Natural Pesticides

What are some Great Natural Pesticidal and Fungicidal Recipes?
Some of the best, effective, yet safest, pesticides and fungicides for organic garden use can be made without using any dangerous chemicals. The best way to control harmful pests and insects is to design your total garden landscape and annual gardening strategy to incorporate continuous companion planting ideas and various intense gardening and biodiversity concepts in order to increase beneficial insect and animal populations to control the harm animals and insect populations. Intensive organic mulching through your garden landscape also controls many pests. Some advanced organic gardeners don't even use any natural pesticides or fungicides, because their soil structure and garden techniques encourage massive populations of beneficials.
However, there are exceptions where a few ideas are needed to control pests. Here is a simple list of classic organic and natural concepts:

1. Companion planting and intense gardening
you can plant certain plants close together to help fight diseases, control pests, or even improve the soil for its neigboring plants' health.

2. Garlic, onions
all alliums are great for killing soft body insects. Flying insects can be paralyzed by direct hits. Also a great fungicide. Best if crushed or liquified in a vegetable oil tea. Use several cloves of garlic per gallon of water.

3. Hot peppers
fresh or powder is great for repelling rabbits and other pests. Many soft body insects can be killed by its acidic "burning" effect. Best when mixed with garlic sprays applications. <
br>4. Canola oil, vegetable oils
mineral oils work also, but they are made from petroleum products. Oil sprays suffocate soft body insects. Don't use too much on sensitive plants. May burn leaves. Don't use no more than 1 cup of oil per gallon of water.

5. Alcohol
rubbing alcohol is good but it is made from petroleum products. Drinking alcohols are made from plants. Using only a few tblsp per gallon of water will kill many soft body insects. Too much alcohol in water will produce a super herbicide.

6. Apple Cider Vinegar
Use 1-2 tbls per gallon of water for a mild fungicide or acidic liquid fertilizer. Like alcohol can be a natural herbicide if too much is used in tea. Most white vinegars are made from petroleum products. Apple cider vinegar can contain up to 30 trace elements.

7. Corn meal
Use as a topdressing or in a tea for fungal control.

8. Compost teas
This multi-purpose fluid can contain beneficial microbes and soluble nutrients that can be a mild fungicide and disease controller.

9. Ground cloves
great repellant and can kill flying insects. Use several tblsp per gallon of water.

10. Japanese beetles
these pests are best controlled by killing their larva during the winter and early spring seasons with mild topsoil tilling, or using milky spore or beneficial nematode soil applications. During the warm season, the best way to control them is with traps. Simple inexpensive traps can be made by placing several small open milk jugs, cans, or buckets all over your garden. Inside the cans place some rotten fruit or fruit cocktail in 1/2 can of water with 1-2 tbls of liquid soap and 1-2 tblsp of canola oil. You can also add dry molasses or liquid molasses for extra microbial power in the soapy tea mixture to attract and kill them. Also planting a border planting of buckwheat will attract these pests away from your crops.

11. Diatomeous earth
this natural powdery substance will poke insect bodies and dehydrate many soft body soil organisms, but not earthworms. It can kill bees if direct contact of a spray mixture. This can be used on the soil or sprayed on the plant with soapy water. Unlike most natural pesticides, D.E. can stay in the soil working for decades.

12. Neem oil
like vegetable oil sprays, it suffocates insects. However, neem goes the extra step of destroying soft body insects' ability to reproduce and makes them starve by removing their appetites.

13. Liquid soaps
Only use natural soaps or Murphy oil soap or mild liquid dishwashing soaps like Ivory. Soap help make teas stick better to plants and pests, and they also paralyze many insects in direct contact. Use no more than 1-2 cups of soap per gallon of water. Do not use much on flowering fruit or vegetable plants. Can hinder fruit production.

