing hair by some ladies, the water extract should be used with caution (extremely bitter and potentially toxic to humans).

Another potent organic insecticide is boiling few dried tobacco leaves in water (again with a drop of a detergent to enhance wetting properties) and then spraying on small plants, but it may leave a brown stain, unlike garlic or the reetha extracts.

[Kaiser]

Garlic Spray – MOSQUITO REPELIANT

Blend one whole garlic bulb and mix with one gallon of water.
Allow the mixture to stand for 24 hours.
Strain the mixture.
Add one tablespoon of cooking oil.
Used for aphids, snails, chewing caterpillars or any soft-bodied insects.
Note: Garlic spray is an excellent mosquito repellant, spraying on plants & ponds will surely repel mosquitoes.

I find this interesting and going to try this weekend. Presently I placed lime grass potted plants & Mint filled plants around other containers to discourage mosquitos.

It works, not sure of the purpose of adding cooking oil, since oil is not miscible with water until and unless you shake it extremely well into an emulsion. I would rather suggest to add a drop or so of a dishwashing liquid to enhance the wetting properties of your organic pesticide rather than the cooking oil. And as Izhar sahab has said- it is not long lasting as the key "insect toxic" components in garlic are sulfur based compounds which are volatile and relatively easily destroyed by oxygen in the air.

A more elegant and non-smelling organic insecticide that I used for small plants was just boiling lots of reetha (Saponaria officinalis, easily available) in hot water. It is a natural surfactant plus contains compounds (saponins) which instantly send the pests to the graveyard. It is non staining, simpler and more stable than the garlic spray. Although reetha is used for washing hair by some ladies, the water extract should be used with caution (extremely bitter and potentially toxic to humans).

Another potent organic insecticide is boiling few dried tobacco leaves in water (again with a drop of a detergent to enhance wetting properties) and then spraying on small plants, but it may leave a brown stain, unlike garlic or the reetha extracts.

Farooq sahib thank you very much for a well elaborated reply, I truly appreciate. Certainly now I will take advantage of your experience and will go with the Reetha option. If possible, I request you to kindly let me know i) how often should I spray this reetha solution on plants & ii) is it ok to spray directly on leaves beside on the pot soil. Thank you once again.

[M Farooq]

Farooq sahib thank you very much for a well elaborated reply, I truly appreciate. Certainly now I will take advantage of your experience and will go with the Reetha option. If possible, I request you to kindly let me know i) how often should I spray this reetha solution on plants & ii) is it ok to spray directly on leaves beside on the pot soil. Thank you once again.

Few clarifications first: If you are looking for mosquito repellent on plants then neither garlic nor reetha will work. Repellents are volatile materials that repel unwanted creatures but will not terminate them. Pesticides on the other hand have to physically contact the insect body. Roughly speaking, insects breathe through their skin, so the pesticide has to enter their body to disrupt their life system. Secondly such "natural" insecticides are good for small plants in pots since you really don't have a lot to drench a tree or a big shrub in that extract. These natural insecticides are not preventive in the sense that the "life" of these nature insecticides is not long. For comparison DDT, which is a curse on the modern environment, has a life of > 50 years. Secondly, pests are clever than us, they also reside underneath the leaves, inside the leaves, so make sure that the underneath surface is also sprayed while using mild insecticides of natural origin.

The so called reetha extract in water is good for terminating pests like aphids, mealy bugs on leaves etc. About the frequency, it is upto you ... as long as you see no pests no need to spray and that requires a careful observation of plants at least weekly if not daily (I am a minimalistic user of pesticides; natural or synthetic and this may not be the standard practice). And lastly reetha is as toxic to humans as it is to small insects. You can read more about natural compounds called saponins if you are interested.

[Kaiser]

Farooq sahib thank you very much for a well elaborated reply, I truly appreciate. Certainly now I will take advantage of your experience and will go with the Reetha option. If possible, I request you to kindly let me know i) how often should I spray this reetha solution on plants & ii) is it ok to spray directly on leaves beside on the pot soil. Thank you once again.

Few clarifications first: If you are looking for mosquito repellent on plants then neither garlic nor reetha will work. Repellents are volatile materials that repel unwanted creatures but will not terminate them. Pesticides on the other hand have to physically contact the insect body. Roughly speaking, insects breathe through their skin, so the pesticide has to enter their body to disrupt their life system. Secondly such "natural" insecticides are good for small plants in pots since you really don't have a lot to drench a tree or a big shrub in that extract. These natural insecticides are not preventive in the sense that the "life" of these nature insecticides is not long. For comparison DDT, which is a curse on the modern environment, has a life of > 50 years. Secondly, pests are clever than us, they also reside underneath the leaves, inside the leaves, so make sure that the underneath surface is also sprayed while using mild insecticides of natural origin.

