insecticidal soap recipe?
GypsyLou
I have been unable to locate the insecticidal soap made by Safer this
year. Can this type of thing be made at home? If so, how?
This will be used on my edibles--tomatoes, peppers, and herbs promarily.
Any help out there?
Gina gyps...@aol.com
Bill Robinson
GypsyLou wrote:
> I have been unable to locate the insecticidal soap made by Safer this
> year. Can this type of thing be made at home? If so, how?
> This will be used on my edibles--tomatoes, peppers, and herbs promarily.
Gina,
Yes, you could make it at home if you are a chemist with a good
background in formulation. Insecticidal soap is made by reacting
organic acids derived from a blend of vegetable and animal oils
with organic alkaline materials, mostly amines. If you have excess
organic acid or excess amine, you'll likely end up with a mess.
You can get Safer's insecticidal soap mail order through
Gardens Alive 812.537.8650
Bill
Pat Kiewicz
In article <19970505065...@ladder01.news.aol.com>, gyps...@aol.com
says...
>
>I have been unable to locate the insecticidal soap made by Safer this
>year. Can this type of thing be made at home? If so, how?
>This will be used on my edibles--tomatoes, peppers, and herbs promarily.
>Gina gyps...@aol.com
Ideally, you should use an insecticidal soap, but in less than ideal
circumstances (can't find a supplier being one of them) no one will
fault you for subsituting.
I'd recommend Murphy's Oil Soap (which, to my nose, smells very much
like Safer's Insecticidal soap). I think 2-3 tablespoons per gallon
should prove effective. Avoid using it in the hot, mid-day sun. You
should attempt to make a 'direct hit' on the insects you are aiming
to control, which should die in short order. Once you are sure you've
wasted the bugs, your plants might appreciate having the soap rinsed
off. (Soap can be toxic to plants -- one of the factors Safer has
to consider in testing their insecticidal soap. It also led them to
develope a soap/fatty acid based weed-killer.)
I used Murphy's Oil Soap in the Great Earwig War I waged a few years back.
--
Pat in Plymouth MI
scpd
So, Pat -- who won, you or them? If you did, *please* tell me (us) the
details -- I've been skirmishing for the past couple of seasons and
losing pretty consistently! Any and all helpful hints will be greatly
appreciated.
Happy trails....
Sue Drake
Southeastern WI -- USDA zone 4b/5a
reply to: c-s-...@worldnet.att.net
... An immaculate house is the sign of a mis-spent life ...
---------------
Pat Kiewicz <kie...@mail.wwnet.com> wrote in article
<5kkpt9$199$1...@trellis.wwnet.com>...
<<snip insecticidal soap info & recipe>>
Pat Kiewicz
In article <01bc59c1$ff680aa0$4b3f93cf@newmicronpc>, c-s-...@see.signature
says...
>
>So, Pat -- who won, you or them? If you did, *please* tell me (us) the
>details -- I've been skirmishing for the past couple of seasons and
>losing pretty consistently! Any and all helpful hints will be greatly
>appreciated.
I still have 'pockets of resistance' but for the most part the earwig
population is way, way down and has stayed that way for several years.
The war was an all-out effort. Daily soap-sprays in areas known to hold
congregations of earwigs (basically, anywhere there where wood met wood,
such as the corners of the composter, the crevices and notches in the
split-rail fence, and the like -- you know, all the places they explode
out of when disturbed). The oil-and-soy-sauce traps made from old
yogurt tubs. Bits of plastic pipe shoved under Hostas and tapped out into
buckets of soapy water. Releasing toads found at a friend's cottage into
the yard. Guaranteed anihilation (often as food for our pet fish) for
any earwig spotted at any time.
In the spring I try to be very observant and crush any earwig that turns up
as I clean up the yard. These are invariably females, who guard their eggs
and young (earwigs are rather good mothers, for insects). Each one destroyed
is many more prevented.
The war will never be won completely. But I think I've got the situation
(mostly) under control. Vigilence is critical...
--
Pat in Plymouth MI
Bev Clark/Steve Gallacci
Since I don't see them very much here, and am unaware of what they might
do, what is the problem with earwigs? Though nasty looking, I thought
they were otherwise inoffensive.
Now, slugs, that is another story.
Lmccl617
: gyps...@aol.com (GypsyLou) wrote:
>I have been unable to locate the insecticidal soap made by Safer this
>year. Can this type of thing be made at home? If so, how?
>This will be used on my edibles--tomatoes, peppers, and herbs promarily.
>Any help out there?
>Gina gyps...@aol.com
Last year, Bruce Schwoegler, a Boston meteorologist, did
a series on gardening. He had a recipe for non-toxic insecticide
which involved vegetable oil, dishwashing detergent and water. I
forget the exact proportions, maybe 1 tbsp. each of the veg. oil and
detergent to a pint of water, something like that. This worked pretty
well for me, killed aphids on my kale & collard greens.
I'm going to use it again this year. Safer never seemed to work for
me, anyway.
LM
Jonathan Byron
Most soaps have insecticidal properties - but they vary in both the
amount of insecticidal activity and their toxicity to plants.
One of the big differences between ordinary soap and insecticidal soap
is that ordinary soap is made using oils and sodium hydroxide, while
insecticidal soaps are made using oils and potassium hydroxide.
Boiling an alkali with oil results in a molecule that is non-polar
(fat) on one end, and polar on the other (the potassium or sodium).
