Kill Insect Pests with Organic Horticultural Oil

Every year, the arrival of the spring planting and gardening season brings a new crop of insect pests. Instead of immediately spraying with chemical insecticides, it’s best to start with a less toxic approach such as light-weight horticultural oil.

Many insecticides rely on toxic chemicals to kill insects. Horticultural oil kills insects by literally smothering them to death. A light-weight horticultural oil such as Summit Year-Round Spray Oil blocks an insect’s breathing holes (called spiracles). This causes the insects to die from asphyxiation.

Unlike the heavy horticultural oils of the past, today’s light-weight horticultural oil can be used any time during the year. It won’t harm tender plant buds, shoots, or early leaves. Summit Year-Round Spray Oil will effectively control insect pests on even sensitive plants such as roses, ferns, and young crops.

Lightweight horticultural oil can be used outdoors on trees, flowers, vegetable plants. The oil can also be used in greenhouses and even on houseplants and container-grown patio plants.

Lightweight horticultural oil quickly breaks down in the environment. Because of its low toxicity, organic Summit Year-Round Spray Oil can be used on vegetable plants and fruit trees right up to the day of harvest. (In case you were wondering, Summit Year-Round Spray Oil is an OMRI Listed by the Organic Materials Review Institute and approved for use in certified organic production.) It is truly an environmentally friendly all-season insect control product.

Controls a variety of insects

Summit Year-Round Spray Oil is an environmentally responsible insecticide that kills a wide variety of insect pests including aphids, whiteflies, spider mites, mealybugs, scale, thrips, fungus gnats, leaf beetle larvae, lace bugs and more.

Lightweight horticultural oil is an effective and environmentally friendly way to kill soft-bodied insects and flying insects. It can even control tough insects such as scale, if the oil is sprayed in the late spring or early summer soon after most crawlers have emerged and most of the scales are in the young nymph stage. Regular spraying with horticultural oil every 7-14 days will keep the scale insects in check.

The spray has no odor, and it can be used on trees, flowers, vegetable plants and indoors in greenhouses and on houseplants. Unlike chemical pesticides which can become less effective after repeated use, there is no known build-up of insect resistance to horticultural oil sprays.

How to mix light-weight horticultural oil

Using Summit Year-Round Spray Oil is quick and easy. Simply dilute the oil concentrate with water according to package instructions. Mix 1.25 to 5.0 ounces of the oil concentrate per every gallon of water, depending on the insect pest and the type of plant or tree being sprayed. (Always follow the instructions on the label of every insecticide you use!)

Apply the diluted oil spray on trees, shrubs, flowers, and plants to kill insect pests. Summit Year-Round Spray Oil also prevents the spread of viruses by aphids, and it helps control powdery mildew.

Summit Year-Round Spray Oil concentrate is available in three different sizes—one pint, one quart, and one gallon. The one-pint bottle typically makes 12.5 gallons of spray, the one-quart bottle makes 25 gallons of spray, and the one-gallon jug of concentrate makes 100 gallons of spray.

A handy one-quart bottle with a built-in hose-end sprayer, which eliminates the need for premixing with water, is also available. The hose-end spray bottle attaches to any standard garden hose.

Summit Year-Round Spray Oil is available at many fine garden centers, hardware stores, at all Menards locations, and online. For more information visit the Summit Responsible Solutions website at summitresponsiblesolutions.com.

Summit and Year-Round Spray Oil are registered trademarks of Summit Chemical Company.