14. Citrus acid and molasses
repels and kills fire ants and similar pests. Mix 1-2 cups per gallon of soapy water. Hot boiling water mixed with garlic products, poured over the fire ant mounds will also kill the queens. You can produce citrus acid from crushing whole oranges or lemons into a tea.

15. Tobacco products
this is definitely a classic natural pesticide, but most organic gardeners today stay away from it. It may kill beneficials too if abused. It can cause diseases on tomatoes if not properly used. Most modern pro-tobacco pesticidal tea experts suggest to brew a tobacco tea no more than 30 minutes, to be safe enough to not harm beneficials like bees and ladybugs. You can mix in a liquid soap as a spreader-sticker. NOTE: Do not use tobacco teas on nightshade family crops. Also recent research has proven that the available nicotine produced in a tobacco tea is not the same stuff as nicotine sulfate. It is much safer than nicotine sulfate or rotenene. Just one drop of pure nicotine sulfate on your skin can may you sick. Homemade tobacco teas have great knock down power for tough pests like Japanese beetles. Chewing tobaccos are the most safest, natural forms for these homemade tobacco teas.

16. Bleaches and Peroxide
great fungicides. However, most commerical bleaches are not natural. Use 1-2 tblsp per gallon of water.

17. Dolomitic Limestome, Hydrated Lime, Bone Meal, Egg Shells
sprinkle a little lime or crushed egg shells around soil areas where snails and slugs live. Most high calcium carbonate products will work. Also a light dusting of lime on plants acts as a fungal control. Egg shells also have the extra benefit of discouraging snails and slugs because of its rough edges.
You can mix together several of the above materials in a special compost tea brew and it will become even more powerful against pests. Be careful not to abuse these brews, because they may harm beneficials if not used properly. Happy Gardening!

Cayenne pepper Solution
• Stir together 1 litre of water, 1 tsp of liquid dish soap and a pinch of cayenne pepper.
• Do not dilute before spraying on plants.
• Useful against aphids and scale insects.

Citrus peel Essence
• Mix together the grated peel of a lemon, an orange and a lime and boil for a few minutes.
• Let stand for 24 hours.
• Strain.
• Do not dilute.
• Useful against potato beetles, caterpillars and other insects.

Clay Dilution
• Dilute with water.
• Spray directly on insects.
• Useful against aphids.

Garlic Solution
• Blend 25 ml garlic juice, 4 ml rubbing alcohol and 4 litres water.
• May be used immediately.

Maceration
• Steep 2 garlic cloves in 1 litre of water for 24 hours.
• Strain.
• Do not dilute. Spray on plants, no more than twice a week, to get rid of aphids, spider mites and scale mites.

Potion


Recipe 1
• Steep 20 cloves of finely chopped garlic for 24 hours in olive oil to cover.
• Strain.
• Add 2 tsp of this mixture to 2 cups of water (500 ml) with a few drops of liquid dish soap.
• Shake and strain again.
• Dilute this mixture, using 2 tsp per 2 cups of water.
• Spray on plants.
• Useful against larger insect pests: leafhoppers, slugs, plant bugs, whitefly.

Recipe 2
• Steep 20 g of chopped garlic in 20 ml of vegetable oil for 24 hours.
• Add 1 litre of water and 10 ml of liquid dish soap.
• Strain.
• Boil 5 hot peppers in 2 litres of water until the water is reduced by half.
• Add to the first mixture.
• Spray on plants every 4 or 5 days.

Hot pepper Solution
• Chop up 3 hot peppers, half an onion and 1 garlic clove.
• Mix with 1 litre of water and let steep for 24 hours.
• Strain.
• Spray directly on insects.

Onion or chives Infusion
• Chop up a few onions in a blender.
• Mix them with the same amount of water.
• Strain.
• Spray on plants.

Petunia or marigold Tea
• Pour 1 litre of boiling water over 2 cups of chopped petunia or marigold leaves.
• Let steep for 24 hours.
• Strain.
• Do not dilute before spraying on plants.
• Useful against aphids and caterpillars.

