For everyone asking, I do not rinse the spray off. I do, however, dust my leaves with a damp cloth once a month, but I usually don’t do that until 2 to 3 weeks after I’ve sprayed the plants. So I guess you could say it is getting slightly wiped off when I do that, but I’m not like purposefully rinsing it off if that makes sense.
@@blessildamaedayo712Hi! You can probably find regular Castile Soap (it's a multipurpose "real" soap, very popular around the world) and skip the oils altogether, or if you find them sold individually (try the pharmacy or a holistic medicine store), add a few drops of peppermint oil, tea tree oil, or both, to the mix. The reason it's good to have a soap in the mix is because it sticks to the body of the pests, so the treatment can be most effective, but you want it to be mild, not like dishwashing detergent, which is not as safe for plants (or soils). The peppermint and tea tree oils act as "extra" deterrents/healing ingredients in this recipe, but as long as you have alcohol, plant-safe soap, hydrogen peroxide, and water in the right proportions, your spray will be very effective in killing mites, mealybugs, thrips, and other soft-bodied pests.
@@blessildamaedayo712 No, you can't. Those are two very important ingredients. The mix is 4 ingredients; if you remove 2 of those ingredients, it's not going to be as effective. At 3:30 she talks about what each ingredient does.
@@blessildamaedayo712 As far as I know, you can use any castile soap that's Tea Tree and Peppermint. I don't have access to Dr. Woods, so I use Dr. Bronner's instead. If you can't find that either, then you can mix in pure Neem oil.
Thanks for all the research! I suggest wearing gloves if you’ve never used a product before. I discovered I’m allergic to tea tree oil when I got blisters on my hands from it. Also, 1/8 cup is two tablespoons.
I was going to say the same about 1/8 of a cup. The reason why there usually is not such a cup in a set is because those smaller amounts are likely described as mL or table/tea spoons.
I finally received my soap order and so far so good! I did not have anything that would accurately measure 1/8 of a cup, but 1/8 of a cup is equal to 2 tablespoons.
I found some spider mites on my Colocasias, JUST as I finally finished the construction of my plant room. So I treated EVERY single plant with this recipe. The week before I used neem oil as a treatment (before I saw this recipe) of the affected plants only. So I used your recipe on every single one before moving them into their new home. I'm happy to report not a single damaged leaf! It was a lot more pleasant smelling for sure, and I LOVED that it stayed on the plant long enough to do it's job! Since I had plenty of neem oil left I used that emulsified w/the tea tree & peppermint soap as a soil drench whenever they need water. I will of course be treating the affected plants the following 2 weeks, and will be using this recipe 1X a month for their monthly baths! My plants look shiny & happy, so I just LOVE this recipe. Thank you so much for sharing it. This WILL be my go to from now on. I will say I had to fill up my sprayer like 5Xs to spray all the plants & pots, sooooo worth it!❤️
THE best video!! And all your other ones on the insecticides and how to kill spider mites have been extremely helpful. Thank you so much for all of your information!!!! ❤
Thank you for doing the research and sharing! I ordered the items off of Amazon while watching your video and have already given them a treatment shower. Thank you!
Hi! I’ve play with plants before and some of them survived. Since I started watching your videos I’ve been able to keep most of them alive. I am so grateful for all the knowledge and science base info that you gathered and put together in your videos. 1 week ago I sprayed my plants and the gnats problem is almost gone. The only downside is that some of my plants didn’t like it. Stromanthe, Calathea, neon Pothos and grey maranta had some side effects like new shoots burned, yellow leaves and wilting. Stromanthe (leaves are folding) and Rosy have grow lights. Old the others natural I sprayed and watered all of them at night and put them back to their repot in the morning. So I wonder if I should have waited longer. 🤷🏻♀️ all my other plants are doing good and gnats are minimal.
Just as you said, this makes sense to me. I went out and bought all the ingredients right after watching this video. I couldn't find Dr. Woods, so I went with Dr Bronners castile soaps. I just sprayed last night so I'll have to wait for the true results, but walking into the grow room this morning there was a wonderful sense of cleanliness about. Thank you so much for this recipe, it is very much appreciated.
That’s what I been doing for the past three years! Sorry I don’t have a TH-cam channel. I’ve seen it on TH-cam about three years ago. It was from the company of liquid dirt. I’m so glad that you’re sharing this.
I have peppermint and tree tea Castile soap but by Dr Bonner…comparing the ingredients they’re almost identical, is it ok if I use Dr Bonner? OR it MUST be Dr Wood Castile soap?
Castille soap is also at dollar store, though not always the right fragrance. Great vid. And I use Jack's Super Insecticide Soap, neem concentrate, and water as my go-to (don't like peppermint) and does about same since I wipe leaves down after heavy spraying so they don't get limp from excess water sitting on them.
Just a FYI, Peroxide degrades with light exposure. That's why it comes in an opaque bottle. Just store your sprayer in a dark place when not in use, should be fine.
Hi! I love how detailed your videos are! Thank you for doing all the research and consolidating the information-highly appreciated. I have a question about the recipe. If I were to use peppermint and tea tree oil, how much of each would I need to use? And, how much of the Castile soap would I then use? Thanks in advance!
I probably watched the same video & this is what I use on my plants, but I add Neem oil as well. The smell is covered up by the tea tree & the peppermint. It’s also a deterrent & leaves a nice sheen on the leaves 😊
Thanks for the video. I just discovered your channel as I have been purchasing plants and one came with thrips. I’m returning it but needed a good diy recipe. Just ordered the soaps.
Thank you for this video. I found spider mites on my plants and was absolutely devastated. I thought I would have to buy a bunch of expensive stuff- but I had every item you listed in my home already (I love dr bronners) . I sprayed every single plant I owned as I wasn’t sure which were and weren’t infected , washed the pots and gave them fresh dirt, I used your method and I also cut/picked the leaves off of a few plants (peace Lilly and jade tees and bonzia tree) completely so the spider mites wouldn’t have any food in hopes to let them grow back without pests. Will continue for the next three weeks. I’m paranoid and really hope this works.
