If what you want is to keep the plants and green spaces in your home healthy, you must prevent yourself from pests and fight them with insecticides, because in a short time insects or fungi can destroy your plants. But many wonder how to do it without harming their health, that of their family and that of the planet.
And, according to the World Health Organizationinsecticides and derivatives are very toxic to health, since due to their chemicals and mixtures they can cause cancer or have consequences for the reproductive, immune or nervous systems. Regarding the environment, the problem is the drift of these substances and their particles in the environment, because by spreading through the air and water they contaminate everything in their path. They also contribute to the deterioration, not only of the atmosphere, but of biodiversity, as they cause the extermination of pollinating fauna, which is capable of destroying entire habitats.
That’s why we show you here some homemade insecticide recipes They work perfectly with no side effects. For all of them you will need atomizers, which you can get at any store specializing in cleaning or gardening.
vegetable oil and soap
Mix a cup of oil with a tablespoon of soap and beat them until you have a homogeneous mixture. When you are going to use it, put it in the spray bottle and add a quarter of water for every two teaspoons of your mixture. And voila, cover your affected plants: the insects will end up suffocated by this efficient combination of ingredients. Very useful against mealybugs.
garlic spray
Garlic and its powerful aroma is what will end the insects in your garden or your plants. You will need two whole heads of garlic: blend them with a little water and let the mixture rest overnight. Empty the liquid in a small container, add half a cup of vegetable oil, a teaspoon of liquid soap and enough water to fill the container. Use a quart of water for each cup of the mixture and place it in the spray bottle to spray your plants.
Wormwood
Wormwood is a plant that you could well grow in your garden, because in itself it repels plants due to absinthe, a component that gives it its particular bitterness and smell that insects do not like. But you can also leave a good handful of macerated wormwood in a liter of water for eight days, strain it and then pour it into a spray bottle to spray your plants: its characteristic bitterness will provide them with natural protection without damaging them at all.
There are other plants that work like wormwood and that you can have as protectors of your green areas, and help you prevent pests. They are beautiful, efficient, and some can even be used in infusions.
Citrus oil and red pepper
This mixture works great against ants, which often invade gardens and kitchens. You just have to mix ten drops of essential citrus oil (which you can get in essence stores or specialized in massages) and a teaspoon of red pepper in a cup of warm water. Empty it into a spray bottle and spray. You can also apply it on the paths formed by ants to prevent them from passing through.
Sodium bicarbonate
Useful for everything, your garden will not be the exception: baking soda will help you eliminate and/or prevent the appearance of fungi, which not only infest field crops, but can also attack our small home crops due to excessive watering or little sunlight. To avoid or counteract them, you only have to dilute two tablespoons of baking soda in a liter of water and spray the affected areas with a spray twice a day. A week of this treatment should be enough. Also apply baking soda to the soil to prevent the reappearance of fungi, which can be persistent.
*Images: 1, 2, 4, 5) Pixabay; 3, 6) Pxhere; 7) Flickr Aqua Mechanical
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