Kick-Ass Homemade Organic Insecticide

See those holes in my eggplant leaves?!! Yep, someone has invaded my garden and they need to get to steppin.  Upon further investigation, I identified my intruder as the common flea beetle, which can be devastating to eggplant!  After talking with a local farmer, I also learned that eggplant tend to attract ALOT of pests and insects.

I have read about folks using dish soap and water to rid their gardens of bugs, but I was a little put off by the thought of dish soap on my plants.  In keeping with my strictly organic garden, it was important to me to find something that required NO chemicals or man-made products.  Luckily, I was able to find a great homemade recipe online and I put it to use one time and my bugs are GONE.  So here is the simple recipe…enjoy!

1.  Take 10-12 cloves of organic garlic and blend with one quart of water.  After blending, let mixture sit in a mason jar for 24 hours.

2.  After allowing the mixture to sit for 24 hours, strain with a cheesecloth.  I was able to find this cheesecloth for about $3 at our local kitchen store.  This step got pretty messy, so do this in the sink!

Pour original garlic mixture on right, into new mason jar on left!  Cut cheesecloth into appropriate size square and secure to top of jar with rubber band.

3.  Add one TBS of cayenne pepper to freshly strained garlic mixture.  Let this sit for another 24 hours.

4.  Strain the cayenne/garlic mix again with cheesecloth

5.  Add one cup of cooking oil-I used organic olive oil.

6.  When ready to use, dilute 1/2 a cup of liquid with one gallon of water.  Adjust recipe accordingly if you want less.  I used just a 1/4 cup of the liquid with 1/2 gallon of water.  Combine into a spray bottle.

6.  Spray your plants and say buh bye to those bugs!