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Gardening Area => Plant Pests & Infections => Topic started by: ONandONandON on February 14, 2021, 01:08:45 AM

Title: TOBACCO bug spray
Post by: ONandONandON on February 14, 2021, 01:08:45 AM
looks easy and useful, just thought i'd share  8)

i had aphids arrive from some quince cuttings, also some tiny red spider mites got on a lemon tree..
no problem, i just sprayed the leaves down in the sink, which seems to have got rid of them.
then i was wondering,  could tobacco be a bug spray, obviously of course it can!

"Nicotine sprays are a traditional remedy for a range of pests, including whiteflies, gnats, root and leaf aphids, thrips and leafminers. While commercial nicotine sprays are so potent that they can kill as many beneficial insects as plant predators, homemade "tobacco juice" is short-lived and much milder. "

https://www.hunker.com/12127114/how-to-make-and-use-organic-pesticide-from-tobacco

WARNING: extracted tobacco can be absorbed threw the skin, and possibly cause sickness or death, so don't soak your hands in it!
Title: Re: TOBACCO bug spray
Post by: RatsboggleBiological on February 15, 2021, 12:05:06 AM
I always grow some Nicotiana rustica for the purpose. The live plant is a good sticky trap for flying pests, but still (usually) bee friendly. Leaf is useful as a sprayable tisane or dried and powdered for dusting.
Title: Re: TOBACCO bug spray
Post by: jbz711 on February 20, 2021, 02:06:01 PM
I've always had more success growing N. Tabacum over N. Rustica where I'm located for whatever reason and I make a dried tobacco leaf tisane that I mix with neem oil and a bit of dish soap to keep emulsion. As long as it's warm, just shake it up and spray it on anything you don't want.  I'm sure N. Rustica works better with its higher nicotine content and I've always wanted to try N. Glauca for its anabasine but mine died inexplicably last summer before I could.