Don’t you just love eating fresh herbs and vegetables from your very own indoor herb garden? Well, you’re not the only one who enjoys them – Aphids, Spider Mites and White Flies are all pests that like living in ones veggies and indoor herb garden. The difference between growing herbs indoors and outdoors is: outdoor herbs tend to repel bugs to a minimum due to the essential oils and strong flavours we typically enjoy in our herbs, but when you have pests indoors and they have less options they’re far less picky.
As your end goal is to eat the fresh herbs you have planted you will need to get rid of the pests using a natural, non-toxic solution.
3 Types of pests on your herbs
- Spider Mites: They look and resemble small moving dots on your leaves. They may also leave visible webs.
- Aphids: They resemble a small bump circled by a white and often live on the underside of the leaves.
- White Flies: Small waxy white bugs that live on the underside of the leaves.
Water Spray
The first line of defense is to simply spray with a strong stream of water. this is in fact the preferred method to remove White flies as they tend to resist the garlic and soap spray methods.
You can repeat one or two times to fully remove the bugs.
Garlic Spray
This one is good for repelling pests. puree approximately 15 cloves of garlic and mix into 1 litre of water. Strain through a cloth and then place in a spray bottle. Spray this on your plants for a few days and they should be bug free. BUT not stink free.
Liquid Soap Spray
Soap can keep us germ free and it will probably help keep our herbs pest free. Do not worry about the taste of the herbs, it is easy to wash off any soap residue along with all the dead bugs.
Thoroughly wash your herb leaves and stems with a soapy water solution. (1tbsp of sunlight liquid per 1 litre of water) and give the plant a good rinse.
Keep in mind the soap can damage your herbs. It is always best to test a few leaves before spraying the entire plant at first go.