View Full Version : Making My Own Insecticide with Canola Oil and Dawn Dish Soap
quendor91
07-13-2016, 11:29 AM
Hey everyone, I've been looking around the internet for safe alternatives to manufactured pesticides that contain harmful chemicals. Is using a mix of canola oil safe for banana plants? I'm going to be mixing in soap too. Is regular Dawn alright in small amounts for Bananas?
cincinnana
07-13-2016, 05:09 PM
Hey everyone, I've been looking around the internet for safe alternatives to manufactured pesticides that contain harmful chemicals. Is using a mix of canola oil safe for banana plants? I'm going to be mixing in soap too. Is regular Dawn alright in small amounts for Bananas?
I use Dawn or similar as a sticker( substance to break water tension and make product stick to plants/insects) with insecticides and fertilizers and weed killers.
It does work and will work on any plant including your banana plants
Common cooking oils work fine as long as you follow the recipe.
There is also a great Neem oil recipe out there also.
A great source of homemade stuff that usually works is published by a fellow named https://www.jerrybaker.com/tips-and-tonics.
There are a lot of great recipes out there on the web.
You can use common household materials and you will see results and save some money too .
quendor91
07-13-2016, 05:24 PM
I use Dawn or similar as a sticker( substance to break water tension and make product stick to plants/insects) with insecticides and fertilizers and weed killers.
It does work and will work on any plant including your banana plants
Common cooking oils work fine as long as you follow the recipe.
There is also a great Neem oil recipe out there also.
A great source of homemade stuff that usually works is published by a fellow named https://www.jerrybaker.com/tips-and-tonics.
There are a lot of great recipes out there on the web.
You can use common household materials and you will see results and save some money too .
How much soap would you put in a 25oz spray bottle?
Richard
07-13-2016, 07:01 PM
I'm jealous of environments where such concoctions actually work. Around here it would attract far more damaging pests then it would deter.
I'd go with a soap that is milder, like Sunlight. Dawn is powerful stuff... Great on dishes though!
quendor91
07-13-2016, 09:42 PM
I'd go with a soap that is milder, like Sunlight. Dawn is powerful stuff... Great on dishes though!
What if I just use 1tsp in a 25oz spray bottle?
Or even less like 1/8 tsp.
Tytaylor77
07-13-2016, 11:22 PM
I've used the dawn advanced and water in a 5 gal bucket to soak banana roots in after coming out of the greenhouse after winter if they have any fungus gnats. I pull the rootball out of the pot and let it soak in the dawn for 30 minutes or more. Afterwards I flush water through the plant and replant. Kills the gnat colony and the plant has never been effected. I've also used dawn to make oil/soap spray. It did nothing!! To the plant or the insects lol. For me its a waste of time. I need something stronger when I rarely need something.
I usually don't treat my plants. This year I will with neem oil. I never tried the homemade soap stuff.
quendor91
07-14-2016, 07:44 AM
I usually don't treat my plants. This year I will with neem oil. I never tried the homemade soap stuff.
I wouldn't mess with mine either. I have noticed some evidence of bugs snacking on some of the leaves. The young Raja puri has some little bits of silk on the cigar leaf and perhaps on other parts. I'm not gonna let those mites get too comfortable!
Richard
07-14-2016, 11:23 AM
I usually don't treat my plants. This year I will with neem oil. I never tried the homemade soap stuff.
Neem oil is a surfactant, not a pesticide.
Neem oil is a surfactant, not a pesticide.
What would you recommand? I don't like chemicals and toxic products...
I have issues occasionnally with spider mites, scales and mealy bugs.
Richard
07-17-2016, 12:10 PM
What would you recommand? I don't like chemicals and toxic products....
Don't garden.
Don't garden.
Lol! I'll keep on gardening even if I have to crush these bastards by hand one by one!
sputinc7
07-17-2016, 01:54 PM
Lol! I'll keep on gardening even if I have to crush these bastards by hand one by one!
I think he is being a bit facetious, and a bit serious. Nitrogen is a chemical, as is phosphorous and potassium... Under the right circumstances and / or in the right amounts, all are toxic. Richard knows chemicals and fertilizers, but is not an organic gardener.
Myself, I feel that nothing could grow plants better than a big hole filled with properly made compost. I just find making the amounts I need exhausting now that I am older. Bagged stuff just isn't close to the real deal. So, I make do best I can.
I want a compostumbler (The original, big one), but they are not cheap.
I don't understand the use of oil. IMO soap alone sprayed on leaves interrupts the delight with which pests chow down and soap alone sprayed on pests messes with their minds and little nasty bodies. Sunlight, dear, dear Sunlight, cannot be found in the US these days. It was and will always be my "pesticide" of choice. Lemony fresh and so wonderful!
How much for 25 oz? Normal recommendations for 1 gallon are no more than 2 tablespoons. Do the math. Err on the side of too little because too much can (and has for me) kill the plant you wish to protect. Spray again in a week if needed but don't think more in the mix is better--it's not.
quendor91
07-18-2016, 09:05 AM
I don't understand the use of oil. IMO soap alone sprayed on leaves interrupts the delight with which pests chow down and soap alone sprayed on pests messes with their minds and little nasty bodies. Sunlight, dear, dear Sunlight, cannot be found in the US these days. It was and will always be my "pesticide" of choice. Lemony fresh and so wonderful!
How much for 25 oz? Normal recommendations for 1 gallon are no more than 2 tablespoons. Do the math. Err on the side of too little because too much can (and has for me) kill the plant you wish to protect. Spray again in a week if needed but don't think more in the mix is better--it's not.
Haha yeah, I've killed a plant before with too much soap. Mixed around 2-3 tablespoons in like a 10-16oz spray bottle.
vBulletin® v3.6.8, Copyright ©2000-2020, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.