Irish Spring Soap Fly Repellent

If you notice your garden plants have damaged leaves and stems, pests may be to blame. Herbivores, such as deer and rabbits, can do significant damage to garden plants, like young flowers, clovers, fruits and vegetables, if left unattended. If you suspect such pest are to blame for damaged foliage, inspect the leaves; unlike insects that leave jagged edges on half-eaten leaves, mammals, like rabbits, leave a clean cut or devour the foliage completely. To keep pesky mammals at bay, Irish Spring soap can be added to your garden as an inexpensive repellent, since animals find the stench unpleasant.

Irish Spring Soap Fly Repellent

1.

Slice the Irish Spring soap bar into 1/2-inch cubes with a knife. These do not have to be exact, but you’ll want many small chunks to spread around your garden.
2.

Drop two pieces of soap into each drawstring pouch, pull strings tightly to close, and tie the strings in a knot to secure the soap inside.
3.

Staple one drawstring pouch to the end of each wooden stake with a staple gun. Drive the opposite end of each stake 6 inches into the ground in 5- to 10-foot increments around your garden. Concentrate stakes in areas with thick vegetation or in spots you’ve noticed often are damaged by pests. Alternatively, lay the drawstring pouches under and around the vegetation for a more discrete solution.
4.
Monitor the garden over the course of the next week for signs of damaged or eaten plants. The amount of Irish Spring soap you need to ward off pests depends on the size of your garden, and the population of local deer, rabbits and other animals, so be ready to add more stakes to target heavily-trafficked zones.
Things You Will Need
- Knife
- Small (2-inch by 2-inch) fabric drawstring pouches
- Wooden stakes (12-by-1-by-1 inches or similar)
- Staple gun or duct tape
- Cheesecloth (optional)
- String (optional)
Tip

Irish Spring soap repels mammal pests, such as mice, rabbit and deer. It does not repel insect pests.

Irish Spring soap does not always eliminate pests completely , but can be a helpful tool to reduce the rate of attack on plants.

Wrap Irish Spring soap in cheesecloth and secure it with string to form a pouch if fabric drawstring bags are unavailable.