Rhubarb Leaf solution
• Boil 500 g (2 cups) of rhubarb leaves in 1 litre of water for 30 minutes.
• Let cool and strain.
• Useful against aphids, leaf miners and spider mites.

Salt Solution
• Dissolve 2 tsp of table salt in 4 litres of water.
• Useful against cabbage worms.

Soap Insecticidal soap
• Dissolve 25 ml of liquid dish soap or 50 g of bar soap in 4 litres of water.
• Spray on aphids, thrips and caterpillars.
• Caution! Do not use laundry detergent.

Tomato Leaf solution
• Steep tomato leaves (15 leaves per litre of water) for 24 hours.
• Strain.
• Use as an insecticide.
• Spray copiously on plants.
• Useful against cabbage worms.

Tips for destroying certain insect pests


Ants
• Pour boiling water or pure lemon juice directly onto the nest.
• Check for aphids, because they produce a sort of honeydew that attracts ants.

Aphids
• Cayenne pepper solution.
• Clay.
• Dislodge aphids by spraying perennials, shrubs and trees with a strong stream of water. Cut off severely affected plant parts.
• Garlic maceration or solution.
• Insecticidal soap.
• Petunia or marigold tea.
• Rhubarb leaf solution.

Cabbage maggot
• Garlic solution.

Cabbage worms
• Salt solution.
• Sprinkle cayenne pepper onto broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower plants.
• Tomato-leaf solution.

Carrot rust fly
• Garlic solution.

Caterpillars
• Clay.
• Insecticidal soap.
• Petunia or marigold tea.
• (Rhubarb): VPour boiling water over a few rhubarb leaves. Let steep for 24 hours. Strain and combine a few drops of this mixture with 1 tsp (5 ml) of lemon-scented liquid dish soap, 1 tsp of Listerine and 1 tsp of ammonia (lemon-scented is best). Add 5 ml of this concentrate to 1 litre of water and spray on plants twice a week.

Leaf beetles
(striped or spotted)
• Spray onto and pour around the base of pumpkin, zucchini and cucumber plants.
• Stir a handful of lime or wood ash into 8 litres of water.

Leafhoppers
• Garlic potion.

Leaf miners
• Rhubarb leaf solution.

Lily leaf beetles
• Blend 2 Tbsp of rubbing alcohol with 1 litre of insecticidal soap solution.
• Spray onto plants every 3 to 5 days until the insects have disappeared.

Plant bugs
• Garlic potion.

Potato beetles
• Citrus peel.

Scale insects
• Cayenne pepper solution.

Scale mites
• Garlic maceration.

Slugs
• Garlic potion.
• Partially bury containers full of beer around your garden: the slugs will be attracted to the smell of the beer and will drown in it.
• Place crushed egg shells around the base of affected plants.
• Spread dolomitic lime around your vegetable garden or wood ash between rows.

Spider mites
• Apply a solution of 2 litres of water mixed with Ÿ cup (250 ml) of sugar.
• Macerated garlic. • Rhubarb leaf solution.
• Spray on plants once in springtime to dry out the mites.

Thrips
• Garlic solution.
• Insecticidal soap.

Whitefly
• Garlic potion. Alternatives to fungicides Useful against powdery mildews, downy mildews, scab, rust and damping off
• Spray plants that are susceptible to fungus every two weeks as a preventive measure.
• These products are effective if used at the first sign of symptoms.
• These products are not effective once a disease has become well established.
• Preventive applications of silica (horsetail or potassium silicate) may reduce the incidence of powdery mildews, because the silica forms a protective coat over the leaf cells.

Baking soda Potion
• Dissolve 1 Tbsp of baking soda in 1 litre of water.
• Add a drop of liquid dish soap to make the mixture adhere to plant leaves.

Chamomile Infusion
• Steep 1 tsp. of chamomile leaves in 1 cup (250 ml) of water.