Just a small warning for the "first time" users - I burnt my oxalis with this, it lost all the leaves. So for very delicate leaves, it's better to try on one leaf only to see what it does. For the vast majority of my plants it worked nicely though :)
As long as your cats don’t eat the plants they should be fine. Just make sure they’re not around when you’re spraying them so you don’t accidentally get it on them.
Hi... Thanks for your generous sharing of plant tip knowledge... I have (what recently was) a beautiful New Guinea Impatien in full glorious bloom when I suddenly saw webs on it. From what I've researched, I am assuming it has Spider mites. I tried the showering with water method so far and now bought supplies for your suggested treatment. The poor NGI plant has dropped about 60% of it's leaves and all the flowers and a couple of branches died. It is still trying to bud and bloom a couple new flowers but looks VERY sickly... This happened over a time period of 2 to 3 weeks. Sorry to make this so long... My questions are, how much solution should I make up to test on 1 leaf and how long after should I wait to treat the whole plant if it looks like it will tolerate the treatment? Thank you for any help you could offer to help me save this cherished plant and get it back to its gorgeous healthy self...
You won’t need much at all to do the test. Usually if a plant is going to respond badly to a spray you will know within 48 hours sometimes within 24 hours. But keep in mind it can be deceiving if you don’t have a healthy leaf to test it on because if the leaf is already on its way out, you may mistake it as a reaction to the spray, when really it’s just natural leaf death progression if that makes sense.
1. Can you save any leftover spray for next week, possibly in another container? 2. How do you clean the sprayer out? I've had the spray nozzle clog up before and was unable to get it to work again. 3. If you use this on calatheas, do you need to use distilled water or tap water that's been left out for 24 hours? (they hate straight tap water). Thanks. Great thorough video.
I apologize if this was covered, but what is the "shelf life" of this once it has been prepared? Do you need to make it and use it all up each time you apply it? Or could you double up on the recipe and leave it in the sprayer for months between use? Thanks!
I highly, HIGHLY recommend getting a 1-gallon (4L) pressure pump sprayer WITH A WAND. The hose attachment is fantastic when spraying plants in-place, especially the ones in hanging pots or living on high shelves. It also makes quick work of getting under leaves without having to lift a heavy container off of the floor. Another perk: the nozzle is adjustable, from the thinnest, most forceful stream to the widest, softest, cone-shaped mist.
@@AlohaPlantLife My pleasure! I hope you get one. It'll save you so much time when you're spraying! With the amount of plants you keep, I can't imagine how your hands feel at the end of a spray session if you're using a trigger bottle. By the way, I set the nozzle to "stream" and use it to water moss poles and plants that are way up high. It has really eased my plant care...and I don't have even half the size of your collection!
6:25 Great video. You have so much integrity so I’m sure there’s a reason you didn’t specify the TH-cam content creator that inspired your recipe/this video?
@@AlohaPlantLife - I hope I didn’t sound insincere. Only recognizing now that my comment was worded oddly. I don’t know what the guidelines are, or if there’s some etiquette, but I assume there’s a reason his channel and name weren’t mentioned. But I thought it was cool that you did give credit.
This is the best pest prevention video out there, love the at home mix and have been using it for months. Today, I had to treat three plants for spidermites during the daytime. Do I just keep them out of the sun until completely dry?
I might have missed it but can this recipe keep? As in, if I don’t use it all when it’s made, can I keep it on hand or do I need to use it all up at the time of making?
I just found this video from you but watch you often! Loved you bf but love love love you even more now 😂! When you said how you felt in the beginning of the video, that is so me!!! I’ve had two nightmares about my plants being totally infected, since I noticed something was up. I even bottom watered one of my older Pothos with a drop of peppermint oil to 16 oz of distilled water 🤦🏾♀️. I panicked! I was going to donor all my plants to a plant shop if they felt they could save them. I just started back collecting plants bc of some health issues with my son and was so happy. And all of a sudden I see these dang spider web like structures in a plant. So started looking at the others and now I feel everything I see are pests 🤦🏾♀️. Non-natural pesticides are a no go for my household so when I saw these four ingredients, I was sooo happy! Also, do you know of or have any experience with cinnamon water to fight pests Thank you sooo much for doing the research for this video!
@AlohaPlantLife Thanks for the response. And just an update. I’m so so loving and impressed with the spray. I used it a week ago on my pothos (and every last plant I have bc I was scared 😨 of an outbreak) for spider mites. And the underside of the leaves looked like they were biting them. And it looked BAD! Welllllllll 😮the undersides of all the leaves look normal again. And no damage to the leaves or stems 🎊🎉❤!!! Plus the smell is nice and I noticed less of those little gnats 👍🏾. Thank you so much again! This is definitely in my monthly plant babies routine now.
I have a castle soap I bought but it’s unscented could I just use the essential oils for the tea tree and peppermint part ?and add some drops to the mix or soap maybe ?
Yeah this recipe has been available on TH-cam for a long time. I purchased all these things and used them. Be aware if using this on succulents, your farina is gonna be taken off and look different . It works but takes a long time to look better.
Thank you so very much for the great information. Question: my bug of choice are scales. Will your solution work on scale infestation? Thank you as always for the great work!!
No, I wouldn’t recommend using it for a full soil drench. But watering with a hydrogen peroxide water mix that’s one part hydrogen peroxide to two parts water should help resolve the issue.
I've read a diy pest spray can be made using an oil such as cooking oil ( canola oil works best ) along with castille soap (oils smothers the bugs and the soap emulsifies it). Could the natural oils and shea butter in these soaps add to this solution's effectiveness? Dr Bonners doesn't have shea butter or the same oils.
First off, I love your channel and all the info you share! I have been using your suggested mix spray for a few rounds on various plants (the only modification I did was do 1/2 cut of Dr Bronners peppermint soap (because I didn’t have the tea tree one) but then I added drops of straight tree oil as well. Every time I use this one a plant, I come back the next day or later that same day when its dry, and they have a very ugly white soap residue all over every single leaf that looks worse than having mealy bugs. It becomes so that I start to get confused between what is spray residue and what are pest marks. Do you experience this? Might there be something wrong with my spray gun (i use the same one you use but mines old)? Or is the soap I’m using not the best brand for this? Thanks in advance for your time. 🙏🏻🌿
I’ve never had that issue. My best guess is it’s either that particular soap, the straight tea tree oil you’re adding, or maybe the way those two things are interacting with each other.
