Natural Guard Neem Oil is an extract of neem seeds, and is a very effective natural control that is non-toxic to people and animals. Natural Guard Neem Oil controls such pests as aphids, leaf-eating caterpillars and beetles, leaf miners and white flies, and each application lasts up to fourteen days. Homemade insecticides should be used only when the pests are present, because they have a short effective period. One tablespoon dish soap, one tablespoon garlic and one tablespoon cayenne pepper, mixed in one gallon of water, makes a solution that can be dumped directly onto an infested plant. Or you can make a spray concentrate by adding one tablespoon dish soap to one cup vegetable oil. Mix one to two and a half teaspoons of this soap and oil base to a cup of water and spray all leaf surfaces. Make a garlic oil concentrate by soaking three ounces of minced garlic in two tablespoons of mineral oil for twenty-four hours. Then strain out the garlic and add the oil to one pint water and one teaspoon dish soap to make the garlic concentrate. Spray plants with a solution of one or two tablespoons concentrate to one pint water. Snails can be trapped in the garden by placing a board on wet soil where you see the snail damage. The snails will hide under the board during the day, making it easy to find and destroy them. Discourage cats from digging in your garden with a heavy application of red pepper in their favorite areas, but reapply after rain. Deer might be discouraged by hanging net bags full of human hair from branches or stakes four to six feet high and three feet apart, replacing the hair every three months. Or, drill a hole through an ordinary bar of bath soap, with the wrapper, and hang it the same way. Blending one dozen eggs with five quarts of water, sprayed on the plant, or a heavy application of blood meal applied around the plant, may also be effective. Motion sensitive water sprinklers that detect motion in your yard at night send a jet of water at the intruder. These are very effective if their location is varied occasionally to keep the critters guessing.