Garlic Potion
• Soak 100 g of chopped garlic in 2 Tbsp of mineral oil (baby oil).

Horsetail Infusion
• Boil 1 cup (250 ml) of horsetail in 2 litres of water for 20 minutes.

Maceration
• Steep 50 g of fresh horsetail in 1 litre of water for 24 hours.
• Dilute this concentrate, using 200 ml per litre of water.
• Spray on plants every 2 weeks.

Milk
• Stir together equal parts of milk and water.

Mustard Ground seeds
• Stir 1 part of finely ground seeds into 20 parts of water. MAKE YOUR OWN ORGANIC PESTICIDES by Rituparno Chakrabarti Not only have chemical control measures have proven ineffective in the long run, home made organic pesticides are cheaper and safer. Some of the most widely used and most potent organic substances include (in order of efficacy): Neem (raw leaf), tobacco (dried leaf), chrysanthemum (flowers), onion (juiced), garlic (juiced). The juice of the raw neem leaf is the MOST POTENT wide-spectrum pesticide known to man. Neem juice and oil contains more than 50 different pest-killing chemicals, so even insects with immunity to some substances cannot build up enough resistance to all the chemicals. We all know nicotine is harmful for us. Fortunately, it is also deadly for insects, whose nervous systems literally get overwhelmed by the nicotine input and die. "Khaini" is a tobacco based addictive substance widely used in India. Chrysanthemum contains a neurotoxin "Pyrethrum" which attacks the nervous system of insects. Just boil the fresh or dry flowers, strain and use the water. Onion, garlic, and other spicy things are used for their pungent odor. Gently boiling these will release the pungent oils into the water, which can be sprayed directly onto plants. SOIL INFESTATIONS Soil dwellers like ants, termites, root borers, and roaches tend to attack the root system. Some even have special relations with other pests and attack in tandem. These underground creatures have very weak but highly adaptive immune systems. So single component chemical pesticides don't work against them. This recipe combines several ingredients for maximum effect: • 2 parts Neem oil • 2 parts Liquid Detergent • 5 parts Tobacco • 1 part Copper Sulphate * [See Note below] Mix first 2 components, whish until dirty white, add the rest, whisk until light brown, add 20 parts water and steep for 6-12 hours. Do not strain but pour directly into pot. For very serious infestations, remove the root ball from the soil entirely and use the following recipe: • 5 parts Neem oil • 5 parts Liquid Detergent Mix and whisk till dirty white, add 10 parts water and whisk. Dip the root ball and let soak for 1 hour, then repot in clean soil. LEAF AND STEM INFESTATIONS Surface-dwellers like aphids, caterpillars, mildew, and molds live above ground and destroy the aerial parts of the plant. These organisms have fairly strong but less adaptive immune systems, so are easier to conquer. This general recipe will kill all but the hardiest pest. • 2 parts garlic • 2 parts onion • 1 part Copper Sulphate * [See Note below] • 3 parts Tobacco • 1 parts Pine oil (quite effective for aphids) • 2 parts Liquid Detergent Mix the last two together and add the rest. Add 30 parts water and steep for 4-6 hours. Strain and spray on to the plants. If this is not enough to stop them in their tracks, use the "neem only" approach: Get enough fresh neem leaves to fill a 1 liter pot. Chop the leaves and cover with a liter of water, steep for 1 day, and strain. Store in a bottle. This juice is not very stable, so if possible, try to use fresh juice. Neem oil is even better, if you can find it. Neem juice or oil can be sprayed directly onto the affected parts of the plant. Unhealthy plants are more susceptible to pest infestation. The best natural pesticide is prevention: give your plants the right amounts of air circulation, light, moisture, and nutrients, and they will be much better at fighting off pests. *A note about Copper Sulphate: Despite use by some organic gardeners, copper sulphate is toxic to using this product. [-GS] You can also make effective, nontoxic pest control formulas using some common household items. Liquid soap, for example, serves as an all-purpose pesticide. Dilute a few tablespoons in a quart of water and mix with strong-smelling substances such as garlic, cayenne, horseradish, or onion, then spray on plants weekly. Physical barriers can also keep pests at bay: A layer of crushed eggshells around stems presents sharp edges that deter root maggots and slugs, while providing calcium for the soil. Coffee grounds and tea leaves are other good pest repellents.