I used Dr Bronner's as well, and got the same white residue without adding any other oil. I guess it may be the soap brand? Mine mostly stayed on the soil, less so on the leaves, except for the one plant I accidentally left in the sun. That one stayed like that for a long while, but it's a lipstick plant, and mine lose leaves if they even think I'm looking at them too hard, so I didn't even try to wipe it off...
Hi! 👋 can I use dr. Bronners Castile soap in lavender? I will go tomorrow and find tea tree oil flavor soap and alcohol and hydrogen peroxide but just wondering if it could be lavender flavor Castille soap, or if it had to be peppermint? 🙏
Hi Drea. I need some help!!! I'm a new plant mom & I've followed this video as closely as I could. I realized that I went crazy spraying, trying to get in all the nooks & crannies and saturated the soil in a few of my bushier plants. They clearly didn't like it as they are all droopy, leaves curling and some turning yellow. Not sure if I should water them to flush the solution out of the soil, repot them, or do nothing. It's been a few days now & they are not any better, maybe even a little worse. I'm trying to research how to fix things on my own , but the more videos I watch, the more confused a I am. Any help would be appreciated.
I have never experienced that, that would’ve been a lot of spray down. If the soil super soaked, you definitely don’t want to make it even wetter by trying to rinse it, where you might end up with root rot. Worst case scenario if it keeps getting worse, you can repot them, but if it’s not continually getting worse, I would probably just let them be until they get dry enough to need watering and then just water them with regular water and that should help rinse it out without over watering the plant.
@@AlohaPlantLife Thanks Drea! The plants that did accidentally get soil saturated are still extremely droopy & wilty, leaves turning yellow, brown & dying. I have taken some cuttings to propagate so I don't loose the plant for good & those props have turned around & are looking GREAT. Setting up today to just repot with fresh soil to try to save what I can. Just to mention, the plants that weren't accidentally saturated are doing fine & I even treated again a few days ago & all is good. I just went OVERBOARD on some of the super bushy ones. I will still use this method, but will not go overboard in the future. 🤪
This might be a dumb question but do I have to rinse the plant off afterwards or am I safe spraying the plant and leaving the formula on the leaves? By the way your videos are so awesome
Tried it, but after spraying it the leaves looked very ugly with white spots everywhere from the soak. What did I do wrong? Maybe the pests are gone, but now I have to wash the leaves to get them shiny again…
Thrips are soft bodied insects so it should work on them. I fortunately, knock on wood, have not had any thrips on any plants since I started using this spray. So I can’t say from experience how well it works against a thrip outbreak, but hey, the fact I haven’t had any thrip outbreaks since I started using it must mean it’s doing a good job keeping them away, right?
I’ve never tried it on orchids, but I think it should be OK on the leaves but maybe not so much on any blooms. You could always try it in one small spot on one leaf first just to be sure.
I don’t know if that would necessarily be ok or not. I also wouldn’t even know where to begin in terms of figuring out how much to use if it is safe to use.
I have spider mites, and all of my hoard is close together so I'm going to spray every single plant down. Are there any plants that this spray is known to be bad for? I'm go to leaf test, but the ones I'm worried about are seedlings, patchouli, string of hearts, other succulents (most are 1 leaf propagules) , episcia, geranium, philo silver sword, jewel orchid, and nepenthes. Thanks :)
Hi! Thanks for this video. If I have peppermint essential oil instead of the Castile soap, can I substitute that instead? Would you have any suggestions on how many drops to add and if I should add more tea tree Castile soap? Ty!
This concoction ruined all of my calatheas and created a mould problem 😭 I have no idea what to do now as I have a big infestation of thrips and I live in Canada so pesticides are not easy to find. I just bought End All yesterday but i have no idea what my first step is in cleaning everything since most of my plants have mould now, I’m scared to water them down😭 help
I’m sorry to hear that. I honestly have never had a problem with this on any of my Calathea. Are you using the exact same soaps? Also, it shouldn’t cause mold however, if your plant’s soil has been staying too wet for too long that can lead to mold. Just make sure you’re always letting the top at least like 30% of the soil dry out between waterings. You can scrape the moldy bit off and trash it or you can use a fungicide to treat it. If it’s on the soil, it’s not that big of a deal and can be easily fixed.
I’ve personally never had thrips since I started using this spray, so I cannot 100% say from personal experience that it works on thrips. However, it should work on thrips since they are soft bodied pests just like spider, mites, mealy, bugs, etc. Hope this helps.💚
I'm wondering if you watched the same video that I did. Lol Thanks for the reminder because I just purchased that Safer EndAll. 🤔 I wonder if I can find the receipt???🙄
Hi there! Thank you so much for sharing your research and recipe. I have been trying to do my own research on effective yet pet safe pesticide/insecticide. I do have a question though, how is this considered to be pet safe? As my understanding is essential oils such as tea tree oil and peppermint oil are toxic for cats. Wouldn’t this spray be considered not safe for pets, should a cat decide to nibble on the plant after spraying? Thank you in advance :)
Once every 7 days for at LEAST two weeks. I tend to do it for four weeks though because spider mites are sneaky little bastards and I’m always worried one is still hiding in a crevice somewhere unfazed by my first two sprays lol
Yes it will help with fungus gnats to an extent but I really recommend using mosquito dunk or bits in your watering can for fungus gnats. I talk about it more in this video: th-cam.com/video/jwgMGz59Eno/w-d-xo.htmlsi=TQbWT-_T7KaEiWJE
Thank you so much for this. I found what I think is a spider mite from online searching on my recovering medallion calathea. She was just unfurling some new leaves and this tiny spider was sitting on top of the roll 😢 I immediately put the bug brew and the b$&$ kept walking. Going to make this asap. I have dr bronzers uncented but have a ton of essential oils so will add a few drops to the mix. What are your thoughts on systemic granules @alohaplantlife?
