Organic Insecticide

Everyone is talking of 'going green', saving the environment, for a better tomorrow. Organic foods, organic cosmetics and just like these, organic pesticides or insecticides are one more step closer to support this motion. These are a more specific form of pesticides, made from all the natural substances which do not have a harmful effect on humans or other animals, but are fatal or sometimes just repellents against insects, pests and parasites. These natural insecticides can be concoctions made from simple garden vegetables like garlic, onion, cayenne pepper and also neem. If you are looking for some of them to keep the insects at bay, these tips will prove to be useful.

Homemade Organic Insecticides

These insecticides are way better than any other which you would purchase from the market. The chemical based pesticides are nasty and have fatal effects once they enter our systems. These are a few formulas for some effective pest control in your house and gardens as well.

Tobacco Nicotine Spray
This works well for plants against aphids especially worms. This solution is not suitable for plants such as tomatoes, peppers, eggplants or any other plants from the Solanaceae family.

Ingredients

• A cup of tobacco
• 1 galleon of water

Method
Mix the tobacco with the galleon of water and let the mixture brew for 24 hours. Color of the mixture must look faint and like weak tea. If it is dark, dilute the solution with water till you get the expected color.

Garlic Insect Repellent
Garlic has many bactericidal as well as insecticidal properties. It is also a natural insecticide for ants and is also very effective against disease causing insects such as mosquitoes, certain flies including onion flies.

Ingredients

• 3-4 ounces of chopped garlic bulbs
• 2 tablespoons of mineral oil
• 1 teaspoon of fish emulsion
• 1 pint of water

Method
Soak the chopped bulbs of garlic in two teaspoons of mineral oil. One teaspoon of fish oil must be dissolved in the pint of water. Add the dissolved emulsion to the mineral oil solution. Strain this solution and store it in a glass container only. While using this as an insecticides dilute one part of the solution with 20 parts water.

These were a few insecticide formulas that you can make at home. Now we shall look at the contents of basic ingredients of a few of these insecticides and the factor present in them, which are fatal to the insects.

Chrysanthemum cinerariifolium
The extract of these flowers contains pyrethrins. Pyrethrins are toxic to the nervous system of insects. Insects are not capable of clearing this compound from their systems. However, animals including humans are capable of clearing pyrethrins within 24 hours. Hence, these insecticides are safe when used in the garden.

Neem oil
Neem contains an insecticidal compound known as Azadirachtin belonging to the class of limonoids which are toxic to many insects including mosquitoes. Neem oil prevents the development or morphogenesis of insects by inducing a hormonal imbalance. Hence, this is effective against larval stages of insects. Neem oil has proven to be useful against desert locust by acting as an antifeedant.

Sabadilla Lily
This plant contains the compound Sabadilla which is harmful to the stomach of insects, proving fatal, especially to bugs.. It also has side effects in humans causing irritation of the mucous membrane. It is also very fatal to bees and is mostly used as the last option against bugs.

Jicama Plant or Hoary Pea
The extracts of this plant, (mainly obtained from roots which are leguminous) are used to control parasitic mites. It contains rotenone, which is responsible for bringing down the electron transfer system in the mitochondria- the power house of the cell that generates the essential ATP in living organisms. It kills beetles that infect various plants such as potatoes, tomatoes and cucumber.

This was a little information on the essential organic insecticides used by many to protect their plants and surroundings. You can try a few of these and see if you can make a difference!