Neem oil is an effective and natural way to kill bugs on houseplants, or battle tough insect pests out in the garden. You can learn how to use it to control insects and make your own plant-spraying solution using the recipe for neem oil insecticide that is provided below.
If you want to get rid of pests and other problems for your indoor plants, then follow these Tips to Use Neem Oil for Houseplants!
What’s Neem Oil?
The seeds of the Indian neem tree contain neem oil, a naturally occurring insecticide. In order to make pesticide sprays, the oil is either combined with other ingredients or extracted from the tree seeds and sold in its purest form.
Why Use Neem Oil for Houseplants?
Research suggests that using pesticides on indoor plants can cause stomach, ovarian, lung, brain, breast, kidney, and pancreatic cancers, as well as lymphoma, leukemia, and other types of cancer.
Which alternative is therefore the best? Neem oil can help you out in this situation. It does its job naturally, posing no harm in any way, and is amazingly powerful in killing the majority of house pests. Your children and animals are also safe there.
Insects’ endocrine systems are allegedly blocked by neem compounds because their bodies take in the compounds as if they were actual hormones. The resulting deep-seated behavioral and physiological aberrations leave the insects so confused in their brain and body that they fail to reproduce and their populations plummet.
How Does Neem Oil Work?
Neem oil is not poison, as is a common misconception. It is not poisonous; rather, it has a chemical impact on the insects that eat it, which ultimately results in their demise.
The way it essentially works is that it tampers with the bugs’ hormones and brains, causing them to stop feeding and reproducing and eventually die. The pests are also faster to kill by being smothered by it.
Neem oil not only kills them but also repels them, and because of a slight aftereffect, it keeps them away longer than other organic remedies.
Neem Oil Uses for Plants
Neem oil doesn’t instantly kill all insects, so it might take a few days, weeks, or even months for them to disappear from the plant.
The best part is that it only kills insects that consume plants; as a result, it won’t harm friendly insects! This is crucial, particularly if you intend to use it in your garden or to spray it on plants that are outdoors.
Just be careful not to spray it directly on any helpful bugs when using it outside because it could still smother them upon contact.
Because dealing with infestations can be common during the long winter months, neem oil is safe to use indoors and I primarily use it on houseplants.
It has assisted me in getting rid of every household pest I have ever encountered and also keeps plants bug-free for a long time!
How to Use Neem Oil on Houseplants
I’ll go into great detail and offer you a ton of advice for using it down below. To get you started, however, I wanted to give you a brief rundown of these steps.
- Combine 1 1/2 teaspoons of neem oil concentrate, 1 teaspoon of mild liquid soap, and 1 liter of lukewarm water.
- Shake the spray bottle vigorously after adding all the ingredients.
- To ensure there is no damage, test it on one or two leaves before using it on the entire plant.
- Douse the plant with your neem oil spray, getting both the top and bottom of the leaves, and every nook and cranny.
- Until the leaves are completely dry, keep the plant out of direct sunlight.
- Till you no longer notice any indications of the bugs, keep using it every few weeks.
Tips for Applying Neem Oil
It’s crucial to start treatment as soon as you notice bugs on your plants. Neem oil insecticide should be applied liberally to the entire plant, being sure to thoroughly wet all of the nooks and crannies.
I always bring my houseplants to a sink or bathtub when I use it indoors so that I can spray them without worrying that I’ll get neem oil all over the carpet or woodwork.
I’ve never experienced staining or anything of the sort, but it can be messy if you don’t wet the plant down to the point of dripping moisture.
Prior to applying neem oil to plants with severe infestations, I’ll first use insecticidal soap (be sure to spot-test this on your plant before applying it to the entire thing).
I wash the leaves with soap, which kills many bugs instantly. After that, I rinse as many of them off as I can before spraying the plant with neem oil (my DIY insecticidal soap recipe is 1 tsp of mild liquid soap per 1 liter of water).
To get rid of bothersome fungus gnats, you can also drench the soil with it. It can be absorbed by the plant when applied as a soil drench and function as a systemic pesticide as well.
Neem Oil Insecticide Recipe
Create an organic neem oil pesticide for houseplants. To make it work better, you can add some mild dish soap.
Direction:
- Neem oil and mild liquid soap are combined in 5 ml portions.
- Mix well and then add one liter of water.
- Put the mixture in a spray bottle and spray the plants with it.
- Use the solution within 8 hours for the best results.
Summing Things Up
Neem oil is a great way to go when you want to eliminate fungal takeovers or insect infestations in your home safely and naturally.
You can be sure that your indoor plants will be exhaling with relief after a few simple treatments if you follow the procedures and steps outlined above.
FAQs
Do you still have concerns about applying neem oil to houseplants? Well, the solutions are here.
Can You Use Neem Oil on All Plants?
While neem oil is safe to use on the majority of plants, there are some that you should never spray with this solution. These include lettuce, cilantro, chives, peas, spinach, parsley, and basil.
Leafy vegetables and the majority of herbs should not be sprayed.
You should also avoid adding the oil to plants with furry leaves or spikes since these are not flat surfaces and won’t get good coverage.
Can You Use Too Much Neem Oil?
The best way to reap the benefits of neem oil is to cover an entire plant with a nice, healthy dose. You risk suffocating your plants if you go overboard, either by not dilution the oil sufficiently or by applying it too frequently.
Is Neem Oil Safe?
Yes, you can use this natural product around kids, pets, and indoor plants without worrying. The consumption of neem oil is not advised.