Awesome video! I have 90% alcohol, can I use it if I take half the dose of 70% ? Curious, what’s your take on neem oil? I mixed the peppermint soap with neem oil, which is working great on my palm trees. I’m eager to try your recipe next.
A side note, over-spraying an alcohol solution so that it runs off leaves and into the soil can turn it into an herbicide. Plants absorb alcohol via their roots, which can cause severe dehydration and kill the plants. Has anyone tried using only green tea and peppermint soap + hydrogen peroxide?
hey drea- my mom & i both have pests we’re treating right now & have peppermint castile soap but not tea tree. wondering if we could add tea tree oil instead & if so how much?? we both have it for our oil diffusers🤣
Is this safe for Syngonium , Scindapsus, String of plants and Philodendron? Kinda scared to burn their leaves , but it's hard to wait and only test on 1 leaf at a time. :/
Hi! Thank you for the recipe! What to do if I don't have a peppermint soap at the moment? Can I just leave that out or should I double the tea tree soap? Thanks!
Thanks! Btw I’ve started watching a bunch of your videos over the past couple of weeks ago and I’m loving them! It’s helping feed my houseplant obsession. Thank you!
Fantastic. Thank you for telling me about this video. I plan on doubling the amount for 8 cups to start. (then likely doubling again to cover all the plants! 🤣)My question is, I do have castile soap. I also have peppermint and tea tree essential oils. Can I use them in the soap instead of buying more castile soap? If so, how much of each essential oil?
You absolutely could but I honestly have no idea how much to use. I just looked at the back of the soap bottles to see if there’s any indication as to ratio of ingredients and unfortunately there is not. I mean knowing what I know about how the soaps smell I could probably figure it out by smell by just adding little by little if I was there in person but smell-o-vision doesn’t exist yet, lol (but seriously are there scientists out there working on the smell-o-vision thing because it would be a game changer🤣)
Yes, if they’re plants that aren’t in shade. If they’re in shade, I still recommend applying it at the cooler times of the day, but they’re at less risk of damage from direct hot sun.
I just barely saw spider mites on my crotan and moved it to the bathtub and used the spray. It was sitting on a bookshelf in our bedroom with 3 other plants that show no spider mite activity.. Do I need to spray down those other plants? If I move them to the bathtub to spray them down is there a risk of them getting the mites from the Croton?
For everyone asking, I do not rinse the spray off. I do, however, dust my leaves with a damp cloth once a month, but I usually don’t do that until 2 to 3 weeks after I’ve sprayed the plants. So I guess you could say it is getting slightly wiped off when I do that, but I’m not like purposefully rinsing it off if that makes sense.
Recipe:
1/8 cup of tea tree soap
1/8 cup of peppermint soap
4 cups of water
1/2 cup of 70% isopropyl alcohol
1 - 1/2 tsp of hydrogen peroxide
Can i use this recipe without the tea tree soap and peppermint soap? I live in the Phillippines and i havent seen such products
@@blessildamaedayo712Hi! You can probably find regular Castile Soap (it's a multipurpose "real" soap, very popular around the world) and skip the oils altogether, or if you find them sold individually (try the pharmacy or a holistic medicine store), add a few drops of peppermint oil, tea tree oil, or both, to the mix. The reason it's good to have a soap in the mix is because it sticks to the body of the pests, so the treatment can be most effective, but you want it to be mild, not like dishwashing detergent, which is not as safe for plants (or soils). The peppermint and tea tree oils act as "extra" deterrents/healing ingredients in this recipe, but as long as you have alcohol, plant-safe soap, hydrogen peroxide, and water in the right proportions, your spray will be very effective in killing mites, mealybugs, thrips, and other soft-bodied pests.
@@blessildamaedayo712 No, you can't. Those are two very important ingredients. The mix is 4 ingredients; if you remove 2 of those ingredients, it's not going to be as effective. At 3:30 she talks about what each ingredient does.
@@blessildamaedayo712 You can use Neem oil instead.
@@blessildamaedayo712 As far as I know, you can use any castile soap that's Tea Tree and Peppermint. I don't have access to Dr. Woods, so I use Dr. Bronner's instead. If you can't find that either, then you can mix in pure Neem oil.
Thanks for all the research! I suggest wearing gloves if you’ve never used a product before. I discovered I’m allergic to tea tree oil when I got blisters on my hands from it. Also, 1/8 cup is two tablespoons.
I was going to say the same about 1/8 of a cup. The reason why there usually is not such a cup in a set is because those smaller amounts are likely described as mL or table/tea spoons.
I finally received my soap order and so far so good! I did not have anything that would accurately measure 1/8 of a cup, but 1/8 of a cup is equal to 2 tablespoons.
This is the same exact treatment I use! I found it on youtube by a guy that also sells liquid dirt.
Sameeee 🥰
Yes. Cory should get a shout out!
Exactly … Give credit where it’s due. 😢
@@olivemacleanexactly 💯
Appreciate that you shared the recipe. Also, future helpful knowledge 1/8 cup is also 2 Tablespoons.
Thank you!
I so appreciate all the knowledge you freely give! I have about 13 of a note book filled with all the info and wish list plant list!
Wonderful!💚
I found some spider mites on my Colocasias, JUST as I finally finished the construction of my plant room. So I treated EVERY single plant with this recipe. The week before I used neem oil as a treatment (before I saw this recipe) of the affected plants only. So I used your recipe on every single one before moving them into their new home. I'm happy to report not a single damaged leaf! It was a lot more pleasant smelling for sure, and I LOVED that it stayed on the plant long enough to do it's job! Since I had plenty of neem oil left I used that emulsified w/the tea tree & peppermint soap as a soil drench whenever they need water. I will of course be treating the affected plants the following 2 weeks, and will be using this recipe 1X a month for their monthly baths! My plants look shiny & happy, so I just LOVE this recipe. Thank you so much for sharing it. This WILL be my go to from now on. I will say I had to fill up my sprayer like 5Xs to spray all the plants & pots, sooooo worth it!❤️
So glad you like it!💚
THE best video!! And all your other ones on the insecticides and how to kill spider mites have been extremely helpful. Thank you so much for all of your information!!!! ❤
You’re welcome!💚
Thank you for doing the research and sharing! I ordered the items off of Amazon while watching your video and have already given them a treatment shower. Thank you!
