Peppers repel insects from your plants
Chamomile tea sounds soothing, while orange zest sounds energizing. Garlic pepper tea is nothing you'd want to drink and insects feel the same way. It protects your plants from problem insects without exposing them to synthetic chemicals. Does this Spark an idea?
Garlic Pepper Tea
Easily made at home, garlic pepper tea is a natural insect repellent. Garlic oil drives insects away with its scent, while peppers get rid of them with a compound called capsaicin. When you eat spicy food, capsaicin makes your lips burn. It also burns insects on contact. Peel two garlic bulbs and put them in a blender. Add two whole hot peppers, such as habanera or cayenne. Pour in 2 cups water and blend the ingredients until the garlic and peppers are as liquefied as possible. Strain the solids, and then pour the liquid into a gallon container. Fill the container with water and mix thoroughly
Application
Pour ¼ cup of the solution into a gallon drum attached to a sprayer, and then add water until the container is full. Lightly coat the leaves and stems of plants you wish to protect from insects. In normal weather, apply the spray once a week. In hot weather, avoid stressing plants by only spraying garlic pepper tea every 10 days. If your area receives a lot of rain, spray every four days to replace any of the repellent that is washed away.
Drawbacks
Garlic pepper tea offers advantages as an insect repellent. You don't expose your family or the environment to potentially toxic chemicals found in commercial repellents. There are drawbacks, however. The tea is a broad spectrum repellent, so it drives away beneficial insects like bees and other pollinators, as well as the problem insects. It loses potency in time. After two months, discard any you have left over and make a fresh batch.
Considerations
When applying garlic pepper tea to plants, keep it away from children, pets and your own bare skin. The garlic part won't bother you apart from the odor, but the pepper oil burn skin or eyes on direct contact. Because of the potential for skin and eye irritation, garlic pepper tea should only be used outdoors, rather than in confined spaces like homes or greenhouses.
Tags: garlic pepper, insect repellent, into gallon, problem insects, your plants