Tag Archives: natural repellent

Protecting Plants from Grasshoppers

I replanted my Elderberry bush in the back yard recently. I first wrote about growing this Elderberry bush from a small plant start back in April. Well the replanted Elderberry bush had been doing very well in its new location until the grasshoppers discovered it. Grasshoppers started eating the leaves and the bush was suffering terribly. So I set out to find a non-toxic, home recipe for protecting my plants and getting rid of the grasshoppers.

After doing some research I mixed up this grasshopper brew to repel and hopefully kill the grasshoppers around my back yard. So here is my pet friendly, homemade mix for getting rid of grasshoppers using supplies I had in my cupboard.

Materials Needed:

1 cup white vinegar
1 teaspoon of grated Fels-Naptha laundry soap
1 gallon container (old juice jugs work well)
1 spray bottle
Water

Dissolve the grated soap flakes in one cup of warm water. Continue Reading →

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Cayenne Pepper Keeps Pests Away

I read that cayenne pepper can be helpful at keeping pests away. Apparently mice, squirrels and other pests don’t like the smell of cayenne pepper. I have been having a problem with mice getting in my greenhouse and eating my tender seedling plants so I wanted to give this idea a try.

I have also read that ants and some other bugs don’t like cayenne pepper either so this may be a good solution to deter them too. I bought a 50 cent bottle of cayenne pepper and have sprinkled it generously all around the greenhouse as shown above. So far it appears to be working. My seedlings haven’t been getting eaten overnight like they had been but lets give it some time to see if this really works.

It’s been about a week now since I first spread some cayenne pepper around in my greenhouse. The plants have been left alone and it doesn’t appear that anything has been getting in and eating them. So if you have been having problems with mice or other such pests, you might try this useful idea of applying cayenne pepper around the area to repel them.

Application: Sprinkle the cayenne pepper all around areas where you want to keep the pests away. Especially apply cayenne pepper in holes and openings where the pests are entering. Re-apply every few weeks to keep the strong smell present for the best results.

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