Is there any homemade products that kills the bugs

that is attracted to hollyhocks? The leaves on my hollyhocks are all eaten away. There are beetles all over them. But I am not sure that is what is eating the hollyhocks. Any ideas?

Japanese beetles love hollyhocks; mine are getting eaten too. Lots of threads on the j.b.s in here; do a forum search, or just scroll down a bit. The garlic/alcohol mix might work (test on part of a hollyhock first). Good luck to you.

Try a hot pepper spray.

try:

http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/522288/

Ok thanks, I will give the hot pepper spray a try.

Home Brewed Pest Control

Non-toxic pesticides can be made from ingredients found in the home.

Test spray a small area and let stand over-night to see if damage occurs.

Recipe 1- All Purpose: Take an empty spray bottle and fill 3/4 the way with water then add a few drops of Ivory Liquid Dish Soap.

Recipe 2 - All Purpose: In a blender grind 3 hot peppers, 3 large onions and 1 whole bulb (bunch) of garlic. Cover mash with water and place in a covered container. Let stand over night. Strain mixture through a cheesecloth or fine strainer and add enough water to make a gallon of solution.

Recipe 3 - All Purpose: Mix 2 ½ Tablespoons of Ivory Dish Soap and th same amount of vegetable oil with on gallon of water.

Recipe 4 - All Purpose: Finely chop 10-15 garlic cloves and soak in 1 pint of mineral oil for 24 hours. Strain and spray as is or add a few drops of Ivory Dish Soap

Recipe 5 - All Purpose: Blend ½ cup hot peppers with 2 cups of water. Strain and spray.

Recipe 6 - For Orange Trees & Roses: Soak macerated tomato leaves in water, strain and spray on leaves and branches.

Recipe 7 - For Red Spider Mites, Spiders, Cabbage Worms & Weeds: one ounce of table salt to one gallon of water will stop these pests. 1 tablespoon of salt to 2 gallons of water for Cabbage Worms. Straight salt in non-garden areas will kill weeds. Do not use near plants.

Recipe 8 - For Snails: Set out a tray of beer at ground level or any yeasty fermented liquid will attract snails from around your garden.

Recipes 9 - Species Specific: Collect ½ cup of a specific pest and mash well. Mix this with 2 cups of water and strain. Mix ¼ cup of this "bug juice" with 2 cups of water and a couple drops of Ivory Dish Soap and spray.

Note: Use only Ivory Liquid Dish Soap as other Dish soaps are too harsh.

Remember to spray both the top and undersides of leaves. Reapply sprays after it rains or as needed.

Large slow moving pests such as beetles and caterpillars can be hand picked and dropped into a container of water with few drops of dish soap to make the water sudsy. They quickly drowned and die. If you are squemish about touching bugs, beetles and caterpillars can easily be flicked into the soapy water. Hold the container under the bug and knock into the container

Thanks for the info CR. I mix Ivory Dish Soap with the Neem Oil and water when I spray. Wonder if this makes a difference in the results I'm getting because this seems to be working fairly well. My only problem is that since my bug situation is so terrible, spraying once every two weeks isn't enough. Since Neem Oil shouldn't be used too often maybe just using the soap and water spray in between times might work.

I'm curious about the salt and water for mites. Mites are on my top five bug hit list :) They are currently detroying my morning glory vines. Can't wait to try it.

Thanks again.

Wow thanks for the Pest Control info.

here is a link to more, some similar...

http://www.ipmofalaska.com/files/homemadepestcontrol.html