All-Purpose Bug Repellent Tonic:

1/2 cup of liquid dish soap,
1/2 cup of chewing tobacco juice, and
1/2 cup of antiseptic mouthwash.

Mix in your 20 gallon hose-end sprayer, filling the balance of the sprayer jar with warm water. To make chewing tobacco juice, take half a handful of chewing tobacco, and wrap it up in a small piece of cheesecloth or pantyhose or an old sock. Let it soak in 1 gallon of hot water until the mix is dark brown. Then take the cheesecloth/pantyhose out and strain the mixture. Apply the tonic to the point of run-off after the sun starts to go down. You may store the chewing tobacco juice in a cool, dark place.

All Season Clean-Up Tonic:

1 cup Shampoo
1 cup antiseptic mouthwash
1 cup chewing tobacco juice

Put into your 20 gallon hose end sprayer, filling the balance of the sprayer with warm water. Bathe all areas of the yard every two weeks in the evening to discourage insects and prevent disease.

Ant Control:

Mix up a batch of one of the following ant controls:
1)  3 tbs.. of baking powder, 3 pkgs. of yeast, a mess of bacon grease, and some corn meal. Make the bacon grease and cornmeal into a paste, and then add the baking powder and yeast. Dab the mix onto jar lids, set them in out-of-the-way places, and your troubles will be over.
2)  1 cup of sugar and 1 tbs.. of boric acid powder. Add the sugar to 3 cups of water, bring to a boil, and then add the boric acid. Place the mixture is small jar lids right in the middle of the ant trails or near the anthills.
3) Pour a small amount of camphor, naphthalene, or kerosene on and around their nests; this will quickly dispose of the colony.
4) Mix 1 tbs.. of bakers' yeast and 2 tbs.. of sugar in 1 pint of water; spread this mixture on pieces of  cardboard, and place them around your yard.
5)  Pile up instant grits or corn meal in and around their hills;  once eaten, the grits expand inside them,  and they soon go to that big anthill in the sky!

Store any unused portion in a secure container, and keep everything out of reach of pets and children.

My Mother-In-Law taught me this remedy for ants. It works!

In a half gallon milk jug, mix 1/2 cup vinegar, 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 cup water. Set outside near ant hills that are a problem. Ants climb in and drown. They are attracted to the sugar and the vinegar kills them. When jug is full of ants, empty and mix up again. 

Dog & Cat Repellent:

1) Hanging  dried rue leaves, mothballs, and dry Borax® soap in the toe of old nylon   stockings in various areas of your garden.
                          2) You can also make your own repellent by combining equal parts Cayenne pepper and mothballs,  with a few orange peels thrown in for good measure.
3) Other repellents  include tobacco dust, dried blood, and oil of mustard.
4)  For trash can  thugs, spray your garbage cans with a pine scented detergent and ammonia mixed with an equal amount of water. Can be used in other areas as well.

Flea Control:

    1)  Spray your yard with Plant Shampoo followed by Dursban® or Total Pest Control at the recommended rate. Once your yard is under control, then feed your dog  Yeast & Garlic bits. The yeast neutralizes the strength of their urine (no more "doggy spots" on the lawn), while the garlic gets into their system,  making them naturally unattractive to fleas as a potential breeding ground.

Grub Control:

In effect, if you control the grubs in your yard & garden, you will control moles, gophers, rabbits, skunks and other animals feeding on grubs.

In the early spring, apply a mixture of 1 cup of dry laundry soap  followed up by Dursban® Grub Control, Diazinon, Merit®, or Total Pest  Control at the recommended rate. Then follow up every 2 weeks  throughout the growing season by over spraying the area with a mixture of  1 cup of Plant Shampoo , 1/2 cup of antiseptic mouthwash, and a 1/2 cup of chewing tobacco juice, in a 20 gallon hose-end sprayer until early  August. Unfortunately, grub control is a never-ending battle.