You’re welcome!💚
Thank you again for sharing this! It came right on time for me! I’m am spraying my plant babies as I’m watching you. Super easy!
Hi! I’ve play with plants before and some of them survived. Since I started watching your videos I’ve been able to keep most of them alive. I am so grateful for all the knowledge and science base info that you gathered and put together in your videos. 1 week ago I sprayed my plants and the gnats problem is almost gone. The only downside is that some of my plants didn’t like it. Stromanthe, Calathea, neon Pothos and grey maranta had some side effects like new shoots burned, yellow leaves and wilting.
Stromanthe (leaves are folding) and Rosy have grow lights. Old the others natural
I sprayed and watered all of them at night and put them back to their repot in the morning. So I wonder if I should have waited longer. 🤷🏻♀️ all my other plants are doing good and gnats are minimal.
I think it makes my house smell great!
Just as you said, this makes sense to me. I went out and bought all the ingredients right after watching this video. I couldn't find Dr. Woods, so I went with Dr Bronners castile soaps. I just sprayed last night so I'll have to wait for the true results, but walking into the grow room this morning there was a wonderful sense of cleanliness about. Thank you so much for this recipe, it is very much appreciated.
That’s what I been doing for the past three years! Sorry I don’t have a TH-cam channel. I’ve seen it on TH-cam about three years ago. It was from the company of liquid dirt. I’m so glad that you’re sharing this.
Their mix is slightly different, but my mix is based on research and a combination of multiple mixes including theirs💚
You are definitely very knowledgeable. I do love your channel. Thank you for doing what you doing. It is really helpful.
Thanks for the recipe and information.
You’re welcome!
I have peppermint and tree tea Castile soap but by Dr Bonner…comparing the ingredients they’re almost identical, is it ok if I use Dr Bonner? OR it MUST be Dr Wood Castile soap?
Castille soap is also at dollar store, though not always the right fragrance. Great vid. And I use Jack's Super Insecticide Soap, neem concentrate, and water as my go-to (don't like peppermint) and does about same since I wipe leaves down after heavy spraying so they don't get limp from excess water sitting on them.
Just a FYI, Peroxide degrades with light exposure. That's why it comes in an opaque bottle. Just store your sprayer in a dark place when not in use, should be fine.
Hi! I love how detailed your videos are! Thank you for doing all the research and consolidating the information-highly appreciated. I have a question about the recipe. If I were to use peppermint and tea tree oil, how much of each would I need to use? And, how much of the Castile soap would I then use? Thanks in advance!
I probably watched the same video & this is what I use on my plants, but I add Neem oil as well. The smell is covered up by the tea tree & the peppermint. It’s also a deterrent & leaves a nice sheen on the leaves 😊
How much Neem Oil do you add to this recipe?
You and your videos have been a friggin LIFESAVER!! Thank you so much for taking the time to make these videos and explain things so thoroughly! ❤
Glad to help!💚
Thank you for this! I ordered the soaps so I can make this to treat my plants. Love all your videos, I am learning a lot.
Wonderful!💚
Thanks for the video. I just discovered your channel as I have been purchasing plants and one came with thrips. I’m returning it but needed a good diy recipe. Just ordered the soaps.
How does this combo work for thrips
thanksmy dear...gonna try that this weekend
..nothing wrong with preventment
Thank you for this video. I found spider mites on my plants and was absolutely devastated. I thought I would have to buy a bunch of expensive stuff- but I had every item you listed in my home already (I love dr bronners) . I sprayed every single plant I owned as I wasn’t sure which were and weren’t infected , washed the pots and gave them fresh dirt, I used your method and I also cut/picked the leaves off of a few plants (peace Lilly and jade tees and bonzia tree) completely so the spider mites wouldn’t have any food in hopes to let them grow back without pests. Will continue for the next three weeks. I’m paranoid and really hope this works.
Just a small warning for the "first time" users - I burnt my oxalis with this, it lost all the leaves. So for very delicate leaves, it's better to try on one leaf only to see what it does. For the vast majority of my plants it worked nicely though :)
Thank you. I read an article that instead of sulphur for flat mites, this combo is better and less caustic. I appreciate all your tips!
You're very welcome!💚
Wow!! I just noticed that you're from Plano, Tx, I live in Frisco TX!!
Not a comment question is Amazon the only place you can get the soaps
It’s the only place I’ve been able to find but might just depend on where you live
Thank you for the recipe! I have seen other diy recipes that use Neem oil. Can you elaborate on why you don't include it in yours?
Are the tea tree oil and peppermint safe to use when have cats?
As long as your cats don’t eat the plants they should be fine. Just make sure they’re not around when you’re spraying them so you don’t accidentally get it on them.
After u spray do u let it dry on ? Or rinse it off?
Thank you so much for this! I love all of your videos! ❤
You are so welcome!💚
Hi... Thanks for your generous sharing of plant tip knowledge...
I have (what recently was) a beautiful New Guinea Impatien in full glorious bloom when I suddenly saw webs on it. From what I've researched, I am assuming it has Spider mites. I tried the showering with water method so far and now bought supplies for your suggested treatment. The poor NGI plant has dropped about 60% of it's leaves and all the flowers and a couple of branches died. It is still trying to bud and bloom a couple new flowers but looks VERY sickly... This happened over a time period of 2 to 3 weeks.
Sorry to make this so long...
My questions are, how much solution should I make up to test on 1 leaf and how long after should I wait to treat the whole plant if it looks like it will tolerate the treatment?
Thank you for any help you could offer to help me save this cherished plant and get it back to its gorgeous healthy self...
