10 Perfectly Natural Homemade Pest Control Methods

Prevention is the key to healthy plants in your gardens. Whether we are talking about veggies, fruits, flowers or herbs taking a proper care for them can prevent all kinds of diseases.

Using fertilizers, keeping a good air circulation around plants are just some of the basic steps to taking a good care for your plants. However, all kinds of insects and fungus can still damage your plants and if this happens then you must use some pest control. We all know that the market offers different kinds of pest control, but we also know that most of these sprays and solutions are expensive. Surprisingly enough you don’t need them to keep away pests – all you need are some simple ingredients you already have in your kitchen to prepare your own homemade natural garden pest control! Here are some useful, effective, cheap and incredibly easy solutions we totally love and recommend…

Garlic Spray

Want to get rid of those awful cutworms, wireworms, whiteflies, and slugs? Mix one pint of water with 1/4 cup of dish liquid , 2 teaspoons of paraffin and 6 tablespoons of chopped garlic. So easy yet so effective – garlic sprays are your best friends when pest control is in question.

Black Spot Spray

• one tablespoon bicarbonate soda


• 4.5 liters of watter


• 1 tbs oil spray concentrate (you can make one by mixing 500ml vegetable oil with 1/2 cup of dishwasher soap or any liquid soap)

Combine the ingredients and mix well. Spray your plants on weekly basis to prevent black spots.

All-Purpose Natural Insect Pest Spray

• one garlic bulb


• one small onion


• one teaspoon cayenne pepper dissolved in one quart of water


• one teaspoon liquid dish soap

Grind the garlic and onion then add the dissolved cayenne pepper. Leave the solution for 1 hour then strain it through cheesecloth. Add 1 teaspoon of liquid dish soap and mix well. Now you are ready to spray your plants! Do it thoroughly – including the leaves. You can store the solution in the fridge for up to one week.

Spearmint-Hot Pepper-Horseradish Spray

• 1/2 cup of hot red peppers


• water


• 1/2 cup of fresh spearmint


• 1/2 cup horseradish


• 2 tablespoons of liquid detergent


• 1/2 cup green onion tops

Mix all the ingredients (without the detergent) with enough water to cover everything. Then add extra half gallon of water and the detergent. This is a concentrate – to use it mix 1/2 gallon of this solution with 1/2 gallon of water.

Skim Milk Solution

Here is another great way to fight fungus and prevent black spots and mildew. It is pretty simple – just mix one half skim milk with one half water and spray on the foliage. It is best to do the spraying in the morning so the leaves can dry on the sunlight.

Citrus Spray

Lemons and oranges are natural repellents for white flies. Get 2 cups of orange or lemon peels and add them to 4 cups of boiling water. Remove from heat, cover and let it cool. Strain and use – can’t get any easier and cheaper!

Tomato Leaves Spray

Tomato leaves are poisonous so we are warning ahead not to use this spray on food bearing plants! Now, to make this effective pest control spray crash some tomato leaves and soak them into water. Leave for couple of days then stray the mixture. Spray plants to protect them from grasshoppers and white flies.

Onion Scraps Bug Spray

All you have to do is save your onion peels. ends and skins and keep them in the fridge until you have a full zip lock bag. Place them in a pot and fill with warm water. Leave it for couple of days – to a week, then strain and store in a spray bottle. This is one of the best ways fight aphids and pests naturally.

Chile Powder

Most of the natural garden pests are already in your kitchen but you just don’t know how to use them. Take chile powder – the hot pepper that is part of it will keep away moles, voles, mice and squirrels. Sprinkle some on the bulbs and leaves, but also on the soil to keep cats and dogs from digging around the plants.

Salt Spray

Chewing insects, spider mites, cabbage worms, caterpillars – they will all stay away from your plants if you use this simple salt solution. Mix 2 tbs salt with 1.5 gallons warm water. Let it dissolve, cool to room temperature and voila – your spray is ready to use.

 

10 Perfectly Natural Homemade Pest Control Methods

Natural Ways to Whiten Teeth at Home

FACT: Teeth whitening is the most requested cosmetic dental procedure in the U.S. Another fact: It doesn’t come cheap. But we have analternative, actually 3 alternatives that can make your teeth whiterwithout affecting your budget drastically. Yes, you can whiten yourteeth at home without spending a small fortune at the dentist. And with using all natural products! That sounds intriguing right? We have done a little research and picked the top 3 totally awesome ways to whiten your teeth at home. They are all safe, natural and pretty affordable. You can have a brilliant smile in no time simply by following the routine that suits you the most.