Milk
Spraying equal parts full cream milk and water every 2 days may help control the fungal disease powdery mildew. Powdery mildew can be a problem in pea, tomato, capsicum and cucurbit crops.

Alcohol Sprays
The idea of using rubbing alcohol as a spray for plants pests has been around for years. Can cause leaf damage on African Violets, and Apple trees. Protection offered: Alcohol sprays work on aphids, mealybugs, scale insects, thrips and whiteflies. Alcohol sprays have been used successfully on houseplants and tropical foliage plants. Most of these have heavy, waxy cuticles that are not easily burned. How to Make: Use only 70% isopropyl alcohol(rubbing alcohol): mix 1 to 2 cups alcohol per quart of water. Using undiluted alcohol as a spray is very risky for plants. You can also mix up an insecticidal soap spray according to the dilution on the label but substitute alcohol for half of the water required. How to Use: Since alcohol can damage plants always test your spray mix on a few leaves or plants first. Tests results should show up within 2 or 3 days.

Tomatoe Leaf
Nightshade family plants, such as tomatoes, potatoes and tobacco, have toxic compounds called alkaloids in their leaves. These toxins are water soluble and can be soaked from chopped leaves and made into home-made sprays. These sprays also work by attracting natural pest enemies. The good bugs follow the smell of the spray in looking for prey. Protection Offered: Tomatoe leaf sprays have been used to protect plants from aphids. Also, spraying tomatoe leaf spray on corn may reduce corn earworm damage. The corn earworm is also called the tomatoe fruitworm, as it also attacks tomatoe plants. A scientific study has shown that corn plants sprayed with tomatoe leaf spray attracted significantly more Trichogramma wasps to parasitize the corn earworm eggs than the unsprayed did. How to Make: Soak 1 to 2 cups of chopped or mashed tomatoe leaves in 2 cups of water overnight. Strain through cheescloth or fine mesh, add about 2 more cups of water to the strained liquid, and spray. For aphid control, be sure to thoroughly cover the leaf undersides, especially of lower leaves and growing tips of plants where aphids congregate. How to Use: Spray plants thoroughly, particularly undersides of lower leaves and growing tips where aphids congregate. while this spray is not poisonous to humans on contact, use care in handling, especially if you are allergic to the nightshade family.

Garlic Oil Sprays:
Organic gardeners have long been familiar with the repellent or toxic affect of garlic oil on pests. when it is combined with mineral oil and pure soap,as it is in the recipe that follows, devised at the Henry Doubleday Research Association in England, it becomes an effective insecticide. Some studies also suggest that a garlic oil spray has fungicidal properties. Protection Offered: Good results, with quick kill, have been noted against aphids, cabbage loopers, earwigs, June bugs, leafhoppers, sqaush bugs and whiteflies. The spray does not appear to harm adult lady beetles, and some gardeners have found that is does'nt work against the Colorado potaoe beetles, grape leaf skeletonizers, grasshoppers, red ants, or sowbugs. How to Make: Soak 3 ounces of finely minced garlic cloves in 2 teaspoons of mineral oil for at least 24 hours. Slowly add 1 pint of water that has 1/4 ounce liquid soap or commercial insecticide soap mixed into it. Stir thoroughly and strain into a glass jar for storage. use at a rate of 1 to 2 Tablespoons of mixture to a pint of water. If this is effective, try a more dilute solution in order to use as little as possible. How to Use: Spray plants carefully to ensure thorough coverage. To check for possible leaf damage to sensitive ornamentals from the oil and soap in the spray, do a test spray on a few leaces or plants first. If no leaf damage occurs in 2 or 3 days, go ahead and spray more.

