We often take garlic for granted. To most of us, it is nothing more than a small white bulb that is minced and mixed into the food we eat every day. But for some people, consume garlic because studies have shown that it has numerous benefits to human health.
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For example, it has been found to help reduce one’s risk of developing cardiovascular disease. Garlic has also been found to have antimicrobial, anti-tumor, and antioxidant effects.
But did you know that garlic can also be used to repel those nasty pests, parasites, and insects that bother you and your family daily? It is particularly effective against ants, worms, stink bugs, aphids, root maggots, carrot flies, Japanese beetles, codling moths, and even snails! Do you want to know how to use garlic as a repellent? Read on to find out how!
Steps to Use Garlic as a Repellent
1. Plant your Garlic
Find a spot with soil that is fertile and well-drained. Obtain a garlic bulb and separate the cloves. Push each clove into the soil, making sure that there is about half a foot of space between each clove that you are going to plant. Note that the pointed end of the clove must be directed upwards, while the blunt end is directed downwards. After pushing the cloves into the soil, press the soil above it and water if needed.
When the time comes when a third of the leaves of your garlic has turned brown and the bulbs have grown enough, you can harvest them. Make sure that when harvesting, you are digging the bulbs out instead of pulling them out of the ground. You may use the garlic bulbs you harvest as a source of garlic for the various methods of utilizing it as a repellent.
2. Plant Garlic Alongside Other Plants
One smart way to use garlic against pests is to take advantage of its pesticide and insecticidal properties even while it’s still deep under the ground. Even long before it can be harvested, garlic can already ward off unwanted organisms in your garden. So, position your garlic plant strategically.
Plant it next to tomatoes to ward off red spider mites or under apple or peach trees to keep fruit borers away. Garlic may also repel moths that affect cabbages or aphids that attack roses. Be careful now to grow garlic next to legumes and potatoes since this may have adverse effects.
3. Make a Bottle of Homemade Garlic Broad-spectrum Pesticide
Peel off a garlic bulb, separate the cloves and peel off each one as well. Mince the cloves and crush them using a mortar and pestle or a blender, whichever you have access to. After this, add about half a liter of water. Let the mixture sit for about six hours and then add two drops of dishwashing soap. Strain the mixture. The resulting fluid is called the garlic’s concentrate.
When you’re ready to use it, add four liters of water to dilute it and put it in a spray bottle. Spray it onto your plants about once a week. Make sure to use it as soon as you can after making it since otherwise, it will lose its efficacy. Also, be very careful when using your homemade garlic pesticide on plants, since putting too much may have adverse effects on beneficial bacteria that are found in the soil.
4. Make Some Garlic Tea
In a pan, combine three cloves of garlic with three cups of water and bring to a boil. Strain it. The resulting fluid is your homemade garlic tea, which you will use as a soil drench. Wet the soil in which the plant you wish to protect is located with your garlic tea. Aside from warding off pests, insects, and maggots, it will also make your plant unattractive for rabbits and deer that may cause destruction. Use your garlic tea as a drench with caution as well, since extensive use may negatively affect the good microbes that your plant needs.
5. Mix Garlic with Other Spices to Produce a Deterrent
Obtain a bulb of garlic, separate the cloves, and peel. Put the cloves in a blender and pulse until the consistency is very smooth. Throw in jalapeno and turn the blender back on. Add two cups of water and pulse several times. Transfer the resulting mixture in a glass jar, tightly cover with a lid, and let it sit for twenty-four hours in a dark area.
When you’re ready to use your homemade deterrent, eliminate all the solids by straining with a cheesecloth or a fine strainer. Then, dilute with water. Use your deterrent about once every fifteen days. Store the remaining mixture in the fridge. This garlic-and-jalapeno deterrent is particularly effective against voles, mice, rabbits, deer, and elk.
6. Make a Garlic Oil Spray
For this method, you’re going to need a hundred grams of garlic, two tablespoons of mineral oil, 10.5 liters of water, and 10 ml of liquid soap. First, mince the garlic and soak it in mineral oil for one whole day. Add half a liter of water and 10 ml soap then mix well by shaking or if possible, by using a blender.
When ready to use, dilute with 10 liters of water. Transfer solution to a sprayer. Consistently mix well by shaking to prevent the oil from settling. This method targets whiteflies, leafhoppers, squash bugs, and cabbage worms.
Health Benefits of Garlic
- Garlic contains compounds with potent medicinal properties.
- Garlic contains amounts of different nutrients but has very few calories.
- Garlic is known to be the booster of our immune systems like combat sickness and the common cold.
- Cardiovascular diseases such as heart attack and stroke are the world’s biggest killers. Studies show that garlic has an impact on reducing blood pressure in individuals that have high blood pressure.
- Improve cholesterol levels
- Containing antioxidants that can help prevent Alzheimer’s and dementia.
- Improves bone health and has beneficial effects on osteoarthritis.
Conclusion
As it turns out, there are more ways to utilize garlic than most of us know. Yes, indeed, the importance of garlic outside the four walls of the kitchen–most especially in solving our problems with pests and insects–is often overlooked.
But now that you know how to use it to solve a common household problem, go ahead and try the steps shown here and see the magic of garlic as a repellent for yourself! Just make sure to always dilute and apply the mixtures you produce properly so that you can avoid doing more harm than good.