Potassium is less toxic to plants than sodium.
The type of fat or oil used does make a difference in the properties
of the insecticidal soap - long fats give soaps that are more solid
(somewhat less soluble).
Does anyone know if Murphy's oil soap (available in most grocery
stores) makes a good bug spray and/or is toxic to plants ?
Best wishes, Jonathan
Pat Kiewicz
In article <bevnsagE...@netcom.com>, bev...@netcom.com says...
They may be coming. I remember them in Connecticut as a kid. Then my
family moved to Indiana. Never saw one. I moved to Michigan. Gardened
for several years without seeing one. Then, suddenly, they appeared.
Earwigs are not native to North America. Their population can increase
rapidly to pest levels. They are especially fond of tender seedlings
and certain types of flowers. I've had particular problems with
earwigs attacking carrot seedlings and bean seedlings. They are very
fond of dahlias, zinnias, and marigolds, and murderous to some types
of clematis. (I've gone out at night and seen them swarming over
dahlias, munching away.)
Cool, wet years favor earwigs. 1992 was unusually cool and wet in
Michigan. 1993 saw earwig populations so high that I declared war
on them.
D1006don
In article <19970505065...@ladder01.news.aol.com>,
gyps...@aol.com (GypsyLou) writes:
>I have been unable to locate the insecticidal soap made by Safer this
>year. Can this type of thing be made at home? If so, how?
>This will be used on my edibles--tomatoes, peppers, and herbs promarily.
>Any help out there?
>Gina gyps...@aol.com
My recipe: 1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 head of garlic, finely chopped (not just 1 clove, the
whole thing!)
1 tablespoon ground cayenne
1/4 cup vegetable oil (whatever you have)
1/8 cup regular dish detergent
(if using "ultra", just a few drops; I use dawn,
unscented)
1 cup water
Put ingredients in quart jar in pantry or other dark place for two weeks,
shaking every other day or so. Strain through fine filter (I use a paper
coffe filter). Pour
into container for spraying with water hose or dilute 4:1 with water for
misting.
Peace, Diedra
Pat Kiewicz
In article <3370704...@nntp.netcruiser>, barn...@ix.netcom.com says...
>Does anyone know if Murphy's oil soap (available in most grocery
>stores) makes a good bug spray and/or is toxic to plants ?
I've used Murphy's Oil soap, which, to me, smells an awful lot like
Safer's. I avoid spraying anything in the heat of the day, and usually
rinse the plants off later, even when using Safer's. (I've commented
on Murphy's before, but I know that not every post reaches every server.)
HOOTER
Bill Robinson wrote:
>
> GypsyLou wrote:
>
> > I have been unable to locate the insecticidal soap made by Safer this
> > year. Can this type of thing be made at home? If so, how?
> > This will be used on my edibles--tomatoes, peppers, and herbs promarily.
>
>
> Yes, you could make it at home if you are a chemist with a good
> background in formulation. Insecticidal soap is made by reacting
> organic acids derived from a blend of vegetable and animal oils
> with organic alkaline materials, mostly amines. If you have excess
> organic acid or excess amine, you'll likely end up with a mess.
>
> You can get Safer's insecticidal soap mail order through
> Gardens Alive 812.537.8650
>
> Bill
I'm not familiar with this soap but based on the information presented
here, I could calculate a soap using KOH. I make NaOH soap (bar soap),
KOH is what makes liquid soap. It's really not that hard with a little
information.
Carol H.
Gloria Mercado-Martin
I was standing next to the heirloom tomatoes at my local nursery the
other day when the nurseryman gave the following advice to some customers:
"Slugs and earwigs will get to your tomatoes. If you have problems with
slugs, go out at night with a flashlight and pick the off, or use the
beer pail trick. For earwigs, sprinkle diatomaceous earth on your beds.
The small granules are like shards of glass, and the earwigs find this
most annoying".
Might wanna try it.
G
Rusty
Pat Kiewicz <kie...@mail.wwnet.com> wrote in article
<5kq1g4$kl5$1...@trellis.wwnet.com>...
>
> Earwigs are not native to North America.
>
Strange isn't it. Our two greatest pests for the garden, Earwigs, and
garden snails are from Europe. You would thing we could import there
natural predators to help solve the problems they cause.
Does anyone know what there natural predators are?
--
Please use this address for replies.
edw...@sonic.net
Rusty
Santa Rosa, Calif.
Home Town of Luther Burbank
USDA Zone 8, Sunset Zone 14
Pat Kiewicz
In article <01bc5d8d$b0464b60$32e7c9d0@edwardt>, no-...@sonic.net says...
>
>
>Pat Kiewicz <kie...@mail.wwnet.com> wrote in article
><5kq1g4$kl5$1...@trellis.wwnet.com>...
>>
>> Earwigs are not native to North America.
>>
>
>Strange isn't it. Our two greatest pests for the garden, Earwigs, and
>garden snails are from Europe. You would thing we could import there
>natural predators to help solve the problems they cause.
>Does anyone know what there natural predators are?
I've read that there is a type of rove beetle that preys on earwigs, also
a type of tachnid fly.
Plain old American toads are also reputed to down a lot of earwigs. (Believe
this info was based on studies of toad droppings...)
I've noticed that earwigs are far less likely to munch on flowers that
are European or Asian in origin, and that their favorites all originated
in the Americas.