The so called reetha extract in water is good for terminating pests like aphids, mealy bugs on leaves etc. About the frequency, it is upto you ... as long as you see no pests no need to spray and that requires a careful observation of plants at least weekly if not daily (I am a minimalistic user of pesticides; natural or synthetic and this may not be the standard practice). And lastly reetha is as toxic to humans as it is to small insects. You can read more about natural compounds called saponins if you are interested.

Thank you Farooq sahib. Once again it is more than a good detail that you have shared with me, I sincerely appreciate your interest.

I am only seeking a repellent remedy and preferably natural/organic way unless untill it is unavoidable to opt for synthetic modes and ofcorse just to avoid mosquitos am not going to spray anything harmfull to the plants or to the environment. As far as pests are concerned, so far i didn't faced any serous problem with any of my plant.

I will read about natural compounds saponins as you have mentioned, to get some more info.

[Kaiser]

To clarify friends, it has been a mistake by me to put subject "Organic pesticide" while actually i was searching for an "Organic repellant". I realized it by going through Farooq Sahib sharings with me. Sorry for the inconvenience it might caused to anyone.

[M Farooq]

To clarify friends, it has been a mistake by me to put subject "Organic pesticide" while actually i was searching for an "Organic repellant". I realized it by going through Farooq Sahib sharings with me. Sorry for the inconvenience it might caused to anyone.

Dear Kaiser, To the best of my knowledge, there exist no effective "natural" mosquito repellents that will ward off mosquitoes from plants. You will find 100s of recipes based on natural plant oils but eventually as I said, their lifetime in open air probably no more than 1-2 hours because of diffusion. Secondly, spraying oils on plant is harmful for plants as you will block the natural carbon dioxide and oxygen diffusion in and out of plants. Just for your interest as the Quran says that Allah does not shy away to give an example of an mosquito! And as science has discovered mosquito is a super complex insect which comes loaded with fancy sensors for detecting the presence of a warm blooded animal, lactic acid (from human sweat) among other normal senses. Male mosquitoes do not sting but the ladies do need mammal's blood. So probably half of the mosquitoes that you see are plant pollinators/ herbivores.

In short nothing natural works against them. Don't spend much time on finding a natural cure for repelling mosquitoes that too for plants :-(

[Kaiser]

To clarify friends, it has been a mistake by me to put subject "Organic pesticide" while actually i was searching for an "Organic repellant". I realized it by going through Farooq Sahib sharings with me. Sorry for the inconvenience it might caused to anyone.

Dear Kaiser, To the best of my knowledge, there exist no effective "natural" mosquito repellents that will ward off mosquitoes from plants. You will find 100s of recipes based on natural plant oils but eventually as I said, their lifetime in open air probably no more than 1-2 hours because of diffusion. Secondly, spraying oils on plant is harmful for plants as you will block the natural carbon dioxide and oxygen diffusion in and out of plants. Just for your interest as the Quran says that Allah does not shy away to give an example of an mosquito! And as science has discovered mosquito is a super complex insect which comes loaded with fancy sensors for detecting the presence of a warm blooded animal, lactic acid (from human sweat) among other normal senses. Male mosquitoes do not sting but the ladies do need mammal's blood. So probably half of the mosquitoes that you see are plant pollinators/ herbivores.

In short nothing natural works against them. Don't spend much time on finding a natural cure for repelling mosquitoes that too for plants

Thank you Farooq Sahib. I would say, it was worth posting this topic here otherwise I won't be able to came across a wonderful knowledgable person and that is you. Best regards

[muhammad umer]

Most people are somewhat aware that pesticides cause a great deal of environmental harm. Less well known are the effects pesticides have on individual health. Imidacloprid is manufactured by German chemical and pharmaceuticals company Bayer AG. The company was founded over 150 years ago and one of the first things they did was to market heroin. Some other lesser known facts I have included below

Nazi chairman
In 1956 Fritz ter Meer became chairman of Bayer's supervisory board. He was convicted at the Nuremberg trials for his part in carrying out experiments on human subjects at Auschwitz. He was found "guilty of count two, plunder and spoliation, and count three, slavery and mass murder" and sentenced to seven years imprisonment and served five years.

