How to Make Your Own Insect-Killing Soap

Left unattended, tiny aphids can kill your plants.

Pesty garden insects can damage your healthy flowers or vegetable plants. Worse yet, if left unattended these bugs will eat the vegetables, flowers or leaves, and kill the plant. Many people prefer not to use commercial insecticides due to health and environmental concerns or because they have small children or pets. Homemade, soap-based insecticides have been used in gardens for many years and are safe and effective.

Things You'll Need

• 1-quart plastic spray bottle
• Measuring spoons
• Dish-washing liquid
• Vegetable oil
• Water

Instructions

1. 

   Regular dish-washing soap is your first ingredient.

   Measure 1 1/2 tsp. of dish-washing liquid and pour into a 1-quart spray bottle. Regular household dish-washing liquid is fine, but if you want to make an insecticide that's even more organic, use dish-washing liquid from a health or organic store, as it will not contain any preservatives or chemicals.

2. 

   Vegetable or olive oil works for this recipe.

   Add several drops of vegetable oil to the spray bottle. The oil helps the insecticide adhere to the plant's leaves and the insects.

3. 

   A spray bottle makes for easy application.

   Fill the spray bottle the rest of the way with warm water. Screw the spray top on and shake lightly to mix your insecticide. Since the oil will always separate, you'll need to shake the insecticide before every use.

4. 

   Insects are often hard to spot on plants, so look closely.

   Spray the affected plant areas, such as the undersides of leaves, in the areas where shoots come out of the main stem and on flowers or vegetables. Allow the insecticide to sit for a couple of hours.

5. Cut or rinse off the areas where the dead insects are. If there are a few, small, infected areas, cutting them away is the best solution. If much of the plant was infected, rinse it off with water and keep a close watch to make sure no infestation returns.

Tips & Warnings

• A bar of plain, white soap can be used in place of the dish-washing detergent if you like. Use a vegetable peeler to get a few shavings and let the shavings disintegrate in a bowl of warm water overnight.

• Spray in the morning hours when insects are most active.

• Keep soap insecticide out of the reach of young children. It's not poisonous if they ingest it, but the soap will sting the eyes.

References

• Advice on Gardening: Homemade Insecticidal Soap Recipe
• Sager's Garden: Organic Insecticidal Soap Spray

Resources

• Edible Container Gardening: Organic Insecticidal Soap Spray