Insecticidal soap
Insecticidal soap is a liquid you apply to plants, usually by spraying, in order to kill bugs such as scales, mealybugs, aphids, etc. They are available with safe, often organic ingredients. In order for the soap to work, it must be sprayed directly onto the pests you are trying to kill. The solution works by causing the cells of the bugs to pop open, causing them to die. The soap works best on bugs without a hard shell. Be careful, the soap will also harm beneficial bugs such as ladybugs and lady lacewings. Use the spray when the branches and stems are dry to be more effective.
How to make your own insecticidal soap
It is very easy, and extremely cheap to make your own insecticidal soap. Basically you need to mix soap with water.
Using an real soap, which is made of animal fat and lye, the fatty acids are what do the trick. Mix a couple of tablespoons thoroughly with water and apply with a spray bottle. You can adjust the level of soap according to the effectiveness on the bugs.
Using Dr Bronner's Peppermint soap (either the liquid or solid), you just follow these directions:
- "As a preventative mix 1 tablespoon Dr Bronner's Peppermint soap per quart water. Spray on vegetables on a regular bases or first sign of trouble. On specific pests mix 5 tablespoons per quart water. Test first on plant/bug to see if it is too strong or not strong enough."
To know if a soap has what you need, you can look at the ingredients on the label.
Soap is usually made of lye, water, and oil.
Lye is Sodium Hydroxide (NaOH) Natural Oils to make soap are: Palm, Coconut, Tallow, Olive Oil. So when you mix the Sodium Hydroxide and water, and one of the above oil, you get
Sodium Palmate
Sodium Cocoate
Sodium Tallowate
Sodium Olivate (Castille Soap)
If a petroleum based oil is used, then you get
Sodium lauryl sulfate
Most store bought soaps also have other stuff in them for fragrance, anti caking, color preservative, coloring (even for white). The less of these, the less chemicals you are introducing into your garden.