BRUSH WITH BERRIES

We are talking about strawberries. Yes, they are not only great for your heart, help fight cancer and lower blood pressure but also can whiten your teeth. Strawberries are packed with Vitamin C that helps with plaque build up and malic acid that can remove surface stains. So lets see how to do it…

1. Crash 1-3 strawberries into a pulp. You can also add a pinch of salt and a 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda.

2. Using a toothbrush apply the mixture on your teeth.

3. Let it sit for 5 minutes.

4. Rinse your mouth well with water.

BAKING SODA AND LIME

Have you noticed that baking soda have became a common part of every toothpaste formula in the recent years? This is for a reason and the reason is that baking soda can help your teeth get whiter. So why not use it at home to get whiter brighter teeth? You just have to do it properly in order to achieve great results. It is easy if you follow these steps:

1. Dampen your toothbrush and dip it in some baking soda.

2. Brush your teeth for 2 minutes than spit the soda.

3. Rinse your mouth clean with water.

4. Once a week mix some lime or lemon juice with soda (juice of 1/2 lime with 1/4 cup of soda) After the bubbling is over grab a damp cotton wool ball and dab it into the mixture. Rub thoroughly over your teeth. Leave for one minute than brush off. Voila!

 

VEGGIES & FRUITS AS NATURAL TEETH WHITENERS

Celery, Cucumber, Broccoli and Carrots are one of the healthiest veggies and they are also great as natural teeth whiteners. They gently scrub away stains and increase the production of saliva which reduces plaque causing bacteria in your mouth. We are talking about raw veggies here – just to be clear! We mentioned the power of strawberries already, but apples are also effective as “toothbrush food” as their crunch factor works to scrub teeth clean. Here is a list of vegetables and fruits that when eaten raw can have a teeth whitening effect, just don’t expect instant results…

• Celery


• Cucumber


• Broccoli


• Carrots


• Apples


• Oranges


• Pineapples

Natural Ways to Whiten Teeth at Home

Using Banana Skins As A Natural Fertilizer For Plants

Bananas are one of the most popular fruits out there that are widely consumed. They are delicious and healthy, packed with potassium and pectin, a form of fiber, they are high in antioxidants and can also be a good way to get magnesium and vitamins C and B6.

Bananas are known to reduce swelling, protect against developing type-2 diabetes, aid in weight loss, strengthen the nervous system and help with production of white blood cells, all due to the high level of vitamin B6 that bananas contain.

But bananas are not only good for you and your body, they are also good for your plants! Believe it or not most of the banana skins end up in the garbage bin after the bananas are being eaten. This is absolutely wrong! Especially if you have a garden with some lovely plants that need additional care. We recommend saving the skin next time you eat a banana – as a treat to your garden.

Bananas are a source of calcium, phosphor, potassium and magnesium and they obviously have a positive effect on our bodies, but here is how these minerals act on your soil and plants…

Potassium: This mineral will make your plant stronger and disease-resistant. It is especially beneficial for all varieties of ferns.

Phosphor: Phosphor is a powerful mineral that promotes the growth of fruits and flowers.

Calcium: It is the most important mineral for the soil as it is responsible for the oxygen flow.

So, how to use banana skins for a maximum benefit on your plants? Make a banana skin fertilizer which will provide your garden the much needed minerals. It is easy – just leave the banana skins to dry (don’t worry if they turn black) then grind it in the blender. Mix in some water in order to get a mixture similar to milkshake. Your plants will love it!

If you don’t have a blender just cut the skins into small pieces and dig them into the soil around the plant, or in the soil where you plan to plant something new. You can also store a bigger quantity of dried banana skins and then use them along some mulch for “lasagna” gardening.

 

Using Banana Skins As A Natural Fertilizer For Plants

The Benefits of Using Natural Homemade Compost

Healthy gardening, which leads you to healthy and beautiful, plants and flowers acquires a homemade compost, all natural and inexpensive. Compost is organic matter that has been decomposed and recycled as a fertilizer and soil amendment. Compost is rich in nutrients. It is used in gardens, landscaping, horticulture, and agriculture.

