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Using Insecticidal Soap in Home Gardens

spider mite (drawing) Home gardeners are always on the lookout for ways to control garden pests like spider mites and aphids . Methods that are both inexpensive and non-toxic are the “holy grail” of garden pest control . Folks often turn to home brew recipes that either don’t work or in some cases actually injure the very plants they are trying to treat.   The good news is that there are a few commercial products that satisfy the criteria of inexpensive and non-toxic, AND, actually work , for these important garden pests. The very first tool in this category (cheap & non-toxic) that every gardener should have is a fresh container of Insecticidal Soap concentrate. The “fresh” part is very important as we’ll see below. Insecticidal Soap is a highly refined liquid soap that is generally diluted to 1-2% just prior to use. It should be applied with a small hand-pump sprayer. It is very effective against a variety of garden pests (see the product label for a complete list) but