You won’t need much at all to do the test. Usually if a plant is going to respond badly to a spray you will know within 48 hours sometimes within 24 hours. But keep in mind it can be deceiving if you don’t have a healthy leaf to test it on because if the leaf is already on its way out, you may mistake it as a reaction to the spray, when really it’s just natural leaf death progression if that makes sense.
I would love an update on this to hear if it's still working well for you!
1. Can you save any leftover spray for next week, possibly in another container? 2. How do you clean the sprayer out? I've had the spray nozzle clog up before and was unable to get it to work again. 3. If you use this on calatheas, do you need to use distilled water or tap water that's been left out for 24 hours? (they hate straight tap water). Thanks. Great thorough video.
I apologize if this was covered, but what is the "shelf life" of this once it has been prepared? Do you need to make it and use it all up each time you apply it? Or could you double up on the recipe and leave it in the sprayer for months between use? Thanks!
How about broad mites?
It should work on broad mites as well but I personally don’t have experience with using it specifically on broad mites
@@AlohaPlantLife Thanks, I've ordered the soap!
Would you use 1/4 a cup of soap if you only have one type of soap?
Why would you not use peppermint tea and few droplets of a tea tree oil instead of soap?
I highly, HIGHLY recommend getting a 1-gallon (4L) pressure pump sprayer WITH A WAND. The hose attachment is fantastic when spraying plants in-place, especially the ones in hanging pots or living on high shelves. It also makes quick work of getting under leaves without having to lift a heavy container off of the floor. Another perk: the nozzle is adjustable, from the thinnest, most forceful stream to the widest, softest, cone-shaped mist.
Thanks for the tip!
@@AlohaPlantLife My pleasure! I hope you get one. It'll save you so much time when you're spraying! With the amount of plants you keep, I can't imagine how your hands feel at the end of a spray session if you're using a trigger bottle. By the way, I set the nozzle to "stream" and use it to water moss poles and plants that are way up high. It has really eased my plant care...and I don't have even half the size of your collection!
How has your spider mite/pest situation been going a year later?
6:25 Great video. You have so much integrity so I’m sure there’s a reason you didn’t specify the TH-cam content creator that inspired your recipe/this video?
Thank you so much for recognizing my integrity💚
@@AlohaPlantLife - I hope I didn’t sound insincere. Only recognizing now that my comment was worded oddly. I don’t know what the guidelines are, or if there’s some etiquette, but I assume there’s a reason his channel and name weren’t mentioned. But I thought it was cool that you did give credit.
This is the best pest prevention video out there, love the at home mix and have been using it for months. Today, I had to treat three plants for spidermites during the daytime. Do I just keep them out of the sun until completely dry?
Yes, definitely keep them away from sun until completely dry
I might have missed it but can this recipe keep? As in, if I don’t use it all when it’s made, can I keep it on hand or do I need to use it all up at the time of making?
It will keep for about 24 hours so try and just make enough for what you need that day
I just found this video from you but watch you often! Loved you bf but love love love you even more now 😂! When you said how you felt in the beginning of the video, that is so me!!! I’ve had two nightmares about my plants being totally infected, since I noticed something was up. I even bottom watered one of my older Pothos with a drop of peppermint oil to 16 oz of distilled water 🤦🏾♀️. I panicked! I was going to donor all my plants to a plant shop if they felt they could save them. I just started back collecting plants bc of some health issues with my son and was so happy. And all of a sudden I see these dang spider web like structures in a plant. So started looking at the others and now I feel everything I see are pests 🤦🏾♀️. Non-natural pesticides are a no go for my household so when I saw these four ingredients, I was sooo happy!
Also, do you know of or have any experience with cinnamon water to fight pests
Thank you sooo much for doing the research for this video!
I have not used cinnamon for any of my plant care before
@AlohaPlantLife Thanks for the response. And just an update. I’m so so loving and impressed with the spray. I used it a week ago on my pothos (and every last plant I have bc I was scared 😨 of an outbreak) for spider mites. And the underside of the leaves looked like they were biting them. And it looked BAD! Welllllllll 😮the undersides of all the leaves look normal again. And no damage to the leaves or stems 🎊🎉❤!!! Plus the smell is nice and I noticed less of those little gnats 👍🏾. Thank you so much again! This is definitely in my monthly plant babies routine now.
I have a castle soap I bought but it’s unscented could I just use the essential oils for the tea tree and peppermint part ?and add some drops to the mix or soap maybe ?
Excellent video! Thank you so much
You're very welcome!
Is this an be used for outdoor plants like rose bushes
Does anyone know if this is okay for succulents? Such as string of turtles and hearts?
I use it on mine with no problem. Just make sure you don’t get them in direct light right after.
Thank you!! I'm getting everything now.
This is great, thank you! Love your channel!
You are so welcome!
Yeah this recipe has been available on TH-cam for a long time. I purchased all these things and used them. Be aware if using this on succulents, your farina is gonna be taken off and look different . It works but takes a long time to look better.
You are the absolute best!!!
Thank you!💚
Thanks for this. Is it suitable for cactus and succulents?
It’s worked fine for mine but I only have a few, so maybe test it on one leaf first just to be safe💚
Thank you so very much for the great information. Question: my bug of choice are scales. Will your solution work on scale infestation?
Thank you as always for the great work!!
Any idea of what the shelf life on this formula would be?
I try to use it up within a few days of mixing it but I imagine it would last longer though not certain exactly how long
@@AlohaPlantLife Once mixed with water, hydrogen peroxide degrades pretty rapidly.
This was awesome. Thank you so much
You are so welcome!
New sub. I’ll be trying this; thanks for sharing!
You’re welcome!💚
I have little white bugs in the soil of my plants. Is this recipe good to use as a soil drench?
No, I wouldn’t recommend using it for a full soil drench. But watering with a hydrogen peroxide water mix that’s one part hydrogen peroxide to two parts water should help resolve the issue.
I've read a diy pest spray can be made using an oil such as cooking oil ( canola oil works best ) along with castille soap (oils smothers the bugs and the soap emulsifies it). Could the natural oils and shea butter in these soaps add to this solution's effectiveness?
Dr Bonners doesn't have shea butter or the same oils.
First off, I love your channel and all the info you share!
