Homemade Solutions for Chinch Bugs and Whiteflies
- Cold-press or boil citrus peels to extract the oils. Citrus oils are rich in d-limonene and linalool, which have proven to be an effective weapon again chinch bugs, along with fleas, scale and fire ants. Use citrus peels from three large oranges, and extract the oil from them. This can be accomplished by cold-pressing them, blending them in a blender and then straining to remove pulp, or by boiling. Once you have extracted the oil, add to 1 gallon of water. You can then use this oil-water to spray your lawn or plants or pour directly onto insect mounds. To completely rid yourself of chinch bugs using citrus oil, you might need multiple applications of the oil-water mixture.
Once your chinch bug problem has been eradicated, keep them from infesting your lawn again by following a few simple measures. Chinch bugs love high grass and dry soil. Keeping your grass cut and watering your lawn regularly will help prevent a reinfestation of chinch bugs. - Using soybean oil to combat whiteflies has been proven to be nearly as effective as dormant oils and safer. Soybean oil is also less likely to burn your plants or cause skin irritation. Use 4 to 7 tbsps. of soybean oil per gallon of water. Pour the oil-water mixture into a garden sprayer, and apply a layer of the oil-water mixture to your plants during the summer months. The soybean oil can be purchased at department and health food stores nationwide.
- To keep a wide variety of pests at bay mix, together 3 tbsps. of baking soda, 2 tbsps. of vegetable oil, 2 tbsps. of Murphy's oil soap, 2 tbsps. of vinegar and 2 gallons of warm water. Pour the mixture into a garden sprayer, and mist your plants until they are dripping wet. If this mixture is applied in early spring, it will greatly reduce the number of pests that infest your lawn.