Daily hacks: Homemade pesticides and repellents to protect your plants

The warmer season allows you to spend more time outside in the sun and in your garden taking care of your plants and homegrown crops.

It also allows for your plants to sprout and grow at a much faster rate, and planting flowers and trees allows you to decorate your garden the natural way, at a much lower cost.

However, insects and pest can make it difficult to grow healthy plants.

These four homemade pesticides are easy to make and are effective when it comes to keeping insects away from your plants.

Vegetable oil spray

Mix one cup of vegetable oil with one tablespoon of dishwashing soap in an empty container. Add two teaspoons of the mixture to 1 litre of water and then spray directly onto your plants.

The oil coats the bodies of the insects, essentially suffocating them, because it blocks the pores through which they breathe.

Soap spray

Mix 1½ teaspoons of your preferred dishwashing soap with a litre of water and spray the mixture directly on the infected surfaces of the plants.

A soap spray insecticide works just as well as an oil spray pesticide. It should not be applied during the day but rather in the evenings.

ALSO READ: Daily hacks: Three gardening tricks to growing healthy plants

Garlic spray

Take two whole bulbs and blend them in your blender with small amount of water. Let the mixture sit overnight, then strain it into a jar.

Add half a cup of vegetable oil, one teaspoon of your preferred dishwashing soap and enough water to fill the jar.

Mix one cup of the garlic spray mixture into a spray bottle and then add a litre of water.

Mix well and spray directly on infested plants.

Garlic is well-known for its pungent aroma, which is delectable to some and a repellent to others,

Tomato leaf spray

Chop two cups of fresh tomato leaves and then put them a jar with a litre of water.

Let the tomato leaves sit in the water overnight. Strain out the mixture and spray directly onto the leaves of your plant.

Tomato leaves contain alkaloids called tomatine, which can effectively control aphids and other insects.