Get Rid of Pests With This 2-Ingredient Homemade Insecticide

I recently moved a number of outdoor plants inside my house for the winter, and all had been doing well for the last few weeks until this week… when I found a colony of tiny pests on the windowsill, on the rim of the pot, and on the stalk of my banana plant.

I had hosed it down, inspected the leaves, and put it in fresh potting soil to prep for overwintering, but even in the absence of pests to the naked eye, hitchhikers are always a possibility. They lay eggs on the undersides of leaves or hide in the garden soil that was still clinging to the roots.

The aphids seemed to appear overnight, and I needed to get rid of them quickly yet naturally—a high concern since the plants were overwintering in our bedrooms. (Those little white specks are nymphs, or young aphids.)

Read more: Organic Pest Control: 7 Easy Solutions for Getting Rid of Aphids

Luckily, when it comes to fast and easy (and cheap!) pest sprays, DIY gardeners know that it takes just two ingredients to make the best organic insecticide: liquid soap and water.

What is insecticidal soap?

Insecticidal soap is the next step in controlling pests when other natural, non-toxic methods (like hand-picking pests off plants, spraying them off with a sharp blast of water, or introducing beneficial insects to the garden) aren’t working.

Insecticidal soap kills common pests on indoor plants (like potted herbs and other houseplants) and outdoor plants (like vegetable gardens and flower beds) on contact. You can use the same formula indoors or out.

Commercial versions can readily be found in the gardening aisle of your local home improvement store, but this homemade bug spray for your plants is worth making for its sheer simplicity and low cost.

If you have a spray bottle and liquid soap handy, you’re already halfway there!

How insecticidal soap works on plant pests

Insecticidal soaps exploit the fatty acids in soap to suffocate small, soft-bodied insects and arthropods such as aphids, mealybugs, thrips, whiteflies, spider mites, leaf hoppers, earwigs, and immature scales (crawlers).

Upon contact, the fatty acids disrupt the permeability and structure of the insects’ cell membranes, dissolving their exoskeletons and fatally dehydrating them.

Contact is the operative word here, as insecticidal soaps only work when sprayed directly on the pests, and are only effective for as long as they remain wet.

Dry soap does nothing.

If you can’t see the pests, you’re not likely to get any results with the spray, homemade or not.

What ingredients are in homemade insecticide?

Essentially, insecticidal soap is a highly refined version of liquid dish soap.

But while many homemade insecticide recipes call for dish soap like Dawn, it’s important that you don’t use Dawn (or similar grease-cutting brands).

Commercial dish soaps like Dawn are more accurately referred to as liquid dish detergents. The detergents, fragrances, and dyes in those kinds of formulations can be harsh on your plants and end up doing more harm than good.

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I personally like the Dr. Bronner’s line of pure-castile liquid soap, which uses fair-trade ingredients and organic oils in its formulations, and is free of additives found in commercial dish soap, hand soap, and laundry detergent.

To put it simply, castile soap is not a detergent like the soap you use to wash dishes or clothes.

Dr. Bronner’s baby unscented castile soap is the most versatile for all applications, but you can try their scented versions for a little extra repelling power in the garden.

Castile soap, plus plain old tap water, is all you need for a natural homemade insecticide.

Dr. Bronner’s isn’t the only castile soap you can use, however. I’ve also tried Cove (which I love and use for cleaning the house too) and Quinn’s, and found them just as effective. So use what you can find!

One important note: Hard water can reduce the effectiveness of the soap, so if your water is high in calcium, magnesium, or iron, use distilled or bottled water for the solution.

How to make organic insecticide at home

Makes 1 gallon of a 1% soap solution

Ingredients

1 gallon water
2 1/2 tablespoons pure-castile liquid soap
1 tablespoon vegetable oil (optional)

Instructions

Fill a gallon-size spray container (I use this one with great results) with water, then add the soap and oil. Mix or shake the container thoroughly before using.

The oil helps the solution stick around longer after being sprayed. Since the oil can go rancid, I mix up a fresh batch of insecticidal soap every time I need it. If you want to keep some on hand at all times, omit the oil.

To scale the recipe for smaller applications, use 2 teaspoons pure-castile liquid soap for every 1 quart water. (This spray container works well when you have fewer or smaller plants to treat.)

How to apply insecticidal soap to your plants

Dry conditions and hot weather (above 90°F) can increase plant stress and increase your plants’ sensitivity to soap, so avoid spraying on a hot, sunny day and make sure your plants are well watered first.

If you’re trying to treat houseplants, be sure to protect the surroundings from overspray, or move the plants to an area where you can spray freely, like a patio or garage.

Insecticidal soap is best applied in the early morning or early evening, as the cooler temperatures slow evaporation of the soap and favor better pest control.

Pollinator activity tends to be low during these hours, so you have less of a chance of impairing bees, hoverflies, and other beneficial bugs in the garden.

Insecticidal soaps are not systemic insecticides—that is, they don’t absorb into plant tissue. They only work on direct contact with insects, so make sure you cover all plant surfaces where you see pests with a fine spray, including the undersides of the leaves where many pests like to hide.

(Note the emphasis on where you see pests. Simply spraying the whole plant with soapy water won’t work. The soap needs to coat the insects thoroughly—not the leaves—in order to kill them.)

Spray once a week (or for more serious infestations, every 4 days) for 4 weeks until you see improvement. Any more or longer than that, and you risk leaf injury, as the soap will remove all the natural oils and waxes that protect the leaf, and thus remove the plant’s natural defenses against pests and diseases.

Speaking of leaf injury, some plants are more susceptible to soap than others, so I suggest a test spray on a small area first if you aren’t sure how sensitive your plant is.

Wait 24 to 48 hours and check for leaf damage (such as burned tips or yellow or brown spotting) before proceeding with a full application. If you do spot damage, rinse the leaves with clean water to remove any residual soap.

Avoid using insecticidal soap on these types of plants

According to Clemson University’s Cooperative Extension, susceptible plants include hawthorn, sweet peas, cherries, plums, horse chestnut, mountain ash, Japanese maple, bleeding heart, maidenhair fern, crown of thorns, lantana, nasturtiums, gardenias, and Easter lilies, and to some extent azaleas, begonias, fuchsias, geraniums, and impatiens.

Seedlings, new transplants, newly rooted cuttings, and drought-stressed plants are also sensitive to insecticidal soap, so try to incorporate other means of pest control (like row covers or other physical barriers—I’m a fan of this mesh pop-up tent) before resorting to soapy water.

Remember: Less is more when it comes to spraying anything on your plants, even when you’re using natural pest control sprays.

Common questions about homemade insecticide

This post updated from an article that originally appeared on December 18, 2017.

View the Web Story on DIY insecticidal soap for pest control.