Making Castile Liquid Soap-Insect Killer

[BettyW]

Anyone tried to make and use Castile liquid soap on the garden to kill insects?

 

[Zany_in_CO]

Hi Betty!

I make a Dr. Bronners Liquid Castile Soap dupe. Never used it on "garden insects". I'm not sure what you mean there? You don't want to spray with soap indiscriminately and kill off beneficial insects like lady bugs, bees, etc.

For ants, my Orange Spray Cleaner works well, inside and out. Peppermint EO does a good job too.

ORANGE SPRAY CLEANER & DEGREASER

20 OZ. WATER
1 TBLS 100% COCONUT LS
1 TBLS WHITE VINEGAR
1 TBLS ORANGE EO
3 TBLS POLY 20
1 TSP LIQUID CALGON
FILL REPURPOSED SPRAY BOTTLE TO 32 OZ.​

For mosquitoes, 10% Lemon Eucalyptus in a basic room spray formula is tops!

HTH

 

[BettyW]

One of the gardening group I belong to uses it to kill aphids, squash bugs, eggs of the bugs, and etc. It's like an insecticidal soap. They are only spraying affected plants. It is gentle enough to to harm plants.

 

[artemis]

One of the gardening group I belong to uses it to kill aphids, squash bugs, eggs of the bugs, and etc. It's like an insecticidal soap. They are only spraying affected plants. It is gentle enough to to harm plants.

The spray I make at home uses dish detergent. I have never made a liquid soap, but I would hope that just about any homemade liquid soap might work? If you have some on hand, you could mix up a small batch and see how it does.

This is the one I use. I am sorry that I can't remember where I found it:

Mix 1 cup of vegetable or white mineral oil with
2 cups of water and
2 teaspoons of bleach-free dish soap.
Put the mixture in a spray bottle and spritz it on infected plants to suffocate the aphids. However, do keep the treated plants out of direct sunlight, since the spray could magnify the light and burn the leaves.