Herbal Sprays
Many organic farmers are familiar with using sprays made from aromatic herbs to repel pests from the garden plants. Several recent studies confirm the repellent effect of such sprays. The essential oil of Sage and Thyme and the alcohol extracts such as Hyssop, Rosemary, Sage, Thyme, and White Clover can be used in this manner. They have been shown to reduce the number of eggs laid and the amount of feeding damage to cabbage by caterpillars of Diamond back moths and large white butterflies. Sprays made from Tansy have demonstrated a repellent effect on imported cabbageworm on cabbage, reducing the number of eggs laid on the plants. Teas made from Wormwood or Nasturtiums are reputed to repel aphids from fruit trees, and sprays made from ground or blended Catnip, Chives, Feverfew, Marigolds, or Rue have also been used by gardeners against pests that feed on leaves. Protection Offered: Try herbal sprays against any leaf-eating pests and make note of what works for future reference. How to Make: In General, herbal sprays are made by mashing or blending 1 to 2 cups of fresh leaves with 2 to 4 cups of water and leaving them to soak overnight. Oor you can make a herbal tea by pouring the same amount of boiling water over 2 to 4 cups fresh or 1 to 2 cups dry leaves and leaving them to steep until cool. Strain the water through a cheesecloth before spraying and dilute further with 2 to 4 cups water. Add a very small amount of nondetergent liquid soap (1/4 teaspoon in 1 to 2 quarts of water) to help spray stick to leaves and spread better. You can also buy commercial essential herbal oils and dilute with water to make a spray. Experiment with proportions, starting with a few drops of oil per cup of water. How to Use: Spray plants thoroughly, especially undersides of leaves, and repeat at weekly intervals if neccessary.

"Hot" Dusts
Black pepper, chili pepper, dill, ginger, paprika, and red pepper all contain capsaicin, a compound shown to repel insects. Synthetic capsaicin is also available for feild use. Researchers have found that as little as 1/25 ounce of capsaicin sprinkled around an onion plant reduced the number of onion maggot eggs laid around the plant by 75%, compared to a control plant. Protection Offered: Capsaicin-containing dusts repel onion maggots from seedlings, as well as other root maggot flies from cabbage family plants and carrots. Pepper dusts around the base of the plants help repel ants, which is desirable in a garden where ants often protect and maintain aphid colonies on plants. How To Make: It can be rather expensive to buy enough packaged pepper dusts to sprinkle throughout your garden. However, if you grow and dry your own red peppers, chili peppers, or dill, you can make lots of dust at low cost. Use a mortar and pestle to grind the peppers, or dill, including the seeds, to dust. Be careful handling the hot peppers because they irritate sensitive skin. How to Use: Sprinkle along seeded rows of onions, cabbage, or carrots, in a band at least 6 inches wider than the row or planting bed. A fine sprinkling will suffice, but the more dust you use, the better the effect. Renew after a heavy rain or irragation. To protect plants from ants, sprinkle around the base of plants in an area as wide as the widest leaves.

