Do you know for a fact that you have some pests or are you just spraying in hopes of keeping them away?

Even organic pesticides can be abused and can harm plants so aren't recommended for daily or even weekly use especially if there is no actual pest. They aren't preventatives and in most cases have to come into direct contact with the pest to do any good.

Oil and soap based sprays, when improperly mixed (you don't mention the amount of water) can easily burn leaves and interfere with tiranspiration by clogging the pores. The standard recipe recommended for many years on the Organic gardening forum here is 1 T of oil and 1 tsp. of soap per gallon of water. That is much less than you are using.

And there is always the very important issue of first identifying the pest and making sure it isn't a good guy before using anything at all. Organic pesticides, even homemade ones, can kill just as many beneficial bugs as the strong chemicals can.

Why not discuss this issue with the gardeners over on the Organic Gardening forum here for more insights. It is linked at the top of this forum's front page.

Dave

I agree with above. There are some merits to programmed preventive spraying like for powdery mildew, maybe every two weeks or so. I use NEEM oil , which is organic.
Another home made spray is milk/water at 40/60 ratio. I think that milk leaves a thin film as barrier, like most sprays with oil. For this reason/thinking I use 2% fat milk instead of skim milk.

My early problem is with slugs and snails. With so much rain around here, it is hard to combat them by baits. Manual hunting is the best option, when the seedlings are small.

Preventative spraying for disease control is a totally different issue. The OP asked about pesticides and in pest control there is no role for preventative spraying.

Dave

Yes the last couple of days I have been seeing the winged and the non winge Aphids crawling in and out of the soil and I would really like to know about usin Lady bugs for the aphids but I do need to know ho man I would need to take care of this problem?I also make a mixture of ground up garlic 2 Tbs and 2Tbs of Vegatable oil and 1 Tsp of Dish Soap and fill the rest of the large sprayer bottle with water and it has been raining on and of the past 4 days and right after it rains I respray.....I would like to get all of you suggestions on whatelse I can use to rid of these bugs???

The key to pest management is...management...not total exclusion.

Unless you're in a greenhouse or closed environment, making a goal to have no pests isn't going to happen. It's hard enough (to impossible) in a closed environment.

If this is driving you to spray so much now in Jan/Feb, wait until you it gets warmer and you start to lose your mind...and your battle.

You're going to damage your plants if you keep throwing soap and oil on them. Apply when needed, as needed...and I would seriously consider getting the oil out of that spray, especially before spring/summer rolls around. Leaves breathe, and transpire, and regulate heat/water/etc in a plant...they don't like to be clogged up with soap/oil/etc all the time. A weak plant generally invites more pests.

You have new issues waiting for you when it warms up and shelled bugs + snails/slugs + tough larvae/caterpillars show up that don't care about about water/soap/garlic/oil mixtures.

This post was edited by nc-crn on Sat, Feb 1, 14 at 10:18

winged and the non winge Aphids crawling in and out of the soil

I would seriously doubt that they are aphids if they are "crawling in and out of the soil". Aphids are not soil dwellers. Fungus gnats are soil dwellers, especially overly-wet soil (rain the last four days) where they thrive - and could be mistaken for winged aphids I suppose.

Totally different controls are used for fungus gnats and even then only when damage to the plants is evident. All you have to do is let the soil dry out some..

As nc-crn said "The key to pest management is...management...not total exclusion." Especially in organic gardening.

So are your plants showing any damage from these bugs - whatever they are? If not then you are doing far more damage to them with all these sprays then the bugs are.

Neither of your home-made concoctions will work unless they actually hit the bug itself and both of them can easily harm the plants.

Dave

It's great that you're so excited about gardening.

But it's very bad that you're relying on common knowledge, much of which will lead you astray and either damage or kill your plants.

Obtain reliable info from your county's Extension Service office.

I say leave your plants alone. I think you are fussing over them too much and hurting rather than helping. Plants know how to take care of themselves most of the time believe it or not, you only need to help them if they are infested or becoming damaged. It doesn't sound like aphids either- they live on new plant growth, not in the soil, and don't really move around very much. If you do get actual aphids and are interested in using ladybugs to control them then yes that is the best method, or just blast the plants with plain water from a hose- but if you use your soapy spray it will also kill the ladybugs. I really recommend just not putting anything at all on your plants. I have an organic garden and have helped with a friends too- we have gone a whole 3 years without using ANY pesticide (organic or otherwise) and everything still was fine. Perhaps you are watering too much? I get gnats in my indoor plants when the soil is too wet. But bugs are basically a part of the ecosystem so theres no getting rid of all of them, and some bugs are actually helpful. Good luck!

And don't get me wrong it's not like we haven't had bug issues from time to time- we've just dealt with them without spraying. I got caterpillars that ate almost all the leaves off some kale plants, but I just picked them off by hand & the kale plants grew back. There was also something laying eggs on the undersides of my friend's kale leaves, so we picked off those leaves before the eggs could hatch & become pests. I get aphids now & then but usually just squish them with my fingers or blast them with water, or they sort of go away once the plants mature. I have lots of issues with snails but find if I go out after it rains or at night I can find and kill a bunch of them by hand, and I try to protect the plants they like the most as best I can with physical barriers (peas, basil & chard seem to be their favorite). Anyways, hope you learn to live with the pests, and manage them safely & naturally if they get out of control.