Use Dawn Dishwashing Liquid to control bugs on plants

[Pat]

Dawn Dish Washing soap is used in alot of homemade recipes for things like laundry, hair degreaser and plant bug control spray, here is a recipe to use to keep your plants healthy. I use Dawn to remove stains from clothes.

REPEL HOUSEPLANT INSECTS
A safe, effective way to repel insects from your houseplants, including aphids, spider mites and mealy bugs. Put a drop of Dawn Dishwashing Liquid in a spray bottle, fill the rest of the bottle with water, shake well, and mist your household plants with the soapy water.

 

[DeborahJane]

Dawn Dish Washing liquid seems to be very versatile. I have seen a thread with a recipe for weed killer with it as an ingredient. Must chase some up. I may even use it to wash dishes.

 

[marlingardener]

Dawn has been used to remove oil from waterfowl that got caught in an oil spill; it also is useful used in weed killing recipes. However, be careful how you use it because soapy water kills bees. Bees have no lungs, and breathe through their bodies. Soapy water seals up their air passages, and kills them. If using a soap-based fungicide or weed killer, please use it after sundown when the bees are at home in their hives, and the spray will dry on the plants before the bees come in the morning.
I use an insecticidal soap made of a bit of vegetable oil, tepid water, and Ivory soap. I only use it when the bees are not out foraging.

 

[DeborahJane]

Dawn has been used to remove oil from waterfowl that got caught in an oil spill; it also is useful used in weed killing recipes. However, be careful how you use it because soapy water kills bees. Bees have no lungs, and breathe through their bodies. Soapy water seals up their air passages, and kills them. If using a soap-based fungicide or weed killer, please use it after sundown when the bees are at home in their hives, and the spray will dry on the plants before the bees come in the morning.
I use an insecticidal soap made of a bit of vegetable oil, tepid water, and Ivory soap. I only use it when the bees are not out foraging.

I'll remember that!

 

[zigs]

Just a note for our EU members, it's illegal to use soapy water as an insecticide in the EU

 

[sixxup]

Most chemicals have long term effects that come later in life. Sometimes kids don't remember to clean fruits before eating them hence ending up consuming chemicals. You might also never know the long term effects of consuming soap, if you eat fruits that have not been cleaned. We only need varieties of crops that are resistant to pests and diseases so that we can avoid consuming chemicals.

 

[Cereus]

Dish washing soap is manufactured with safety generally in mind which is why you can use it on dishes haha. The minute amount of soap residue has to be fit for human consumption over time because we end up eating trace amounts of it sometimes. The only two issues I see from dishwashing soap would be the phosphorous which does cause algae blooms and triclosan which is an antibacterial and disrupts the sludge process/increases drug resistance of water treatment plants. Using Dawn seems a bit expensive haha.

 

[Corzhens]

We are not particular with the brand. For us, whatever brand of dishwashing soap will do for repelling pests in the garden. There was a time when we cleaned our garage, driveway and even part of the road with drums of water with dishwashing soap to kill the ticks that were attacking our house. We have 2 dogs then so it is logical for the ticks to attack us.

 

[IcyBC]

I use Dawn dishwashing liquid to make fleas and ticks bath soap for my dog and to wash my dishes! It cuts grease so much better than others. Now, I will have to make this soapy water for my mom's indoor plants as she has many.

 

[Pat]

Dawn dishwashing liquid does have a better formulation to remove the grease build up than most dishwashing liquids, I have used it to remove oil spots on clothing even. Although I like the idea of using dishwashing liquid instead of harsh chemicals to remove the pest from plants I do wonder what the long term affect to the environment and to the human body might be.