Just dilute washing up liquid

Preferably not Fairy liquid or the like - use an eco friendly one, available at the supermarket

Why is Fairy Liquid not eco friendly Bamboo?

Fairy liquid is a detergent not soap and it has other things in it like ethanol. The best way to make liquid soap is to buy soap flakes and dissolve in a small amount of hot water then dilute with cold water.

Wilko/Wilkinsons sell 100% soap flakes - may need to go to one of the big stores or order online for (free) delivery to a local branch.

I didn't know that. But surely the small amount that you use to spray a plant won't make a difference compared to the thousands of gallons of washing up liquid that goes down our drains, including into the rivers from people washing cars, etc?

Ah well, Myron, it's all about ratio and the 'tipping point'... there are millions of us on the planet, not to mention in Britain. If one or two people throw something noxious into the river, we'd probably get away with it, but if we all did, we'd be in serious trouble immediately. We can't do much other than to make sure, as individuals, we cause as little ecological damage as possible, because each little spraying mounts up... and actually detergent is worse for plant health than using a tailored insecticide. This perception that because its in your kitchen it must be fine to chuck about on other living things is weird if you think about it - I recently dealt with a query elsewhere where the person had put strong salt solution on his dandelions in the lawn, and now couldn't get anything to grow in the resulting 9 inch wide brown patches. Well, surprise, surprise... but he was shocked that salt, which he eats, could be so toxic...

Does no-one else remember the furore there was a few years back about the lemon fairy liquid that was taking the skin of people's hands?

Ha ha, snoop - though I must say, I always rinse the dishes after washing ...

"Now hands that do dishes can feel as soft as your face with mild green Fairy Liquid". Haha.

I don't eat dishes anyway Snoop. Ecover says it is totally environment friendly but I haven't tested whether its friendly to greenfly. Anybody tried it for spraying as well as washing up?

Ecover isn't friendly to greenfly, Steragram - but it's friendlier to the environment and plants.

ANY soap solution or emulsifier will get rid of greenfly and other soft bodied Aphidoidea. It does this by breaking down the waxy covered membrane of the insects and causes them to perish.

Bigalfie, It's up to you and your conscience which type of soap you use. You can go down the cheap route, take the eco friendly option or just use what you have to hand. Either way the end result will be the same.

thanks to all