What is the Best Homemade Bug Spray for Weed Plants?

Growing weed, indoor or outdoor, is a rite of passage for cannabis enthusiasts. But at the same time, no matter how green your thumb, successfully growing weed can be complicated. One of the most difficult issues to deal with is pests and insect infestations of your precious weed garden. But you don’t necessarily want to go with storebought stuff to ward them off—and you don’t have to. You can easily make some of the best homemade bug sprays for weed plants without too much effort. Here’s where to begin.

Best Homemade Bug Sprays for Weed Plants

Most homemade bug sprays for weed plants use ingredients you already have in your kitchen, like soap, garlic, chili powder, and oil. The following DIY bug sprays will help you rid your garden of pests such as aphids, thrips, mites, whiteflies, and beetles.

Oil-Based Insecticide for Weed Plants

Oil-based insecticides for weed plants are made by combining vegetable oil, like canola, soybean or cottonseed with other ingredients. According to Ilovegrowingmarijuana.com, an oil-based spray works by suffocating the pores of insects like aphids, thrips, and mites by suffocating them.

Ingredients:

1 cup oil

1 tablespoon of Castile soap

1 quart of water

Directions:

1. Mix 1 cup of oil with 1 tablespoon of castile soap well
2. Take 2 tablespoons of mixture and dilute it in 1 quart of water
3. Put into a spray bottle and apply to weed plants

You can also try spraying essential oils, like eucalyptus, rosemary, lemon, and cinnamon. Simply mix them together, dilute with water, and spray directly onto your plants.

Other home growers prefer to apply other essential oils like cinnamon, clove or coriander directly to cannabis leaves to repel pests. These oils are safe to use on cannabis plants without causing damage. Although, Royal Queen Seeds recommends that you don’t apply essential oils directly to your buds because they could alter the flavor of your weed.

Soap-Based Insecticide for Weed Plants

Very similar to oil-based insecticides, soap-based insecticides are made by simply combining soap and water, sans oil. It can be sprayed on your weed plants at any time, but ilovemarijuanagrowing.com recommends it works best if applied at dawn or dusk. Soap-based insecticides are great for killing whiteflies, mites, and beetles.

Ingredients:

1. 1 ½ tablespoon of mild soap like Castile soap
2. 1 quart of water

Directions:

1. Mix soap and water together.
2. Put in a spray bottle and apply directly to plants

Garlic-Based Insecticide for Weed Plants

While garlic doesn’t exactly kill bugs, it is a great insect repellant, and so is great for slowing down or preventing infestations.

Ingredients:

1. 2 whole bulbs of garlic (not cloves)
2. ½ cup vegetable oil
3. 1 teaspoon of mild soap
4. 2 quarts of water

Directions:

1. Puree the garlic bulbs in a blender with a touch of water
2. Leave pureed garlic overnight
3. Strain garlic
4. Combine garlic with ½ cup of vegetable oil, 1 tsp of mild soap and 1 quart of water
5. Remove 1 cup of mixture and combine with another quart of water
6. Shake well and put in a spray bottle
7. Apply directly to plants

Chili-Based Insecticide for Weed Plants

Chili, like garlic, is also a natural bug repellent. While chili won’t kill insects, it will definitely deter them, slowing down or preventing an infestation.

Ingredients

1. ½ cup of fresh chilies or 1 tablespoon of chili powder
2. Liquid soap, like Castile
3. 1 quart of water

Directions for Fresh Chili Repellent

1. Puree chilies in 1 cup of water
2. Add 1 quart of water and bring to a boil
3. Allow mixture to cool
4. Strain out peppers
5. Add a few drops of liquid soap
6. Put mixture in a spray bottle and apply directly to plants

Directions for Chili Powder Repellent

1. Mix 1 tablespoon of powder with a few drops of soap and 1 quart of water
2. Put mixture in a spray bottle and apply directly to plants

Tomato Leaf Insecticide for Weed Plants

Tomatoes are a member of the nightshade family of plants which contain alkaloids that can be harmful to animals. Therefore, the leaves of a tomato plant can be used as a bug repellent, much like garlic and chili. In fact, these alkaloids are especially good at deterring aphids and other insects from your weed plants.

Ingredients:

1. 2 fresh tomato leaves
2. 1 quart of water

Directions:

1. Soak tomatoes leaves in 1 quart of water overnight
2. Strain liquid
3. Put in a spray bottle and apply directly to the cannabis’ leaves

Garlic, Onion and Cayenne Insecticide for Weed Plants

Some home growers find that mixing garlic, onion and cayenne chili powder actually produces a more potent natural bug repellent than any of these ingredients on their own.

Ingredients:

1. 1 whole garlic bulb
2. a small onion
3. 1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper powder
4. 1 tablespoon of liquid soap

Directions:

1. Puree garlic, onion and cayenne pepper powder
2. Let mixture sit for at least one hour
3. Strain
4. Add 1 tablespoon of liquid soap
5. Put mixture in a spray bottle
6. Apply on the top and underside of cannabis leaves

Neem Oil Based Insecticide for Weed Plants

Neem oil is one of the most popular natural insecticides as well as antifungal cures for infected cannabis plants. Neem oil is derived from the Neem tree which produces a few different components that kill bugs, as well as hinder their ability to feed. Additionally, it produces Azadirachtin which disrupts insects’ hormone systems so that it’s difficult for them to grow and lay eggs. Azadirachtin also reduces insect feeding and acts as a natural repellent.

Neem oil can also fight against powdery mildew, a fungal infection that’s common to cannabis. While it’s not the type of thing you’ll find in your kitchen like the rest of the DIY bug sprays on this list, it is one of the oldest and most popular natural insecticides for growing weed as well as other plants.

Ingredients:

1. 2 teaspoons of Neem Oil
2. 1 teaspoon of liquid soap
3. 1 quart of water

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients and shake well
2. Put in a spray bottle and apply directly to plants

Did we miss any? Let us know in a comment below.