I have been using your suggested mix spray for a few rounds on various plants (the only modification I did was do 1/2 cut of Dr Bronners peppermint soap (because I didn’t have the tea tree one) but then I added drops of straight tree oil as well. Every time I use this one a plant, I come back the next day or later that same day when its dry, and they have a very ugly white soap residue all over every single leaf that looks worse than having mealy bugs. It becomes so that I start to get confused between what is spray residue and what are pest marks. Do you experience this? Might there be something wrong with my spray gun (i use the same one you use but mines old)? Or is the soap I’m using not the best brand for this? Thanks in advance for your time. 🙏🏻🌿
I’ve never had that issue. My best guess is it’s either that particular soap, the straight tea tree oil you’re adding, or maybe the way those two things are interacting with each other.
I used Dr Bronner's as well, and got the same white residue without adding any other oil. I guess it may be the soap brand? Mine mostly stayed on the soil, less so on the leaves, except for the one plant I accidentally left in the sun. That one stayed like that for a long while, but it's a lipstick plant, and mine lose leaves if they even think I'm looking at them too hard, so I didn't even try to wipe it off...
Thank you! Trying this tomorrow! Question-because Castile soap is alkaline and ideal plant ph is acidic, it won’t hurt the growth of the plant?
Just don’t drench the soil with it and you will be fine.💚
Hi! 👋 can I use dr. Bronners Castile soap in lavender? I will go tomorrow and find tea tree oil flavor soap and alcohol and hydrogen peroxide but just wondering if it could be lavender flavor Castille soap, or if it had to be peppermint? 🙏
@@Noellegem98 tea tree is slightly antibiotic so maybe it’s needed
@@Noellegem98 Lavender doesn’t have the same properties that repel pests, so no
I also saw the video from Espoma guy and made my own adjustments.
Hi Drea. I need some help!!! I'm a new plant mom & I've followed this video as closely as I could. I realized that I went crazy spraying, trying to get in all the nooks & crannies and saturated the soil in a few of my bushier plants. They clearly didn't like it as they are all droopy, leaves curling and some turning yellow. Not sure if I should water them to flush the solution out of the soil, repot them, or do nothing. It's been a few days now & they are not any better, maybe even a little worse. I'm trying to research how to fix things on my own , but the more videos I watch, the more confused a I am. Any help would be appreciated.
I have never experienced that, that would’ve been a lot of spray down. If the soil super soaked, you definitely don’t want to make it even wetter by trying to rinse it, where you might end up with root rot. Worst case scenario if it keeps getting worse, you can repot them, but if it’s not continually getting worse, I would probably just let them be until they get dry enough to need watering and then just water them with regular water and that should help rinse it out without over watering the plant.
@@AlohaPlantLife Thanks Drea! The plants that did accidentally get soil saturated are still extremely droopy & wilty, leaves turning yellow, brown & dying. I have taken some cuttings to propagate so I don't loose the plant for good & those props have turned around & are looking GREAT. Setting up today to just repot with fresh soil to try to save what I can. Just to mention, the plants that weren't accidentally saturated are doing fine & I even treated again a few days ago & all is good. I just went OVERBOARD on some of the super bushy ones. I will still use this method, but will not go overboard in the future. 🤪
Thanks for the great video. Is your recipe also appropriate to use on outdoor plants?
Yes, absolutely
Thanks Drea, I will try it with high hopes. We live in southern Baja, Mexico, and the spider mites down here are especially insidious! 🪲
This might be a dumb question but do I have to rinse the plant off afterwards or am I safe spraying the plant and leaving the formula on the leaves?
By the way your videos are so awesome
I leave it on the leaves until my monthly leaf dusting which usually gets done 2-3 weeks later💚
Tried it, but after spraying it the leaves looked very ugly with white spots everywhere from the soak. What did I do wrong? Maybe the pests are gone, but now I have to wash the leaves to get them shiny again…
I’ve never had this problem. Are you using the exact same soaps I use?
Does it also work on thrips?
Thrips are soft bodied insects so it should work on them. I fortunately, knock on wood, have not had any thrips on any plants since I started using this spray. So I can’t say from experience how well it works against a thrip outbreak, but hey, the fact I haven’t had any thrip outbreaks since I started using it must mean it’s doing a good job keeping them away, right?
Can this be used safely on orchids?! Love your videos. Im now an addict to house plants.
I’ve never tried it on orchids, but I think it should be OK on the leaves but maybe not so much on any blooms. You could always try it in one small spot on one leaf first just to be sure.
If you can't find tea tree soap, can you add tea tree essential oil?
I don’t know if that would necessarily be ok or not. I also wouldn’t even know where to begin in terms of figuring out how much to use if it is safe to use.
I have spider mites, and all of my hoard is close together so I'm going to spray every single plant down. Are there any plants that this spray is known to be bad for? I'm go to leaf test, but the ones I'm worried about are seedlings, patchouli, string of hearts, other succulents (most are 1 leaf propagules) , episcia, geranium, philo silver sword, jewel orchid, and nepenthes. Thanks :)
Really appreciate this!
You’re welcome💚
Can you use this on flowers like chrysanthemum and peace lilies flowers etc
It’s safe for the leaves of those plants but it might damage petals if any flowers currently in bloom
What would be the breakdown for 1 gallon containers???
Try googling a conversion calculator.
Does this mixture also work for thrips and will it kill all the life stages of the thrips?
It will work on all soft bodied pests.💚
Hi! Thanks for this video. If I have peppermint essential oil instead of the Castile soap, can I substitute that instead? Would you have any suggestions on how many drops to add and if I should add more tea tree Castile soap? Ty!
This concoction ruined all of my calatheas and created a mould problem 😭 I have no idea what to do now as I have a big infestation of thrips and I live in Canada so pesticides are not easy to find. I just bought End All yesterday but i have no idea what my first step is in cleaning everything since most of my plants have mould now, I’m scared to water them down😭 help
I’m sorry to hear that. I honestly have never had a problem with this on any of my Calathea. Are you using the exact same soaps? Also, it shouldn’t cause mold however, if your plant’s soil has been staying too wet for too long that can lead to mold. Just make sure you’re always letting the top at least like 30% of the soil dry out between waterings. You can scrape the moldy bit off and trash it or you can use a fungicide to treat it. If it’s on the soil, it’s not that big of a deal and can be easily fixed.
