Potassium Insecticidal Soap Spray ☠

Outdoor Growing
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#1

Well the moment of bringing a couple of plants out to the patio might be coming real soon and i need some pest killer, what would you guys use outdoor to kill pests, bugs and all? I have AzaMax and BTI but i need something stronger.
I was thinking of making some Potassium Soap and then spray the plants all thru veg. Good idea or not?

How To Make Homemade Insecticidal Soap – A Recipe ECO FRIENDLY NO RESIDUES!

Home gardeners have long used homemade insecticidal soap for pest control and killing bugs on plants. Over a century ago fish-oil soap was a common solution.

“Natural control” of pest is not something new in today’s green, eco-friendly world.

Page Contents & Navigation

1 What Makes An Insect Soap Work
2 Advantages of Garden Soap
3 How To Make A Homemade Insecticidal Soap
3.1 The Materials
3.2 The Insecticidal Soap Mix:
3.3 Soap Recipe Variations
4 Learn and Observe
5 How To Tips On Applying Insecticidal Soap

What Makes An Insect Soap Work

Some people believe there is a secret to mixing soap in water and spraying a plant. Somehow, this helps remove bugs. Nope! A good blast of water can wash bugs away.
The secret (if one exists) is in the “soap” used to make the pesticide soap. Use a true soap, like Dr Bonner’s Castile soap and not a dish detergent or dish soap – more on recommended soaps later.
The insecticidal power – the kill – comes from the fatty acids contained in the soap.
The fatty acids work effectively on soft-bodied insects like aphids, mealybugs, spider mites, thrips and whiteflies. These fatty acids dissolve or remove the insects cell membranes and their natural protective waxy coatings, causing death from excess water loss.
Potassium based soaps are the most useful in making a spray to control plant pest. One of the most well-known potassium based insecticidal soap spray products is Safer Insecticidal Soap, which controls many pests found on houseplants, vegetables, and fruit. I like to use Neem oil for plants.

Advantages of Garden Soap

When made and used correctly, insecticidal soap sprays are Eco-Friendly to people, plants, animals and the environment
No residual effect
Effective on aphids, mealybugs, spider mites, and thrips (soft-bodied insects) when coming in direct contact
Biodegradable and nontoxic (right soap required!)
Safe for beneficial insects, bees, etc

How To Make A Homemade Insecticidal Soap

Though there are garden soaps available to control insect pests, you can make your own effective homemade insecticidal soap inexpensively.
Dish washing detergent made for dishes may not work. The right soap is key.

The Materials

The Soap – You want the real thing, pure soap which include the active ingredient of fatty acids – the bug dissolver! Try to get a liquid soap to make mixing easier.
Look for an all-natural pure soap, like Dr. Bronner’s Pure Castile Soap, found in many grocery stores or local natural-foods markets. The soap should have no synthetic chemicals, degreasers or skin moisturizers. Experienced gardeners also recommend Naphtha soap.
The Water – Use Pure Water, distilled is good. If your tap water is good use it, but if you have hard water use a bottled water instead.
The Sprayer – A clean spray bottle (1 quart) or a garden sprayer will work. It really depends on how much you need to apply. DO NOT USE a weed killer sprayer!

The Insecticidal Soap Mix:

Aim for 2% solution.

For a 1 Gallon Solution:

Mix in 1 gallon of water 5 tablespoons of soap

For a 1 Quart Solution:

Mix in 1 quart of water 1 tablespoon of soap
Shake well!

Soap Recipe Variations

You’ll always find variations in any homemade recipes or home-brewed formulas calling for more or less of some component.

Two consistent fundamentals in any of the various home-brewed insecticide formulas: stinky or hot tasting ingredients make the best additions.

Cayenne pepper, red pepper, garlic, powerful herbs and extracts, cider vinegar and even a cooking oil.

No “set formulas” exist, this is all trial and error. What works for one may not work for someone else.

The rates below are all for 1 gallon of spray mix:

The Bug Chaser: Garlic or Pepper – Add 1 teaspoon of garlic and/or ground red pepper.

Powdery Mildew: Vinegar – 1 Teaspoon of cider vinegar

Make Spray Stick Longer: Cooking Oil – Add two tablespoons of light cooking oil – corn, olive, grapeseed, canola, or safflower.

Learn and Observe
A Word Of Caution: Learn, Observe and Always Test!

Some spays can do some serious damage to foliage. Always do a test spray in a small area. If the spray is too strong – dilute.

