Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
humidity, general plant health, and other factors. Most often,
they won't cause a problem, but it never hurts to test first.)
Natural Insecticides
The fact that something is natural doesn't mean that it is
harmless. Ebola, smallpox, and strychnine are all 100%
natural, for example. Natural insecticides fall under the same
category and thus require care in their use. Natural
insecticides can be purchased, or they can be grown and made
at home. From a cost standpoint, the latter approach is
preferable, though certain natural insecticides aren't practical
for home manufacture.
Pyrethrin is a contact insecticide that controls most aphids,
cabbage loopers, stinkbugs, codling moths, and white flies
among other pests. It does not affect flea beetles, imported
cabbage worms, or tarnished plant bugs.
To make your own pyrethrin, grow pyrethrum daisies
(Tanacetum cinerarifolium) somewhere in the garden. Cut the
flowers when they are in full bloom for the highest
concentration of poison, and hang them upside down in a
cool, dry, dark place to dry. Once they are dried, take a quart
jar of the dried flowers and grind them up using an old food
processor or blender that you pick up at a yard sale and that
you will never use for food again. Mix it with one gallon of
water and two drops of dish liquid, and allow it to steep for
three days, stirring every once in a while. When done, filter it
through cheese cloth that you will throw away afterward,
store in a tightly capped bottle in a cool dark place, and label
it appropriately as a poison so nobody drinks it accidentally.
You dilute this for use by mixing one quart of the poison with
