How to Make an Aphid Spray for Sweet Pepper Plants

Insect pests are vegetable gardeners worst nightmare, destroying crops before they have a chance to ripen. Natural insecticides kill soft-bodied insects such as aphids because they become saturated with the solutions and die. Although isopropyl alcohol can treat aphid infestations, a garlic-and-hot-pepper spray is better suited on plants intended for consumption, including sweet pepper plants.

Garlic
Cutting board
Cooking knife
Blender
2 Hot peppers
Sieve
Bowl
Gallon container
Half-gallon spray bottle

Instructions

- 1
  Pull two cloves of garlic off a bulb and place on a cutting board. Hold a cooking knife sideways just above the cloves so the blade is parallel to the garlic. Quickly whack the side of the blade with the back of your hand, smashing the garlic gloves. Remove and discard the skins.
- 2
  Place the peeled cloves in a blender with two hot peppers, such as jalapeno. Fill the blender jar two-thirds up with water and blend the garlic cloves and peppers until smooth.
- 3
  Place a fine-screened sieve over a bowl and strain the mixture through the sieve. Use a funnel to pour the strained mixture into a clean 1-gallon container. Fill the container the rest of the way up with water.
- 4
  Pour one-eight cup of concentrate into a half-gallon spray bottle. Fill the bottle to the top with water and screw on a spray nozzle. Spray the foliage of sweet pepper plants as needed to control aphids.

How to Hand-Pollinate Cucumbers Indoors

How to Keep Vegetable Plants from Dying in Cold Weather

Vegetable Garden