This year I’m being more careful about what I spray my plants, vegetables and herbs with to try to keep the insects and deer from destroying them. We have grandchildren, pets and of course the natural wildlife that are in our yard and I want to use natural deterrents that won’t harm them, are cheap, easily available and work. The bugs are easier to control….the deer, not so much! When deer are hungry enough they will eat plants that are supposedly deer “resistant”.

Here’s just a few natural sprays and ways you can keep insects from eating your plants….

Homemade Ways to Spray

There are literally hundreds of “recipes” for your own homemade insect sprays. If you have your own concoction that you’ve found to work, we’d love for you to share.

Tammy’s Tip ‘O the Day I always test a couple of leaves on any given plant before I spray it entirely just to test that it won’t kill it. After a lot of rain I spray again. Make sure you shake your spray bottle before using.

Garlic Spray -Mince a whole bulb of garlic and soak the pulp for one to two days in about two cups of water. Strain the garlic out of the water and mix the garlic water with a teaspoon of dish soap and put in a spray bottle.

-Mince a whole bulb of garlic and soak the pulp for one to two days in about two cups of water. Strain the garlic out of the water and mix the garlic water with a teaspoon of dish soap and put in a spray bottle. Citrus Spray -Place the rind of one large orange or two to three lemons in a heat-proof bowl and pour about two cups of boiling water over th rinds. Allow to sit overnight. Strain the rinds out and add one teaspoon of dish soap and put in spray bottle.

-Place the rind of one large orange or two to three lemons in a heat-proof bowl and pour about two cups of boiling water over th rinds. Allow to sit overnight. Strain the rinds out and add one teaspoon of dish soap and put in spray bottle. Pepper Spray -Add four tablespoons of Tabasco (or any red pepper hot sauce) to a quart of water, along with one teaspoon dish soap. Blend well and put in a spray bottle.

-Add four tablespoons of Tabasco (or any red pepper hot sauce) to a quart of water, along with one teaspoon dish soap. Blend well and put in a spray bottle. Soap Spray -Add one to two tablespoons of liquid dish soap to one quart of water. Put in spray bottle.

-Add one to two tablespoons of liquid dish soap to one quart of water. Put in spray bottle. Oil Spray-Add 1 tablespoon of vegetable, canola, peanut, safflower or sunflower oil with a few drops of dish soap to one quart of water and put in spray bottle.

Other Natural Insect Repellents For the Yard

Bleached Flour -If you have holes in your leaves, some critter is eating it. Sprinkle leaves with bleached flour. Repeat after rain.

-If you have holes in your leaves, some critter is eating it. Sprinkle leaves with bleached flour. Repeat after rain. Baking Soda -Sprinkle leaves with baking soda. Repeat after rain. *I have not tried the bleached flour or baking soda yet…

-Sprinkle leaves with baking soda. Repeat after rain. *I have not tried the bleached flour or baking soda yet… Beer -Good for killing slugs. Simply pour some beer in small containers and set next to areas you see slugs. *If you have dogs or cats, make sure they aren’t drinking this (or small children!)

-Good for killing slugs. Simply pour some beer in small containers and set next to areas you see slugs. *If you have dogs or cats, make sure they aren’t drinking this (or small children!) Catnip -Repels roaches (1oo more times than deet) as does bay leaves. *If you’re using catnip and you have cats, know that they’ll be getting in it so you might want to consider that.

-Repels roaches (1oo more times than deet) as does bay leaves. *If you’re using catnip and you have cats, know that they’ll be getting in it so you might want to consider that. Cucumber peels, white vinegar, boiling water – Each one of these kill or deter ants. I personally tried simply pouring boiling water in an ant hill (had to do it three times-once each day for three days in a row) and after that third day there weren’t any living ants to be found and they still haven’t come backed-worked for me. I have also poured straight white distilled vinegar in ant hills and that killed them, white vinegar is also easy to spray in the cracks and crevices of sidewalks and driveways to get rid of them. Cucumber peel is supposed to get rid/deter them too-haven’t tried it yet.

