Natural Pest Control

Home-made Remedies

Scale and Mealybugs: Make an oil preparation that suffocates them by mixing four tablespoons of dishwashing liquid into one cup of vegetable oil. Mix one part of that mixture to about twenty parts of water, put it in your sprayer and spray the affected plants.

Aphids, Caterpillars and Other Insects: Add two tablespoons of soap flakes to one litre of water and stir thoroughly until completely dissolved (this is quicker in warm water). There is no need to dilute this further, just spray it on as is.

Black Spot Fungicide: In Queensland, Black Spot's a major problem with roses, but this fungicide mixture works miracles. Add three teaspoons of bicarb soda to one litre of water. Don't get carried away with the bicarb soda because if you make it too strong, it'll cause all sorts of problems. Add a few drops of either dishwashing liquid, or fish emulsion to help the solution adhere to the leaf more effectively.

Fungicide: Mix one level teaspoon of bicarb soda into one litre of water. Add one litre of skim milk and a pinch of Condy's Crystals which you can get from a produce agent (someone that supplies to horse owners). Shake thoroughly.

Grasshopper, Caterpillar and Possum Deterrent: Mix a cup of molasses into one litre of water and spray it over new foliage.

Nematodes: Add half a litre of molasses to two litres of water and spread over one and a half square metres of affected garden area.

All-round Insecticide: Chop four large onions, two cloves of garlic, and four hot chillies. Mix them together and cover with warm, soapy water and leave it to stand overnight. Strain off that liquid and add it to five litres of water to create an all-round insecticide.

Pesticide: Crush a whole bulb of garlic and cover with vegetable oil. After two days, strain off the liquid, add a couple of drops of dishwashing liquid and use one millilitre of concentrate to one litre of water.

Herbicide: Add a cup of common salt to a litre of vinegar. After it's dissolved, brush it directly onto weeds. Remember, it's not a selective weed killer. It'll kill anything it touches so be very careful how you use it.

Predator Attractor: Predators that prey on pests are great things to have in the garden. Lacewings are particularly desirable because they consume aphids and many other pests. To encourage them into your garden, dissolve one teaspoon of a yeast based sandwich spread in water and spray it all over the plants.

Companion Planting Chart for Vegetables

Vegetable	Really likes to be with…	Really dislikes to be with…
Asparagus	Basil, Tomato, Nasturtium, Parsley	Onion, garlic, potato
Beans	Carrot, cabbage, cauliflower, cucumber, marigold	Chives, leek, garlic
Broad Beans	Brassicas, carrot, celery, corn, lettuce, potato	Fennel
Beets	Brassicas, lettuce, onion, sage	Bean (pole)
Broccoli	Celery, chamomile, dill, rosemary	Oregano, Strawberry
Brussel Sprouts	Potato, Thyme	Strawberry
Cabbage	Beetroot, potato, oregano, sage	Strawberry, tomato
Carrot	Bush beans, pole beans, lettuce, onion, pea, radish, tomato	Chives, dill, parsnip, radish
Cauliflower	Beans, celery, oregano	Nasturtium, peas, potato, strawberry, tomato
Celery	Cabbage, leek, onion, spinach, tomato	Parsnip, potato
Corn	Bean, cucumber, melon, pea, pumpkin, potato, radish	Tomato
Cucumber	Bean, celery, lettuce, pea, radish	Cauliflower, potato, basil
Eggplant	Bean, capsicum, potato, spinach
Leek	Carrot, celery, strawberry
Lettuce	Carrots, radishes, strawberry	Beans, beetroot, parsley
Melon	Corn, radish	Potato
Onion	Bean sprout, broccoli, cabbage, lettuce, strawberry tomato	Bean, pea
Pea	Beans, Carrot, corn, cucumber, radish	Onion family
Potato	Bean, corn, cabbage, pea, eggplant	Cucumber, pumpkin, squash, sunflower
Pumpkin	Corn	Potato
Spinach	Celery, cauliflower, eggplant
Tomato	Asparagus, celery, carrot, parsley, marigold	Corn, fennel, potato
Zucchini	Nasturtium