Have you ever noticed tiny white-coloured-mealy bugs on the stems and buds of your hibiscus plants? These insect thrips damage the developing buds and take a toll on the plant. Urban gardener Brahmdev Kumar from Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, shares three secret and simple solutions to control pest attacks using household ingredients. 1. Neem insect repellent Fill a vessel with water and boil neem leaves till their volume reduces to half. After the water cools down, filter it and fill it in a bottle. You can prepare this water in bulk as it can be stored in a shady place for two to three months. Make garlic paste and mix it in a glass of water. Filter this mixture and mix it with neem water. Take a spray bottle and fill half of the bottle with normal water. To this, add a spoonful of refined oil and liquid hand wash each. Mix it well. Pour water containing garlic and neem into this spray bottle. Mix all the contents. Your organic insect repellent is ready to use. Spray it on your plants twice a week. Insect repellents should always be sprayed on the plants in the evening or night. The following morning, you should spray normal water on your plants. 2. Dish soap spray Take a spoonful of liquid dishwash/shampoo in a litre of water. Spray this mixture on the plants. You can also use a jet sprayer that removes the pests by spraying water with force on all the plants. 3. 3G mix: ginger, garlic, green chillies Make a paste using garlic, ginger, and green chillies, and mix it in water. Cover this mixture for a few hours. Filter it and fill it in a spray bottle. Spray this mixture on plants once a week or at an interval of 10 days to prevent plants from pest attack.