– Each one of these kill or deter ants. I personally tried simply pouring boiling water in an ant hill (had to do it three times-once each day for three days in a row) and after that third day there weren’t any living ants to be found and they still haven’t come backed-worked for me. I have also poured straight white distilled vinegar in ant hills and that killed them, white vinegar is also easy to spray in the cracks and crevices of sidewalks and driveways to get rid of them. Cucumber peel is supposed to get rid/deter them too-haven’t tried it yet. Grits and aspartame -Supposedly aspartame (the active ingredient in some artificial sweeteners) is toxic to ants. Making a solution of equal parts grits and artificial sweetener will get rid of ants. I haven’t tried this because we don’t eat grits and I’m not going to buy something we won’t eat but if you have grits around the house, why not give it a shot?

-Supposedly aspartame (the active ingredient in some artificial sweeteners) is toxic to ants. Making a solution of equal parts grits and artificial sweetener will get rid of ants. I haven’t tried this because we don’t eat grits and I’m not going to buy something we won’t eat but if you have grits around the house, why not give it a shot? Mint tea -You can cut open a bag of mint teas and sprinkle around your plants.

-You can cut open a bag of mint teas and sprinkle around your plants. Herbs-There are lots of herbs that naturally repel insects so why not mix in some with your vegetables, flowers or shrubs to keep insects at bay. Here’s a great link with a huge list of fresh herbs and the insects that are repelled by them. *Be careful with the different mints-they grow and spread as fast as weeds so make sure you plant them somewhere they won’t interfere or overtake your other plants.

Natural Deer Repellents

There are certain herbs and flowers that deer typically stay away from that you can plant alone or mix up with your flower/vegetable gardens. BUT, they are deer and will eat anything when hungry enough. Herbs like mint (remember, it’s invasive so plant accordingly), rosemary, russian sage, bee balm, yarrow and lavender are good ones to plant. Deer will not usually eat marigolds either. I plant these in my flower gardens but I also plant them around my vegetable and herb plants that might be tempting…We also planted sage, rosemary and chives throughout our flower gardens. It doesn’t keep them totally away from nibbling on other plants but it has reduced the amount of damage they usually do.

I’m sure most everyone has heard that urine is a natural deterrent to deer. Now you could do it the cheap and totally free way (just make sure you aren’t seen or that could lead to some trouble)! I have bought fox urine and other things like that before and it didn’t work for me personally and it smelled really bad (kept the humans from the yard but not the deer).

You can also try any of the sprays mentioned above, especially the pepper one…I have friends who swear by that and others who said it doesn’t work—for me, it’s working. There’s a lot of other repellents like hanging fragrant bars of soap from trees to keep deer away but I haven’t had any luck with most, nor do I know of anyone who has so I’ll skip those…

I did see an article (don’t know where, I just wrote down the recipe), that said the following mix (for larger areas) works well keeping deer from eating your garden. It said to mix one cup of milk with 2 tablespoons of cooking oil along with two eggs, two tablespoons of liquid detergent and two gallons of water. I don’t know….to me it seems like a waste of good milk and eggs, and it’s not a cheap mix to make up….but if you’ve tried this, let us know.

I have a love/dislike relationship with our deer but I figure they were here before I was and they’re just doing what deer do…. I don’t spend tons of money on tempting plants for them nor do I try to make things convenient for them. I plant my vegetables in pots and put them on the deck where they can’t get to them, I plant marigolds and strong scented herbs around my flowers I want to protect and each year I try new, natural ways to deter them. Of course, what worked for me one year doesn’t necessarily mean it works the next.

If you have natural techniques you’ve found that work well for you in the garden when it comes to pesky insects and wildlife, please share….we’d love to hear from you and try some new ideas.

9 Shares