Try reducing the mix rate to a 1% solution if the spray concentrate is too harsh. If you read the label, most commercial insecticidal soap sprays come in a 1% solution. However, remember a diluted solution may be easier on the plants but less effective.

While outdoors, look for plants not bothered by insects… even nearby weeds. You never know… blending some up to make some type of spray could be the new ingredient you’ve been looking for.

How To Tips On Applying Insecticidal Soap

Before spraying make sure to test the soap solution rate – see above
Check the weather… Don’t spray on rainy days.
For best results apply spray early in the day before 9:00 am or late in the afternoon after 5:00 pm, this allows the spray material to be more effective by staying wet longer on the plant.
Shake well to keep the spray solution mixed and agitated well just before applying. Keep shaking as needed. If solution sits, agitate before spraying.
When applying a pesticide spray, remember the spray is not a residual. The soap spray must cover and wet the pest, not just put a spray drop on the foliage.
Take the time to completely cover the tops, underside of leaf and stems with the spray mixture.
Give aphids, mealybugs, or mites a good complete coating, making sure they are all wet! The spray is useless once dry.
Apply to healthy and well watered plants. Do not spray on stressed or wilted plants.
Avoid spraying tender growth, blooming plants and plants known to be sensitive to soap sprays – ferns, waxy leaf plants, some palms, azaleas, ivy, some vegetables like tomatoes
Repeat treatment of spray application in a week or so. Many insect problems require a followup applications depending on the severity of the infestation.

Text taken from plantcaretoday.com

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4 Likes
Are these mites or something else?
Whats the best way to get rid of fungus gnats?
#2

Explain why potassium for insects please. Or are you trying to keep PM at bay while soaping your plants down?

2 Likes
#3

Gonna look for more info and get back to you tomorrow on this, i am falling asleep in front of the computer man

Have a good nite!

1 Like
#4

@ryasco, here it is, it’s an eco friendly insecticidal very effective soap. You grow outdoor, you can use it…

It ruptures the soft bodies of the bugs and fatty acids on the soap makes them lose water and they die of water starvation. The active ingredient even tho it’s soap, what it’s effective it’s the fatty acids that come in close contact with your bug pests and they die.

http://npic.orst.edu/factsheets/psfagen.pdf
http://npic.orst.edu/ingred/specchem.html

2 Likes
#6

Insecticidal soap

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Insecticidal soap is based on potassium fatty acids and is used to control many plant pests. Because insecticidal soap works on only direct contact with the pests, it is sprayed on plants in way such that the entire plant is wetted. Soaps have a low mammalian toxicity and are therefore considered safe to be used around children and pets and may be used in organic farming.

Contents [hide]
1 Composition
2 Mechanism of action
3 Affected organisms
4 Use
5 References
6 See also
Composition[edit]
Insecticidal soap should be based on long-chain fatty acids (10–18 carbon atoms),[1] because shorter-chain fatty acids tend to be damaging for the plant (phytotoxicity). Short (8-carbon) fatty-acid chains occur for example in coconut oil and palm oil and soaps based on those oils. Recommended concentrations are typically in the range 1–2 percent.[2][3][4] One manufacturer recommends a concentration of 0.06% to 0.25% (pure soap equivalent) for most agricultural applications.;[5][6] another one[7] recommends concentrations of 0.5 to 1% pure soap equivalent. In the European Union, fatty acid potassium salts are registered and allowed as insecticide[8] at a 2% concentration.[9]

Insectidal soap is most effective if it is dissolved in soft water, since the fatty acids in soap tend to precipitate in hard water, thereby reducing the effectivity.[1][5]

Insecticidal soap is sold commercially for aphid control. Labels on these products may not always use the word soap, but they will list “potassium salts of fatty acids” or “potassium laurate” as the active ingredient. Certain types of household soaps (not synthetic detergents) are also suitable,[1] but it may be difficult to tell the composition and water content from the label. Potassium-based soaps are typically soft or liquid.

