The three witches in William Shakespeare’s Macbeth may have had something going when they declaimed in their noisome Scottish cave:
Double, double toil and trouble
Fires burn, and cauldron bubble.
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The urge to splurge, do it yourself and be assured what it is you may be inflicting upon cantankerous pests to say nothing of kith and kin is long with us. The Romans used liquid discarded from olive pressings. More recently with a smile that would have curdled biofuel, the provincial Premier and Procurer has deemed with all the aplomb of a salesman advertising used dorys in Dildo, Nfld., that the province from Niagara to James Bay will be unsullied by potent unnatural pesticides
It’s going to be every man, woman and environgorical for themselves. Might as well get in training now. We’ve delved into our files, case notes, copies of Nostradamus and Book of the Dead and discovered many a risible remedy. Some of them we’ve even tried; a few follow.
General Purpose:
An all purpose insecticide can be made with a cup each of mint leaves, green onion tops, horseradish leaves, hot pepper and water in a blender, then combine with two litres of water, stir, strain, add two teaspoons of liquid dish soap; to apply use a cup in a litre of water; keeps for a week, tightly sealed in refrigerator
Herbs grown randomly amongst perennials and vegetables deter insects by camouflaging other plants’ odours, which attract the insects
Hyssop deters insects from plants, especially those of the cabbage family
General insect for fruit trees: a cup each of sugar and vinegar in a four-litre jug; add peel of a ripe banana; half fill with water; shake; hang an open top jug (no cap) in each tree before the blossoms open
Coffee filter paper or old pantyhose in the bottom of pots blocks entry to pests
Aphids:
Any member of the onion family planted around roses deters aphids
Tagetes palida, French Marigold, planted with tomatoes in greenhouses repels aphids
Whiteflies:
Dissolve an aspirin in a litre of water, then add a tablespoon of liquid dish soap as a spray for whiteflies
Spider Mites:
Blend with two litres of water 2 tablespoons of buttermilk and a cup of flour as a spray for spider mites
Fungus Gnats:
Watering in coffee grounds into houseplant soil gets rid of fungus gnats
Grubs, Worms in Vegetable Roots:
Cover six rhubarb leaves with water and boil for 10 minutes; allow to cool, strain and pour on soil to prevent worms in turnips, cabbage, cauliflower; this is very poisonous – do not use the pot for anything else.
Mix two teaspoons of mustard in a pint of water and pour around the roots of plants
Wood ash sprinkled along rows of radishes and onions prevents worms in them
A nail in each potato hill prevents insects from chewing on them
Coffee grounds sprinkled in the ground with carrot seed and on top of the soil following sowing keeps away carrot fly
Push bottomless plastic or metal can into the soil as collars to protect newly planted vegetable seedlings
Tagetes erecta, African Marigold, planted with onions and carrots repels pests
Earwigs:
Make bait by adding two tablespoons molasses to a tuna can, fill with hot water, mix; add two tablespoons of oil; bury can so top level with ground; cover lightly with a shingle or cardboard
Make traps by placing short lengths of hollow bamboo amongst perennial, vegetables, shrubs overnight; in the morning, tap out over a can of kerosene
Six-inch squares of corrugated cardboard attract earwigs to hide in; drop in a plastic bag in the morning, tie tightly and discard.
Slugs & Snails:
Used grapefruit halves place upside down attract slugs
Crushed eggshells mixed with sharp horticultural sand or cage bird ‘gravel’ repels slugs and snails
Ginger powder repels slugs when used as a barrier
Slug traps can be made of saucers filled with beer, sunk to soil level and covered with a clay flowerpot chocked up on one side with a pebble to protect from rain – or pet dogs
Brewers’ yeast mixed with sugar and water attracts slugs
Slugs and snails are discouraged by wood ash
Cats & Dogs:
Repellent for dogs and cats is made of 4 cups water, a whole garlic bulb, a large onion, a teaspoon of Tabasco sauce, blended then poured on the area frequented by them
A few drops of turpentine on small pieces of wood placed in flower beds discourages cats from digging there
Mice, Squirrels, Groundhogs, Rabbits, Raccoons, Deer:
Rabbits are repelled by cayenne or hot chilli pepper
Powdered sulphur repels raccoons, rabbits, groundhogs and moles
Dog droppings placed under spreading junipers, etc. deters rabbits, raccoons and ground hogs
Human urine is repellent to many mammals
A natural repellent is made of a jalapeno pepper, eight cloves of garlic, three cups of water in a blender, strain and spray on plants to be protected.
Bars of soap hung in bags of pantyhose from branches of trees repels deer (one account recommends changing the brand at intervals)
Human hair from hairdressers, barbers, or clippings from dog grooming hung in bags of pantyhose repels deer
Human or dog hair planted in the soil with bulbs repels rodents
Moles:
Castor bean plants deter moles
Fungus and Moulds:
Powdered sulphur will protect phlox, roses and hollyhocks from fungus if used from early spring on
Cinnamon powder on top of the soil gets rid of mould and fungus
Pour boiling water over two handfuls of chopped fresh onion greens or four bruised garlic cloves, let stand 24 hours then spray on as a fungicide
Milled sphagnum moss, or the same chopped very finely, spread in a thin layer on the soil surface prevents damping off
Steep an ounce of chamomile flowers in two cups boiling water for 10 minutes allow to cool and water on seedlings to prevent damping off.
Weeds:
Boiling water poured between patio stones kills weeds and bugs
Pickling salt dribbled between patio slabs kills weeds
Layers of newspapers, black plastic or geotextile weighted down with rocks will kill weeds
Finally, be thankful you are not raising fruit in Florida. Opined Kenneth Baer, Chief Financial Officer, Seald Sweet Growers, Inc., Vero Beach: “Fruit flies are up there with hurricanes, tornadoes, frost, hail and canker. The only good thing about a fruit fly outbreak is that you can control it. You can't deal so well with a hurricane.”
Wes Porter is a horticultural consultant and writer based in Toronto. Wes has over 40 years of experience in both temperate and tropical horticulture from three continents.