- 1). Pour 3 cups distilled water, 1 teaspoon Dawn dish soap and 1/4 cup baking soda into a plastic spray bottle. Replace the bottle’s cap and shake it vigorously to mix the ingredients.
- 2). Spray a light coating of the Dawn dish soap mixture onto both sides of the leaves. The soap kills select insects, including boxelder bugs, Japanese beetles and whiteflies, and discourages them from returning.
- 3). Reapply the Dawn spray every one to two weeks.