Pet Friendly Pesticides

by Linnea on 08/30/13

Right now in our area of southern Arizona, we are having a massive problem with caterpillars and our normal grasshoppers.  This is especially detrimental for those of us who grow our own food!  Now, I am anti-'cide' of any kind... no commercial pesticides or herbicides are allowed on my property, mostly for the safety of my dogs.  Lawn chemicals are linked to cancer in pets... they walk through the grass and plants and then come inside and dogs lick their feet and kitties groom themselves.  I take whatever measures I can to prevent illness in my pets, so here's what I'm spraying in my yard....

You can invest a mere $10 in a gallon sized pressure sprayer and use a few things from your kitchen and you'll be set!

Some ingredients you can use:

Garlic - I'm sure fresh is best, and freshly minced is bestest! (Forgive me there)

Some sort of hot pepper - if you have some dried red pepper flakes, or cut up a jalapeno..

Essential oils - peppermint and citronella oils are great at repelling bugs, you can usually find these in a vitamin shop.

Soap- I haven't tried soap yet but you can easily find some more info about it online.

Let your ingredients soak in a gallon of water at least overnight or 24 hours if you're patient enough.  You'll probably need to strain the fluid so it won't clog the sprayer.  Have fun going to town on those buggys!

[PLEASE] put your pets indoors when spraying this in the yard - no doggy needs to be accidently pepper sprayed :)  And if you are sensitive to peppers, use appropriate gear (gloves, safety goggles etc) but for the most part you should be fine, I sprayed the garden down while groggy at 7am in my jammies :)

Here are some additional links you'll find useful:
Homemade Caterpillar Killer 1

Homemade Caterpillar Killer 2