I’m a gardening pro – my simple DIY pesticide keeps bugs at bay with just two kitchen items and costs next to nothing

DESTRUCTIVE bugs can cause major damage to your garden – chewing holes in leaves and killing plants off at their roots.

But thankfully, a gardening pro has shared a couple of simple DIY pesticides that cost next to nothing to make.  

Insecticidal soap

Gardeming experts at suggest the use of insecticidal soap as a “non-toxic solution” for spraying plants that are being bothered by bugs.

They advise to mix 1-2 drops of lemon essential oil, 1 tablespoon of pure liquid soap, like castile soap, per 1 quart of water, and to put it in a spray bottle.

However, avoid using dishwashing liquid, as the additives can harm plants, and be ineffective on insects.

They said: “Keep the bottle handy, and use it whenever you need to protect your garden from creepy-crawlers.”

Plastic forks

As BBQ season approaches, the experts also advise using one everyday kitchen item to improve pest control in your garden.

They said: "If you've spotted stray cats, rabbits or mice in your yard, stick a few forks in the ground around their favorite hangout.

“The sharp tines will deter most small animals, and keep young plants out of harm's way.”

It comes as The Sun revealed the opinion of experts at who warned of the danger of using harsh chemicals.

They said: "The simple truth is, many commercial sprays, dusts, and pest control products do more harm than good.

"It's questionable to use safely on edible vegetables and fruit, they are also non-discriminating.

"Meaning they wipe out the good insects right along with the ones causing the immediate problem."

They suggest that companion planting could be the key to ridding nasty pests from your crops.

"Companion planting has been our number one, go-to method for stopping pests naturally in the garden for the last 5+ years. And has it ever worked wonders!"

All you have to do is plant certain plants next to each other to reap the benefits including tomatoes, basil and onions.

The gardeners explained: "When onions and garlic are growing near cabbage and fellow Brassicaceae family members.

"Both onions and garlic are known as an excellent repellent for cabbage moths, worms and loopers, and help keep cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower pest free."