Natural Insect Spray For Plants (A DIY That Really Works!!)
Tired of pesky pests taking over your plants? Check out this amazing all natural insect spray for plants, made with all-natural ingredients like garlic and mint. Easy to make and use, this homemade garden garden spray was tested on badly attacked basil plants & a flowering vine and worked with only 2 applications! Say goodbye to harmful chemicals and hello to a healthier, greener garden.
“SIX Stars!! Oh my goodness…..this is the BEST insect plant spray I have come across!!! I was so tired of grasshoppers (or something) eating and destroying my dwarf cantas! They were still trying to bloom, but they looked awful! Mixed this and sprayed. THREE days later, my cantas have new, shiny, beautiful leaves again!! This stuff is AMAZING!” -Cheryl B.
Welcome to one of my most popular gardening DIYs: how to make a natural insect spray easily from pantry ingredients like garlic and mint – that actually works! Be sure to check out these other resources for more information on this bug repellent:
- A follow-up video showing how to make it, apply it, and how it worked on green beans, too.
- A Frequently Asked Questions page with answers to most questions I’ve gotten, plus reader testimonials about how this has worked in their gardens – both good and bad.
Okay, I’m SO excited to finally share with you the results of a get-rid-of-nasty-garden-bug experiment I’ve been conducting on my poor, bug-eaten basil plants and trumpet vine. I know I’ve teased you with my testing for long enough – we all deal with bugs, so I know you’ll be as happy to see the results as I was!
The background to this experiment is a tale known to many organic gardeners (and maybe even would-be gardeners who gave up when faced with seemingly destroyed plants?):
- Years of either ignoring the issue (and losing plants or living with damaged plants).
- Trying many different remedies from diatomaceous earth (works on many things though tedious to apply, sometimes hard to find, needs a lot of reapplication, may kill good bugs) to soap and water (this never really did much in my garden).
And for some reason, while I don’t have much of a problem beyond cucumber beetles in our large, main garden (and most years I don’t lose plants to them), our herb garden hosts something(s) that have eaten the basil every year since we added it to our backyard.
Because of this I created a spray (adapted from a Keeper of the Home article) to use on the basil, but didn’t really keep track of it (because I wasn’t sure it would work…), although I do remember that it did, in fact, work.
So the following year when our basil was hit particularly hard, as well as some marigolds I planted among the herbs and a trumpet vine growing up the gazebo nearby, I mixed up a batch, wrote it down this time and documented in pictures so if it really did work, I could share it with you.
And you’re not going to believe how well it worked – in fact, as I was putting this together I was thinking I was going to have to add disclaimers on the photos like “I promise these really are the same plants” or something, so you’ll believe me!
DIY Natural Insect Spray For Plants: The Experiment
1. Bug Eaten Basil
So I’m pinky-swearing or whatever you need from me: the three photos in the collage above really, honestly are the same plant from beginning to four weeks later. I know, can you believe it?
And also honestly: even after 20+ years of growing things, seeing stunted, bug-eaten plants like my poor basil makes me want to throw in the towel sometimes. It’s just…ugh. These were three basil plants that I grew from seed, nurturing them along and to see them look like this in just a few weeks after planting out? It’s hard.
And so I sprayed my homemade garlic-mint spray all over that poor plant, but I didn’t really think it was much for this world. It had only one growing tip left, but seriously, look at it (above left) – who would give that guy a chance?
Well, I started seeing results within days – new growth! After a week I still was a bit skeptical – was that old bug-bitten leaves or new?
But by week 2, I knew we had a winner and I snapped a picture before applying one more light spraying and then waiting another 2 weeks.
Look at this beautiful, healthy basil plant!
There’s a bug-bite here and there, but I can live with that (and we organic gardeners do, often, a-hem), but most of the new growth is blemish-free and I’ve started harvesting and making our not-so-secret-ingredient frugal pesto to freeze.
2. Almost Dead Basil
Now, I had to share this with you as well, even though the photos were not taken in great light. The plant on the left, above, was the worst of the three basils – stunted beyond anything I had seen with every growing tip eaten off and the remaining leaves were hard and leathery.