Mechanism of action[edit]
The mechanism of action is not exactly understood.[1] Possible mechanisms are:[1][10]

Soap, which enters via the insect’s trachea, may disrupt cell membranes, resulting in the cell contents leaking from the damaged cells (cytolysis).
Soap may dissolve the wax layer on the cuticle (“skin”), which leads to water loss by evaporation.
Soap may block breathing openings or trachea, which leads to suffocation.
Soap may interfere with growth hormones.
Soap may affect insect metabolism.
Affected organisms[edit]
Insecticidal soap works best on soft-bodied insects and arthropods such as[2][5] aphids, adelgids, mealybugs, spider mites, thrips, jumping plant lice, scale insects, whiteflies, and sawfly larvae. It can also be used for caterpillars and leafhoppers, but these large-bodied insects can be more difficult to control with soaps alone. Many pollinators and predatory insects such as lady beetles, bumblebees, and hoverflies are relatively unaffected. However, soap will kill predatory mites that may help control spider mites.[2][11] Also, the soft-bodied aphid-eating larvae of lady beetles, lacewing, and hoverflies may be affected negatively. According to one study[11] a single soap application killed about 15% of lacewing and lady-beetle larvae, and about 65% of predatory mites (Amblyseius andersoni).

Green peach aphids are difficult to control[12] since they reproduce quickly (one adult female can deposit up to four nymphs per day) because they tend to reside under the leaves and in leaf axils (“leaf armpits”), where they may not be wetted by a soap spray. Manufacturers[5][7] indeed state that their insecticidal soaps are only suitable for controlling green peach aphids if used in combination with another insecticide, whereas the same soaps can control other aphids on their own. Among green peach aphids that are in contact with a 2% soap solution, around 95% of the adults and 98% of nymphs die within 48 hours.[12] At 0.75% concentration, the mortality rates are reduced to 75% and 90%, respectively.

Since 2011, insecticidal soap has also been approved in the United States for use against powdery mildew.[5][7] In the European pesticide registration, its use as an insecticide is listed for aphids, white fly, and spider mites.[9] At different concentrations, it may also be used against algae and moss.[9]

Use[edit]
Insecticidal soap solution will only kill pests on contact; it has no residual action against aphids that arrive after it has dried. Therefore, the infested plants must be thoroughly wetted. Repeated applications may be necessary to adequately control high populations of pests.

Soap spray may damage plants, especially at higher concentrations or at temperatures above 32 °C (90 °F).[3][4] Plant injury may not be apparent until two days after application. Some plant species are particularly sensitive to soap sprays. Highly sensitive plants include:[5] horse chestnut, Japanese maple (Acer), Sorbus aucuparia (mountain ash), Cherimoya fruit, Lamprocapnos (bleeding heart), and sweet pea. Other sensitive plants are, for example:[4][5] Portulaca, some tomato varieties, Crataegus (hawthorn), cherries, plum, Adiantum (maidenhair fern), Euphorbia milii (crown of thorns), Lantana camara, Tropaeolum (nasturtium), Gardenia jasminoides, Lilium longiflorum (Easter lily). Conifers under (drought) stress or with tender new growth are sensitive as well.

Damage may occur as yellow or brown spotting on the leaves, burned tips, or leaf scorch. Plants under drought stress, young transplants, unrooted cuttings and plants with soft young growth tend to be more sensitive. Sensitivity may be tested on a small portion of a plant or plot before a full-scale application.

One manufacturer recommends that applications are done with 7- to 14-day intervals, with a maximum of three applications,[5] as repeated applications may aggravate phytotoxicity. In addition, water conditioning agents can increase phytotoxicity.[citation needed]

Thanks to its low mammalian toxicity, application of insecticidal soap is typically allowed up to the day of harvest.

@ryasco

2 Likes
#7

Very informative! Thank you. :grin:

#8

I know that we spoke about it but i can´t remember what it was that you asked me in regards to this…

#9

I was curious if the potassium alone hurt the insects bodies or the soap. It seems the potassium is needed with the fats to be effective. I always have yucca and potassium bi carbonate on hand and wondered if together they worked on insects like insecticidal soap. I am still wondering but the article answered some other questions.

#10

Can i mix the yucca with the soap? Are the saponins killing the insects or just helping the insecticide work better?

#11

I use yucca to help the soil hold more water and there are other benefits but most are still being debated. As a foliar it is a surfactant. I don’t know if it helps with insects but if potassium did alone then yucca and potassium bi carbonate would be an insectant spray that is very cheap and safe.

#12

For what i have read so far on the subject yucca extract along with the soap helps the soap stay on the leaves longer therefore acting for a longer time, as opposed to the soap sliding down and draining in the pot or outside. It also retains more water in the soil (which i don’t wanna do with all my overwatering problems right!?), it makes the nutrient intake more effective and lastly it helps the soil promote microbial development.

WOW!

#13

It is something cheap that i think makes a difference. I think it allows you to hold the maximum amount of water faster and easier. It coats soil particles making them take in the water instead of repelling the water.