Mole Control:

         1) Plant daffodils, spurge, and castor bean plants, which  moles absolutely hate, in your garden.
    2) Place used kitty litter in their runs, which tells them that  deadly  predators are lurking in the area.
3) Insert a Natural Mole Chaser into the ground; the "clanky-clack" of the windmill sound creates unbearable underground vibrations. Many inexpensive flower wheels, etc. are available.
4) Apply Dursban® Grub Control to the turf at the recommended rate, which will eliminate grubs.
   5) Place Mole Control killer pellets into the runs; they take one bite, and it's bye, bye moles!

Skunk Control:

The controls for skunks are similar to those used for moles  if you  eliminate their food source, which is grubs, they'll stay away. So apply Dursban® Grub Control, diazinon, Merit®, or Total Pest Control to your lawn in the spring at the recommended rates. If you can find their resting area, then you can use mothballs, ammonia, and/or strong light to drive them away.

Slug Control:

                     1) Hand picking and dumping them in salt water or kerosene.
 2) Set out pie tins or Snail and Slug Pits, and fill them with  beer or grape juice; the slugs climb in, and drown.
 3) Apply a barrier of Diatomaceous earth, ashes, or gravel around your plants to protect them; these items lacerate their  bodies, causing them to dehydrate.
   4) Use Copper Barrier Tape on your raised beds and  around your plants; it creates an impenetrable electrical barrier that gives the slimy sneaks a mild shock when they  touch it.
   5) Wrap aluminum foil loosely around the plant stems; the slugs can't climb it.

Squirrel Control:

Mix  4 oz. of castor oil, 8 oz. of Murphy's Oil Soap®,  and 5 oz. of Tabasco Sauce® in 1 quart of warm water. Use 1 cup of this mixture in a 20 gallon hose-end sprayer, spraying soil, leaves, and tree trunks  thoroughly to the point of run-off. Fox Urine is also a very effective  commercial repellent.

Deer Repellent:

 Try blood meal, thorny bushes, or a  special Deer Tonic. Mix up 2 eggs, 2 cloves of garlic, 2 tbs. of Cayenne pepper and 2 tbs. of Tobasco Sauce® in 2 cups of  water. Let set for 2 days, then spray your plants to the point of run-off. There are also many effective commercial repellents you can use like  Coyote Urine, Deer Off, and Repel®. The 'male' human urine sprayed around the location you wish to fend off deer is also a valuable repellent.

Spider Mite Control Mix:

Keep spider mites away from your plants with:

4 cups of wheat flour,
1/2 cup of buttermilk, and
5 gallons of water

Mix all of the ingredients together, and apply to your plants with  a handheld mist sprayer. Spray to the point of runoff. This mix will suffocate the little buggers without harming your plants.

Cure-All Tonic:

At the first sign of insects or disease in your vegetable garden, mix this to set things right.

4 cloves of garlic,
1 small onion,
1 small jalapeño pepper,
1 tsp. of Murphy’s Oil Soap,
1 tsp. of vegetable oil, and
warm water.

Pulverize the garlic, onion, and pepper in a blender, and then let them steep in a quart of warm water for 2 hours. Strain the mixture, and further dilute the liquid with three parts of warm water. Add the Murphy’s Oil Soap and vegetable oil. Mist spray your plants with this elixir several times a week.

Animal Spot Tonic:

1 cup beer
1 cup ammonia
1 cup regular Cola

Mix into your 20 gallon hose end sprayer. Fill rest with water and spray on spots. One week prior spray with 1 cup shampoo per 20 gallon water and apply gypsum.

Spring Tonic:

1 cup beer
1 cup shampoo or liquid dish soap
fill to top with ammonia

Add 1 cup flea and tick shampoo instead if you have problems in your yard with such critters. Mix into your 20 gallon hose end sprayer.

