I think that soaps are only effective when they are srayed directly on the target. so....if you don't hit the mantis, it should be fine. I'm not sure it soap would be very effective against such a large insect anyhow.

There is no difference between a praying mantis and bad bugs to the soap. The soap does not care what it kills. And I agree with west that you must hit the target with soap to kill it.

Dan

But is the home remedy effective? Against anything, I mean. What's the mixing rate? I mean, I'd hate to buy the stuff, spray it, and not have it be effective. Or mix it too strong and have it burn the plant. Am curious about the rate for those reasons.

Be cautious about applying a soap spray on a hot and sunny day. Best wait until dusk.

When my my mint is scraggly, I just cut it back to the ground and mulch. Maybe you could chase out the mantises, then top any compost with diatomaceous earth to foil the whitefly re-emergence? I can't think the mantises will like the fossilized diatoms sharp edges either, but if they have other cover, they might have better luck surviving that than an insecticidal soap drenching.

dicot, whitefly do not emerge from the soil. They live, feed, lay eggs, and grow on the plant...usually under the leaves. The DE would have to, somehow, come into direct contact with the whiteflies under all of those leaves.

And because the DE is much more persistent than the insecticidal soap, it would probably cause problems for great many more arthropods than would ever be intended.

There are many great uses for horticultural grade DE, but I don't think that this is one of them.

But is the home remedy effective? Against anything, I mean. What's the mixing rate?

One presumes the Dr Bronner's is laying around (I have some), so finding a recipe and mixing it up shouldn't be an issue. You just have to be fast to hit the little critters, and accurate to stay away from the mantids. Surely the heat is weakening the mint (esp. if in sun) and making it susceptible to attack.

Dan

My mint is scraggly and unhappy in the 105+F weather we have been having. It has aphids, and it also has ladybeetle larvae, so right now it is a predator nursery.

In the fall I will cut it to stubs and let it regrow all fluffy and pretty.

Thanks for the input..I've been lurking here, from many other forums, so thanks for the welcome........I sprayed the toms yesterday with the solution (1/2 tblsp bronner's with 1/2 gallon water - yep, just laying around the house!), to deal with the teeny tiny white bugs on the leaves and the even tinier little roundish brown critters and I hope I'll see some improvement. Our days are very hot and humid, and I sprayed in the early evening. I cut the mint way down. We get very few ladybugs here, but I usually have 5-6 mantises somewhere in the garden. Our weather is much like lazy's, and we won't see rain till Oct.
I'm trying the easy soap solution before I go to the pepper, garlic, oil soap sprays I've found on GW. This is my first tom try in the new garden and hopefully a few plants will make it to fruiting. Peace, Batya

Insecticidal Soaps are more effective at controlling whitefly then many of the more potent pesticides people have used when properly sprayed. There are many recipes to mix your own but all that is needed is 1 teaspoon of soap per quart of water. Commercial mixes are about 1 percent of the fatty acids of the soaps.
Insecticidal soaps are contact poisons, they have no residual affect, except possibly phytotoxicity of the plant if the spray is used wrong, too much or the wrong stuff (a detergent and not a soap) in the mix, spray at the wrong time (noon and not early am), or in bright sun.

Here is a link that might be useful: Insecticidal Soap and Whitefly

Well, I gotta say I'm surprised. Bronner's and water to the rescue!!!!!! Last week I sprayed the tom plants with all the aphids/whiteflies, etc, and the next day, re-sprayed. Today, the leaves look greener, healthier, and the plants aren't drooping. I did lose 3-4 plants, but the rest are much happier. It looks like I'll do this once a week for the toms. The mint has whiteflies and I'll brush it through with my hands to make the mantises hop off for a bit, spray and watch. Whodathunk? Batya

It works really well for me. I make sure to let it dry, then mist water over to rinse. Works like a charm. Bright green again