How to Apply Bug Spray to Vegetable Plants

Insecticides should not damage your plants if used properly.

You can walk into just about any home and garden retailer and find multiple shelves of bug sprays designed for use on garden vegetables. Bugs are attracted to vegetable plants for their fruit and for their foliage. Although most pesticides designed for vegetables should not damage your garden, there are certain precautions you must take when spraying your vegetable garden to minimize damage to the plants and minimize your exposure to pesticides.

Things You'll Need

• Safety mask
• Rubber gloves
• Long-sleeved shirt
• Spray bottle

Instructions

1. Protect your personal health by wearing a safety mask approved for use with chemical sprays. Wear rubber gloves and a long-sleeved shirt to avoid skin exposure to the pesticide. Wear gloves when tending your garden even after the chemicals dry on the plants. During spraying and after you spray, prevent children's and pets' exposure to the insecticide by keeping them out of your garden.

2. Follow the recommending mixing ratios printed on the label to ensure the correct concentration.

3. Pour the insecticide into a sprayer with a mist setting, preferably a sprayer designed for garden and lawn use.

4. Spray a small amount of the insecticide on a few inconspicuous leaves of a plant and wait for a day. If they turn brown or die, dilute the ratio or choose an alternative insecticide.

5. Apply insecticide in the morning or in the evening. Do not treat plants right before, during or right after the hottest part of the day. Doing so could cause leaf burn. Avoid watering the plants directly before or after you spray them with insecticide, as this will wash the insecticide off the plants. Exceptions are those insecticides that require connection to a garden hose for application.

6. Spray the insecticide on the vegetable plants only when you see bugs present or if you see egg sacks attached to the leaves or stems of the plants. Avoid spraying beneficial insects, such as ladybugs. Killing them makes your garden safer for other harmful insects.

Tips & Warnings

• Wash each vegetable with clean water to remove traces of insecticides before you eat them. Ingesting food with residual amounts of insecticide can be dangerous.

References

• North Dakota State University Agriculture and University Extension; Pesticide Safety: A Guide for Gardeners and Homeowners; Julie Garden-Robinson; August 2009

Resources

• Supak: Insects that Might Eat Your Vegetables: Mort Mather