The compost itself is beneficial for the land in many ways, including as a soil conditioner, a fertilizer, addition of vital humus or humic acids, and as a natural pesticide for soil. Composting organisms require four equally important ingredients to work effectively: Carbon — for energy; the microbial oxidation of carbon produces the heat, if included at suggested levels, high carbon materials tend to be brown and dry, nitrogen — to grow and reproduce more organisms to oxidize the carbon, oxygen — for oxidizing the carbon, the decomposition process and water — in the right amounts to maintain activity without causing anaerobic conditions. You can buy compost in every gardening store, but as always, the best is to make in by yourselves. Home composting is a natural process that can convert garden and most kitchen waste into a material that can be used as a soil improver, garden mulch, or to top up flower and patio pots. Using grass clippings, kitchen scraps, dry leaves, and all types of natural things from your home like coffee grounds, you can create “black gold” for your garden beds. Compost has amazing nutrients in it which helps your garden soil be the perfect place for microbes to interact with root hairs. In other words, by adding compost, you are building stronger roots and the results are healthy and delicious fruits or veggie or stunning flowers. You can also add compost to the soil in new gardens and also use it as a top dressing to smother weeds around healthy plants. It has many way to make your own compost but we will show you the easiest and the cheapest once, or how to use kitchen waste and leaves to add nutrients in the soil in your garden.

• Benefits of Composting

Compost improves the quality of almost any soil, and for this reason it is most often considered a soil conditioner. Compost improves the structure and texture of the soil enabling it to better retain nutrients, moisture, and air for the betterment of plants. It encourages the growth of earthworms and other macro-organisms, whose tunneling makes room for water and air.

• Compost Tea

Compost tea is easily made by soaking or steeping compost in water. The resulting compost tea is used for either a foliar application (sprayed on the leaves) or applied to the soil. It is an old fashioned way of providing liquid fertilizer for plants. Similar to manure tea, compost tea gives your plants a good dose of nutrients. Compost tea works especially well for providing nutrients to new transplants and young seedlings. All you need to do for making a compost tea is to fill a burlap sack or an old pillow case with finished compost and secure the open end. Place in a tub, barrel, or watering can filled with water. Agitate for a few minutes and then let it steep for a few days. Water will leach out nutrients from the compost and the mixture will take on the color of tea. Spray or pour compost tea on and around plants. You can use the bag of compost for several batches. Afterwards, simply empty the bag’s contents onto the garden.

• Use Kitchen Waste for Worm Composting

Composting your kitchen food waste is easy and requires little time, effort or space, depending on which system you use. It is very good to make compost from your kitchen waste because is a complete and natural food for the soil, helping to improve its structure, water-retaining abilities and overall health. You can imitate nature in your own yard by composting your kitchen waste with the help of the worms. Worm composting is small enough to keep on a balcony, patio or in a porch, so it’s ideal if you don’t have much outside space. It’s also one of the cleanest, neatest and easiest composting systems to use. A ready-made kit provides both the bin with its lid and the worms. As you fill each layer with small amounts of scraps and leftovers, the worms work their way up through the layers, eating the waste (they consume up to half of their body weight a day). It’s this action that speeds up the composting process, leaving you with rich, dark compost in the lowest tray after only a few months.

• What to Use from the Waste?

You have to be careful while making the homemade compost. Not all of the waste is beneficial for the soil.  The Best Waste for Worm Composting are raw or cooked fruit and vegetable peelings, pasta, rice and bread, dried and crushed egg shells, teabags and coffee grounds and dry fiber, such as torn-up egg crates and empty toilet rolls, to make up 25 percent of the contents.  Avoid citrus fruit and onion peelings (which cause acidic conditions), plant seeds, meat, fish, dairy products, dog and cat droppings, spent tissues, grass cuttings and leaves, diseased plant material and anything in excess.

• Use Fertilizers

For better soil and fertilizers in your homemade compost. Additional nutrient sources are especially important when using soil mixtures that don’t contain compost. Choose natural fertilizers derived from mined minerals, animal byproducts, plant materials or manures. A combination of these natural fertilizers provides a long-term, stable and eco-friendly source of nutrients. Such a blend can include combinations of any of the following: alfalfa meal, blood meal, bone meal, cottonseed meal, crab meal, feather meal, fish meal, greensand, kelp meal, dehydrated manures and rock phosphate.

• Composting leaves

It take 4 to 6 months to compost but still is easy and cheap way for a homemade composting. All you need to do is make a pile of leaves and place it wherever drainage is adequate; a shaded area will help keep the pile from drying out. The leaf pile should be at least 4′ in diameter and 3′ in height. Include a layer of dirt between each foot of leaves. The pile should be damp enough that when a sample taken from the interior is squeezed by hand, a few drops of moisture will appear. The pile should not be packed too tightly. Leaf compost is best used as an organic soil amendment and conditioner; it is not normally used as a fertilizer because it is low in nutrients.

The Benefits of Using Natural Homemade Compost