Pyrethrin
The dried, powdered flowers of the pyrethrum daisy, Tanacetum cinerarifolium, were used as early as 1880 to control mosquitoes. The popularity of pyrethrum insecticides waned when synthetic insecticides were introduced, but they are now enjoying a commercial comeback. Many new products formulated with natural pyrethrums are available. Pyrethrins are the insecticidal chemicals extracted from the pyrethrum daisy. Do not confuse them with pyrethroids, the term for a new class of synthetic pesticides. Pyrethrums, which are mainly concentrated in the seeds of the flower head, are a contact insecticide, meaning the insect only has to touch the substance to be affected. Pyrthrins have a quick knockdown effect on insects: Flying insects are paralyzed. pyrethrins can be applied up to one day before harvest because they are quickly destroyed by light and heat and are not persistent in the environment. Pyrthrins will kill lady beetes but do not appear to be harmful to bees. They are toxic to fish and to the aqautic insects and other small animals that fish eat. Pyrethrins do not seem to be toxic to birds or mammals. Protection Offered: Pyrethrins are registered for flowers, fruits, and vegetables, including greenhouse crops. they are effective on many chewing and sucking insects, including most aphids, cabbage loopers, celery leaftiers, codling moth, Colarado potaotoe beetles, leafhoppers, Mexican bean beetles, spider mites, stink bugs, several species of thrips, tomato pinworms, and whiteflies. they are especially good against flies, gnats, mosquitoes, and stored products pests. Flea beetles are not affected, nor are imported cabbageworms, diamondback moths, pear psylla, and tarnished plant bugs. How to Make: If you grow your own pyrethrum daisies, you'll have the main ingredient for a make-it-yourself spray. The concentration of pyrethrums is at its peak when the flowers are in full bloom, from the time the first row of florets open on the central disk opens too the time all the florets are open. pick flowers in full bloom and hang them in a sheltered, dark spot to dry. Once the flowers have dried thoroughly, grind them to afine powder, using a mortar and pestle, old blender or small hammer mill. Mix with water and add a few drops of liquid soap. Store in a glass jar and keep the lid tightly closed, because the mixture looses activity if left open. You'll have to experiment with the amount of water to add, because the concentration of pyrethins in the flowers is an unknown variable. If the spray you make does not seem to kill insects, use less water the next time you make the concentrated spray. Also keep in mind whole flower heads stay potent longer so do not grind until ready to use. How to Use: Pyrethrins are more effective at lower temperatures, so for best results, apply in early evening when temperatures are lower. Spray both the upper and lower surfaces of the leaves, because spray must directly contact the insects such as thrips that hide in leaf sheaths and crevices. The first spray will excite them and bring them out of hiding, the second will kill them. Never use pyrethrin products around waterways and ponds.

Nicotine
One of the top three insecticides in the 1880s, nicotine in several forms is still widely used. Nicotine comes from the tobacco plant and is extremely toxic to insects. The great advantage of home-made nicotine tea is that it is very short ived, retaining its toxicity for only a few hours after spraying. It is relatively nonhazardous to bees and lady beetles because of its short persistence. Protection Offered: Nicotine is effective against ground and soil pests, especially root aphids and fungus gnats, and on many leaf-chewing insects, such as aphids, immature scales, leafhoppers, thrips, leafminers, pear psylla, and asparagus beetle larvae. How To Make: You can brew your own batch of nicotine tea by soaking tobacco leaves or cigarette butts in water to make a spray. Soak 1 cup of dried, crushed tobacco leaves, or an equivalent amount of cigarette butts, in one gallon of warm water with 1/4 teaspoon pure soap added. Strain the mixture through cheesecloth after it has soaked for 1/2 hour. The solution will keep for several weeks if stored in a tightly closed container. How to Use: For soil pests, pour the spray mixture onto the soil in the area of the stem base and root zone. for leaf pests, spray leaves thoroughly, especially the undersides. Nicotine can be absorbed by plant leaves and remain there for several weeks. to be safe, use nicotine only on young plants and only up to one month before harvest. It's probably safest not to spray nicotine on eggplant, peppers or tomatoes. While most tobacco cultivars now grown are resistant to tobacco mosaic virus, nicotine sprays could contain the pathogen, which will infect nightshade family crops.

Tobacco
teas are sometimes prepared by home gardeners to control garden pests, and while not as toxic as nicotine sulfate sprays, any nicotine solution toxic enough to kill insects can also be harmful to humans² (http://www.agweb.okstate.edu/pearl/hort/ornamental/f6433.htm)