HIV infected blood products"After 1978, there were four major companies in the United States engaged in the manufacture, production and sale of Factor VIII and IX: one of which was Bayer Corporation and its Cutter Biological division, they have been or are defendants in certain lawsuits. The plaintiffs allege that the companies manufactured and sold blood factor products as beneficial "medicines" that were, in fact of likely to be contaminated with HIV and/or HCV. This resulted in the mass infection and/or deaths of thousands of haemophiliacs worldwide.

Baycol
After 52 deaths were blamed on an alleged side effect of Bayer's anticholesterol drug Baycol, its manufacture and sale were discontinued in 2001. The side effect was rhabdomyolysis, causing renal failure, which occurred with a tenfold greater frequency in patients treated with Baycol in comparison to those prescribed alternate medications of the statin class.

Medicaid reimbursement
In January 2001, Bayer agreed to pay $14 million to the United States and 45 states to settle allegations under the federal False Claims Act that the company caused physicians and other health care providers to submit fraudulently inflated reimbursement claims.

Methyl parathion poisoning case
In October 2001, Bayer was taken to court after 24 children in the Andean village of Tauccamarca, Peru were killed and 18 severely poisoned when they drank a powdered milk substitute contaminated with the insecticide methyl parathion. A Peruvian Congressional Subcommittee found significant evidence of criminal responsibility by Bayer and the Peruvian Ministry of Agriculture.

Liberty Link rice
In August 2006, it became apparent that the United States rice crop had been contaminated with unapproved genetically engineered Bayer CropScience rice. The genetically engineered rice has an herbicide-resistance trait. These forms of rice are commonly referred to among US rice growers as "Liberty Link rice 601" or "LL 601" it has an inbuilt trait to actually increases susceptibility to certain insect attack that then requires the application of Bayer chemicals.

The effects in your garden and home

Be aware that imidacloprid applications have sometimes contributed to outbreaks of resistant spider mites and certain other pests. Do not apply imidacloprid to plants with cottony cushion scale because the insecticide is highly toxic to beneficial predatory vedalia lady beetles and its use can cause dramatic increases in cottony cushion scale populations.

Imidacloprid is one of the most toxic insecticides to bees, even microscopic wind borne particles contribute to the total collapse of a hive. When applied as a soil treatment it does move up into flowers to injure or kill bees, other pollinators and beneficial insects. Avoid application to flowering plants that are visited by these beneficials. If used, don't apply until after bloom has been completed.

Imidacloprid is highly toxic to four bird species: Japanese quail, house sparrow, canary, and pigeon. they should not be consuming insects or fruits contaminated with the insecticide.

Imidacloprid has been shown to turn off some genes that some rice varieties use to produce defensive chemicals. While imidacloprid is used for control of the brown planthopper and other rice pests, there is evidence that imidacloprid actually increases the susceptibility of the rice plant to planthopper infestation and attacks.

In mammals, the primary effects following acute high-dose oral exposure to imidacloprid are mortality, transient cholinergic effects (dizziness, apathy, locomotor effects, labored breathing) and transient growth retardation.

Exposure to high doses may be associated with degenerative changes in the testes, thymus, bone marrow and pancreas. Cardiovascular and hematological effects have also been observed at higher doses.

The primary effects of longer term, lower-dose exposure to imidacloprid are on the liver, thyroid, and body weight (reduction). Low- to mid-dose oral exposures have been associated with reproductive toxicity, developmental retardation and neurobehavioral deficits.

Precautions and Safety Equipment
Minimize your exposure to pesticides. Avoid contact with eyes. Wear eye protection, long pants, a long-sleeved shirt, and a hat that can be washed after each use. Always read label of individual product for additional directions. keep them well away from children and dispose of the chemical and its container in a safe prescribed manner.

Im sorry but in my garden I want to be able to listen to the birdsong, I want my grandchildren, nephews and nieces to be able to visit and even pick some of the flowers or learn the pleasures of gardening at a young age while eating their ice cream and sweets. I don't want to worry about them ending up in hospital.
I want to be able to admire a flower that (like me not perfect) has beneficial insects around it and I want to be able to consume my locally produced sweet nectar of the bees that Allah thalla has so generously provided. I know he already perfected the balance of nature.

Thanks for the wonderful input. I have a rather pro german opinion though. Lol. I am using different things. But little result. This time I am gonna go german on the bugs.lol. just for my rose plants.