Make your own garden spray

You don’t have to use nasty chemicals to get rid of those pesky bugs munching on your new blooms. Everything you need to make an organic, safe insect spray can be found in your own kitchen.

It’s summer and gardens across the southern hemisphere are alive; alive with new foliage, alive with colour…and alive with bugs. Now, there are good insects and there are bad insects., Many insecticides, however, will kill all insects and then just hang around in the environment like that last party guest who won’t leave. There’s no need to purchase expensive products filled with ingredients that all have more than five syllables. Here’s a simple pet/people/plant/purse friendly recipe that will keep aphids, beetles, fruit flies, and many other small insects away.

Grab a handful of garlic cloves, peel them, and mince them in a food processor or mortar and pestle. Put the minced garlic in a jar and fill with water. You can add a teaspoon of mineral oil and/or dishwashing liquid to the garlic as well. Let it sit overnight, then strain the liquid. When you’re ready to use it, add a small amount to an all-purpose spray bottle then fill it with water.

You can strengthen the mix and annoy even more insects by adding hot chilies.

Just be mindful that garlic and chilies are irritants, so avoid getting them on your skin or in your eyes. Test it on delicate plants first and don’t overuse, especially in hot weather.

As this mixture is organic it will eventually spoil, so store the jar in the fridge or somewhere cool and discard once it starts to go off.