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IF you’re fed up with pests climbing all over your plants, then fear not - you’ve come to the right place.
There’s nothing worse than splashing the cash on pretty plants and flowers, spending ages planting them, only for rats, cats and mice to jump all over them.
And particularly if you don’t want to use pricey, chemical store-bought products, we’ve got just the thing for you.
Thanks to gardening experts, there’s a simple DIY trick that will repel pests from your garden - and stop them harming your plants.
The gardening experts at Fantastic Services swore by pepper spray as a natural and effective method.
They said: “It turns out that pepper spray is effective against all kinds of pests, even those harming your plants.
“It deters rats, mice, and stray cats and is also effective against birds.”
Depending on the concentration of capsicum (chilli pepper) in the formula, gardeners can target specific pests or provide an overall deterrent to all intruders.
To make this spray gardeners will need four ingredients, many of which you may already have at home - one tablespoon of black pepper, one tablespoon of chilli powder, two to three hot peppers and two tablespoons of vegetable oil.
To make this mixture, you must start by putting the chilli peppers into a blender, together with the vegetable oil and the spices.
You should puree the ingredients for a couple of seconds and you can then store the puree for at least 12 hours in the fridge.
According to the experts, this will “increase the effectiveness” and potency of capsaicin.
After this, you can then transfer the puree into a bigger container and add hot water. Stir the mixture well and ensure care is taken with this step, as it may irritate the eyes, mouth and nose.
Following this, strain the mixture through a sieve or a piece of cloth.
Common pests in the garden don’t need to be a cause for alarm. If you can identify them, you can work on getting rid of them and preventing them from returning.
Aphids (Greenfly, Blackfly)
Aphids are extremely common and can impact plant growth. They have tiny soft pear-shaped bodies, and are usually green or black. You may spot them clustered on the stem of soft shoots – look under leaves in particular – or may find a sticky substance on your plants that gives away aphids have been there sucking at the sap.
Whitefly
These small white-winged insects are related to aphids, at just 1 or 2 mm in length, and look very much like white moths as adults. They can be found on the underside of leaves, preferring younger, fresher leaves. They fly in clusters when you disturb them. Their lifecycle is only three weeks long, which means an infestation can occur very rapidly.
Slugs
An unmissable, squashy-looking body plus small sensory tentacles on its head. Slugs move along on one muscular foot. They range in scale from surprisingly small to terrifyingly large; limax cinereoniger species can grow comfortably beyond 20 cm in length.
Cabbage Moth Caterpillar
Cabbage moth caterpillars happily make their way into the heart of the vegetables, The caterpillars are distinguished in shades of yellow or browny green with no hair.
Mealy Bug
Mealybugs are tiny oval-shaped insects that have a white, powdery wax coating. There are several different species, many of which have what looks like legs coming from their sides and back end. In their earliest stage of life, it’s entirely possible to mistake them for fungus and not recognise them as insects at all.
When it comes to applying this homemade pepper spray onto plants, gardeners should use the spray in the evening when the sun is not as strong.
It is advised that gardeners should wear gloves and take care when spraying plants.
The DIY spray can then be re-applied once or twice a week.
The pros noted that “the most important thing” with this hack is to avoid using pepper spray on plants with fruits or those that are just blossoming, as capsaicin is “toxic” to bees and other pollinators.
If you fancy giving this trick a try, you can nab chilli powder from Tesco for just £1.
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