It was so bad I actually did dig it up and was just about to drop it in the compost (which I probably would’ve done if I hadn’t been planning on sharing this with you all, ha!), but at the last minute I planted it in an empty spot out in the main garden, spraying it with the garlic-mint spray.
And while it took longer to rebound, I took the photo on the right just a few days ago, hardly believing what I was seeing.
Is this stuff a miracle worker, or what? I should probably mention, too, that when I applied it the first time, we got a ton of rain the following week and I was sure it wasn’t going to work.
Garden M-I-R-A-C-L-E.
3. Trump Vine Damage
And, you can probably see where this is going (should I have saved all the afters for the end? I was just too excited to share with you!) but here we have a reminder of the trumpet vine damage.
This insect (I still don’t know what – I’ve never seen anything so it must be nocturnal) ate leaves like other bugs, but seemed to zero in on the new growing tips, which is a sure way to kill a plant.
And now the vine is growing like trumpet vines are supposed to (that would be out-of-control, for those not familiar with trumpet vines, ha!), full of lovely leaves and new growing tips.
I think this thing has grown 3 feet in just a couple weeks, that’s how much the insects had stunted it.
All Natural Insect Spray Video (with even more examples)
How to Make A Natural Insect Spray for Plants
So, are you dying to know what is in the spray and how to make it?
It’s super easy and uses easy-to-find (or grow) ingredients – I created it by combining a couple of sources, none of which had a clear ‘recipe’ (I credited one source above) so I’m writing it out for you so you can make it whenever you need it (see recipe card below for exact measurements).
- Use a food processor or blender to grind up fresh mint and a LOT of garlic.
- Transfer the mixture to a large stockpot with 12 cups of water and some cayenne.
- Boil, remove from heat and let sit overnight.
- STRAIN with a fine-mesh strainer into a couple spray bottles or large gallon garden sprayer – add a couple squirts of biodegradable dish soap.
That’s it! Shake well before using and spray all over and under the plant’s leaves one time. See how the plant responds after a week or two and reapply if needed (I only need a couple applications before the plant is strong enough to withstand the bugs).
I’m so happy to share this with you because I think you’re going to love it as much as I do!
Oh, and the mint? It makes this smell good – no yucky concoction here for you to suffer through (Update: some commenters have said the garlic-pepper part did bother them, so when you’re boiling, use adequate ventilation.)
Testimonials and FAQs
Don’t forget to read the Testimonials & FAQ where you’ll find answers to the most common asked questions as well as results from those who’ve used it!
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Natural Insect Spray for Plants Recipe
Tools
- Food Processor
- Large Stockpot
- Strainer
- Spray Bottles
Materials
- 2 whole HEADS garlic, cloves separated and peeled
- 3 cups mint leaves and stems, too – I just throw it all in now
- 2 teaspoons dry cayenne pepper
- 12 cups water
- 2 small squirts of biodegradable dishwashing liquid
Instructions
- Add the garlic and mint to a food processor and pulse for a few seconds.
- Transfer mixture to a large pot and add the cayenne and 12c. water.
- Bring to a boil; remove from heat and let sit overnight.
- Strain into a couple spray bottles (or gallon garden sprayer) and add the two small squirts of dish soap.
- To Use:
- Shake well before each use.
- Spray all the leaves on affected plants, including the undersides – preferably on a cloudy day so as not to burn the plants.
- Wait a few days to see the effect and then apply more if needed (many times I’ve only needed to do one application)
Video
Notes
My dill plant has almost disappeared due to something else eating jt. Will your natural spray help this plant also?
It should repel most insects, Christine. Try it and see!
Could this concoction possibly repel bunnies?
I don’t know, Shirley – does garlic and cayenne keep rabbits away? You’d have to research that and if so, it may work!
If I use this on my plants (peppers, creeping Virginia and roses) will it also repel the bugs I like.
like Praying Mantis, lady bugs, bees?
It may, though I didn’t notice a difference in pollination in my garden – and my brother-in-law keeps his bees on our property. 🙂
This worked great! My plants look so healthy. FYI we camped out back east and the camp facility routinely spay this solution on the grass and scrubs to keep mosquitoes away. It worked amazingly! No bug bites! Thank you for posting.
