One of the most frustrating parts of gardening is putting in all the hard work, only to see your plants damaged or destroyed by pests. Fortunately, there is one simple solution to keep your borders free from danger and all you need is one cheap ingredient you likely already have in your cupboards. Gardening expert Ish, who is known to his 114,000 TikTok followers as @gardening.with.ish, said that you need to look no further than the humble bottle of white vinegar.
Ish explained that white vinegar, which can be bought from most supermarkets for about 35p, is a great product for repelling unwanted pests. He said: “What you want to do is take a spray bottle and fill 50/50 white vinegar and water and spray around the edges of the borders, not directly on the plant.”
The smell of the vinegar destroys the pheromone trail for ants and mealybugs which confuses them and leads them to venture elsewhere. Meanwhile, cats “absolutely detest” the smell of white vinegar, so this will keep them away from your borders.
Gardeners can also make their own weed spray with white vinegar too. Ish advised: “Simply take an old spray bottle, rinse it out, add about a tablespoon or two of salt and then a drop of washing-up liquid, and top the rest up with white vinegar.”
He continued: “Spray directly onto the foliage and watch the result in a matter of hours.”
Vinegar has plenty of other uses too, and can even come in handy if your tools get damaged by the rain. If you’ve accidentally left your gardening tools out in the rain and they have gotten rusty as a result, you can place them in a jug of white vinegar and leave them overnight.
The vinegar will “help break down the rust and get them looking good as new”, Ish said. However, the uses don’t stop here, as the product can also be used to help fungal injections and powdery mildew on your plants.
Ish explained that by mixing a tablespoon per litre of water, you can create a “perfect mixture”. Once sprayed onto plants, this will disrupt the pH of the fungal infection, and as a result, it will become inhospitable for it. However you should be careful to do this “only once a week and not too much” – as too much vinegar isn’t healthy for your plants, Ish warned.
There are other “countless” uses for white vinegar in the garden, including repelling fruit flies. A small amount can even be added to vases of water to keep cut flowers fresher for longer.
