Mite Spray for Houseplants
I haven’t had any problems so far this year. Knock wood.
Every spring a few houseplants get a new residence outside to soak up the sun. Once they’ve acclimated to indoor life again in the fall, I sometimes notice I’ve also brought in some new, unwanted pets. MITES.
I’m holding out hope that it won’t happen this year, but if it does I have a recipe I’ve used for at least 20 years for DIY mite spray. It works!
At one time I had 200+ houseplants (long story!) and they all had to be sprayed. I used this recipe (I believe I needed 4 batches for that many plants, it was quite some time ago though!) and I only had to douse them once.
Crush 2 cloves of garlic and put them in a coffee mug.
Boil 1 cup water and pour over garlic.
Leave on counter overnight.
Strain out garlic pieces.
Put garlic liquid in a bowl, add 3 cups water.
Add 1 tbsp. oil.
Add 1 tbsp. liquid dish soap.
Add a can of beer (optional).
Stir to combine.
Pour some mixture into clean misting container.
Mist onto plants (over sink) until dripping.
This mixture can be stored in lidded container for future use. I always have some under the sink!
Misting several plants can be quite hard on the hands – especially if you are arthritic (like myself). I use a pressurized sprayer for doing large amounts of plants.
I’ve never needed to do a second treatment.