I’m so glad to hear this, Linda – especially the mosquitoes, too – yay!
Hi, how often do you recommend spraying the plants? Once Daily?
No, I just sprayed once and waited to see what would happen. I think I only sprayed twice the whole season. So just look and see how the bugs you’re dealing with react to it before applying anymore.
Looks good and easy to make can you spray this in the garden or on fruit trees?
This is safe for the garden, too – I show how well it worked for beans in the accompanying video. Since it works by repelling insects that don’t like the smell, I don’t think that would work against the type of pests on fruit trees (it also doesn’t work with snail and worm-like insects, as they don’t care about the smell).
Can I use any mint? I have peppermint and spearmint. Just curious if one works better then another.
Yes, any mint!
Can’t wait to try this
I would like to know if it works on snell’s. They like to eat my flower plants.
No – this is a smelly deterrent and snails don’t care about that. Try diatomaceous earth – it’s worked well for me with slugs.
I tried your recipe for my plants outside. It worked. So, I said to myself, I wonder if this would kill bugs that coming into my apartment. It did. I used this as a natural bug repellant. I have to say it works. I wouldn’t see any type of bugs, flying or crawling in my apartment. I’m just starting to see buts that are flying around. So, I had to look you up to get the recipe. This works on all kinds of bugs. I wondering does work on rodents.
I’m glad to know it worked inside, too, Cheryl – I guess it’s just if you can handle the smell, lol. It repels by smell, so it would only work on rodents that don’t like the smell.
Loved your video on the bug spray. Will definitely try it next season.
I think you will love it, Carlie!
Never saw the recipe due to the annoying pop up ads.
Sorry about that – I try to not use pop ups, the only one is the bottom that you can click off in the corner and our own videos that you can also click off. Also, the recipe can be accessed quickly by using the arrow at the top “Click to Go to the Recipe.”
Did you kind made a alternative repellent using a garlic vine to kill a household flies?
I’m not sure that would work – flies usually don’t care about scent (and this works by repelling insects).
I just made the bug spray thank you I made it in my spaghetti pot it has a strainer in it so very easy to drain than when pouring into a bottle drained it through a filter
Great tip – thanks!
Did you use this to keep cabbage worms away. I spray at least once a week and the rabbits don’t eat my plants anymore and most of my plants are doing amazing. But I do still have trouble with cabbage worms.
Glad to hear that your plants are doing better, Michelle. It works by repelling (from the smell) so that makes sense that the rabbits don’t care for it. But no it doesn’t bother the cabbage worms unfortunately. The only thing that works for them is to keep the cole crops under a row cover or to use diatomaceous earth or Bt (a more natural pesticide).
Do you think this will work on ants?
I haven’t tried it – I’m not sure they care about these smells (it’s a repellent).
I found this recipe two years ago and cannot go any spring or summer without it. As promised, it works to keep bugs away from my herbs. My most important use, however, is for my roses. Last year I lost 50% or more of my roses to deer. Then I discovered that deer don’t like mint or garlic. I spray this solution on all my new rose buds and and a few of the leaves around them. The buds survive into maturity and beautiful flowers. I didn’t lose a single flower to roses last year and so far this year. In the case of roses, I have to spray regularly particularly after a good rain. It’s worth it! I love that I don’t have to worry about smelling my roses on the plant or in my house because the solution all natural. It does not impact the smell at all. I highly recommend this solution
Oh, gosh, I didn’t think to use it for this situation – thank you so much for leaving your experience! We are now living where there are tons of deer and I will be making a batch of this pronto. 🙂
I have problems with cats with my plants. Do you know what repels cats to stay away from plants? Thanks, very helpful.
I’m sorry, I don’t Edna. I bet looking it up on Google would result in some ideas!
Would mint oil work?
You could experiment – if you look at the FAQ page, I give ideas about how to start using oils and then seeing how they perform.
Do you have to refrigerate this spray?
I don’t, but it starts to lose potency in a couple weeks – maybe it would last longer with refrigeration? I don’t have room to test it out. 🙂