Does your formula specifically work on Thrips?
I’ve personally never had thrips since I started using this spray, so I cannot 100% say from personal experience that it works on thrips. However, it should work on thrips since they are soft bodied pests just like spider, mites, mealy, bugs, etc. Hope this helps.💚
I was wondering do you just spray and leave it, wipe off while wet or wait til dry then wipe the leaves?
I just leave it on. I do dust my leaves once a month though so a few weeks after I spray it, they get wiped down with a damp cloth.
Will this work for thrips as well?
It will work on any soft bodied pests
I'm wondering if you watched the same video that I did. Lol
Thanks for the reminder because I just purchased that Safer EndAll. 🤔 I wonder if I can find the receipt???🙄
Hi there! Thank you so much for sharing your research and recipe. I have been trying to do my own research on effective yet pet safe pesticide/insecticide.
I do have a question though, how is this considered to be pet safe? As my understanding is essential oils such as tea tree oil and peppermint oil are toxic for cats. Wouldn’t this spray be considered not safe for pets, should a cat decide to nibble on the plant after spraying? Thank you in advance :)
I had the same thought
Thank you for this info! While you are treating for spider mites, how often did you spray your plants?
Once every 7 days for at LEAST two weeks. I tend to do it for four weeks though because spider mites are sneaky little bastards and I’m always worried one is still hiding in a crevice somewhere unfazed by my first two sprays lol
@@AlohaPlantLife thank you!!
Does unscented castile soap works as well?
It will work to an extent but not as well as the ones with peppermint/tee tree oil
Is their potassium hydroxide in the soap or sodium hydroxide?
Negative. The ingredients in the soaps are all natural oils and extracts.
Would this work on gnats?
Yes it will help with fungus gnats to an extent but I really recommend using mosquito dunk or bits in your watering can for fungus gnats. I talk about it more in this video: th-cam.com/video/jwgMGz59Eno/w-d-xo.htmlsi=TQbWT-_T7KaEiWJE
Thank you so very much for answering me back😁
Keep up your great work, you are so knowledgeable and kind to share with us.
Thank you so much for this. I found what I think is a spider mite from online searching on my recovering medallion calathea. She was just unfurling some new leaves and this tiny spider was sitting on top of the roll 😢 I immediately put the bug brew and the b$&$ kept walking. Going to make this asap. I have dr bronzers uncented but have a ton of essential oils so will add a few drops to the mix. What are your thoughts on systemic granules @alohaplantlife?
can we keep the solution for a long time, if we dont finish it? thank you
Try to use it up within 48 hours
i love your presentation very informative. you will be a good teacher or professor.
Awesome video! I have 90% alcohol, can I use it if I take half the dose of 70% ?
Curious, what’s your take on neem oil? I mixed the peppermint soap with neem oil, which is working great on my palm trees.
I’m eager to try your recipe next.
A side note, over-spraying an alcohol solution so that it runs off leaves and into the soil can turn it into an herbicide. Plants absorb alcohol via their roots, which can cause severe dehydration and kill the plants.
Has anyone tried using only green tea and peppermint soap + hydrogen peroxide?
I have heard that you have to rotate your spider might sprays because they develop a resilience to it. Is that the case with this type of spray?
No, this isn’t pesticide based
hey drea- my mom & i both have pests we’re treating right now & have peppermint castile soap but not tea tree. wondering if we could add tea tree oil instead & if so how much?? we both have it for our oil diffusers🤣
Hi again! Do we leave the soap on the plant or wash it off?
I don’t intentionally wash it off but I do dust my plant’s leaves with a damp rag a few weeks later
Is this safe for Syngonium , Scindapsus, String of plants and Philodendron? Kinda scared to burn their leaves , but it's hard to wait and only test on 1 leaf at a time. :/
I use it on all those with no problems💚
Hi! Thank you for the recipe! What to do if I don't have a peppermint soap at the moment? Can I just leave that out or should I double the tea tree soap? Thanks!
I would just double the tea tree soap
@@AlohaPlantLife thank you! :)
If I make a batch but don’t use it in one application, how long does it last?
I recommend using it up within a couple of days
Thanks! Btw I’ve started watching a bunch of your videos over the past couple of weeks ago and I’m loving them! It’s helping feed my houseplant obsession. Thank you!
@@martinebass1587 Awe, thanks for watching and you’re welcome 💚
Fantastic. Thank you for telling me about this video. I plan on doubling the amount for 8 cups to start. (then likely doubling again to cover all the plants! 🤣)My question is, I do have castile soap. I also have peppermint and tea tree essential oils. Can I use them in the soap instead of buying more castile soap? If so, how much of each essential oil?
You absolutely could but I honestly have no idea how much to use. I just looked at the back of the soap bottles to see if there’s any indication as to ratio of ingredients and unfortunately there is not. I mean knowing what I know about how the soaps smell I could probably figure it out by smell by just adding little by little if I was there in person but smell-o-vision doesn’t exist yet, lol (but seriously are there scientists out there working on the smell-o-vision thing because it would be a game changer🤣)
Do u wash it all off after or just let it dry after spraying?
Air dry! The green tea and peppermint in the soaps deter pests so you wouldn’t want to wash that away💚
Does this have to be applied at dusk for outdoor plants?
Yes, if they’re plants that aren’t in shade. If they’re in shade, I still recommend applying it at the cooler times of the day, but they’re at less risk of damage from direct hot sun.
Does this work for fungus gnats also?
Yes💚
I just barely saw spider mites on my crotan and moved it to the bathtub and used the spray. It was sitting on a bookshelf in our bedroom with 3 other plants that show no spider mite activity.. Do I need to spray down those other plants? If I move them to the bathtub to spray them down is there a risk of them getting the mites from the Croton?
Spray everything but move the croton out of the tub and rinse out the tub first