Yarrow Tea:

Use as a plant tonic and insecticide for aphids and other soft bodied insects. Try mixing with strong coffee to make it more powerful. The caffeine makes the insects dazed and confused. Mix 1 cup of yarrow plant pieces in 16 ounces of water for 24 hours or more. Brew it in a sun like tea. Strain and mix with 1 gallon of water. Mix in strong coffee and add 1 tsp. Castile soap. Spray on aphids and other soft bodied pests every 1-2 weeks. Or use as a preventative.

Pepper Spray:

All purpose insect spray. The compound capasaicin in peppers is the repellent. Mix 1 cup finely chopped or ground hot peppers with 1 pint of water. Let sit for 24 hours. Use as a soil drench application or strain the mixture until you have a clear liquid. Add a few drops of Castile soap and use a foliar spray.

General Pepper Dust:

Cayenne, chili, dill, paprika, red and black peppers can be used as dusts. Purchase the cheapest you can find or grow them in your garden. Dry them and pulverize in a food processor or blender. Sprinkle on moist plants and surrounding soil. Repels insects.

Tomato or Potato Leaf Spray:

Repels asparagus & flea beetles. Will kill ear worms and maggots. Is an antifeedent for other insects. The compounds in these plants are water soluble and can be extracted by soaking the leaves then using it as a spray. It attracts insects that are beneficial. Soak 2 cups of chopped leaves overnight. Strain then add another pint of water with 1 tsp. Castile soap as a sticker. Spray foliage and soil as needed.

Sugar Drench:

Will attack bad nematodes and add trace minerals to your soil. Mix 1/2 cup sugar with one gallon water. Stir to dissolve sugar. Pour on soil around roots where you have had nematode problems or use as a treatment prior to planting.

Citrus Spray:

Oranges and other citrus fruit contain natural occurring pesticide compounds called limonene and linalool. It can be used to treat soft bodied pests such as aphids, fungus gnats, mealy bugs and as an ant repellent. Pour 2 cups boiling water over peelings of one orange (or other equivalent). Let steep 24 hours. Strain into glass jar and toss peels out. Use liquid as a spray mixing in drops of Castile soap on target insects or on ants and their nests. Smells nice so it does not gag you but gets the bugs instead.

Marigold Spray:

Use pot marigold: Calendula officinalis is the official name. Repels asparagus beetles, tomato horn worms, leaf cutting and chewing insects & leaf cutting bees. Mash 1 cup marigold leaves and flowers. Mix with 1 pint of water. Let soak 24 hours. Strain and dilute further with 1  1/2 quarts of water then add  1/4 tsp. of Castile soap. Spray target areas.

Lime Spray:

1 ounce hydrated lime
32 ounces water
1 tsp. Castile soap

Mix together and spray up to twice a week. Targets cucumber beetles, mites and use as a general purpose for other insects.

Garlic Oil Spray:

Targets aphids, cabbage loopers, grasshoppers, June bugs, leafhoppers, mites, squash bugs, slugs and white flies. Helps repel rabbits. It contains naturally occurring sulphur and acts as an antibacterial agent and fungus preventative.

Mix 3 ounces minced garlic cloves with one ounce of mineral oil. Let soak 24 hours or longer. Strain. Then mix 1 tsp. fish emulsion with 16 ounces water. Add 1 tbsp castille soap to this. Slowly combine the fish emulsion water with the garlic oil. Keep in a sealed glass container for several months. To use it: Mix 2 tbs. of this oil mixture with 1 pint of water and spray.

When working with oils you need to monitor to climate conditions outside to avoid phytotoxic burn. Take current temperature and add to percentage of humidity. If more than 140 do not use an oil spray. Example: Temp of 80 degrees plus humidity of 67 percent equals 147…Do NOT spray! Also, a good word of caution…If temperature is over 80 degrees, it is best not to spray at all with oils.

For tonics and remedies to use for plants that are not critter control, check out my collections by clicking the bumble bee.


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