Chili Peppers

• There are a variety of methods for making your own insect spray, all of which are very effective and work fast killing the insects. Mix 3 cups of boiling water and 1/2 cup of hot chili peppers, and let them sit overnight. Sieve the mixture to remove the peppers and pour the liquid into a spray bottle. Now you're ready to hit the garden.
  
  

Garlic and Mineral Oil

• Chop up a dozen garlic cloves into very small pieces and add them to 4 oz. of mineral oil. Let this mixture sit for a few hours, then strain the garlic cloves out, and add 4 drops of dishwashing soap. Pour into a spray bottle and it's ready for use.
  
  

Spearmint and Orange Oil

• Try mixing 10 drops of spearmint and 15 drops of orange essential oil (both can be purchase at your grocery store in the baking section) with 2 qt. of saltwater and pour into a spray bottle. This will get rid of any insects in the vegetable garden, while at the same time keep everything smelling good.
  
  

Other Ideas

• There are other ways to keep insects under control in the garden besides homemade sprays. Natural Neem Oil, available at health food stores, keeps any type of bug out of the garden. Also try planting marigolds around the edge of the vegetable garden. Of course there's always the old standby: spreading mothballs around the garden. This not only repels insects, but also rodents that want to eat from the garden.
  
  

Planting Herbs or Catmint

• If you really don't like the idea of applying sprays to your vegetables, there are herbs that can be planted alongside the vegetables to repel insects. Plant basil to repel flies and mosquitoes, sage to repel white cabbage butterflies, peppermint to repel flea beetles and ants, chives for tomato pests, and garlic to repel spider mites, beetles and aphids. Planting catmint in the garden will repel all insects that are harmful to the vegetables while attracting all of the beneficial insects needed to grow a bountiful garden.