Recently, I’ve been carrying on about the advantages of insecticidal soap for plants, with a focus on indoor plants during this post-holiday period.

Someone suggested to me that neem oil may be a viable alternative to insecticidal soap because “it clings to the plants and remains effective”. This is such a good idea!  As it is, biofloris markets neem oil to maintain and enhance leaf appearance.

The suggestion to use as a pesticide led me to check out Wikipedia for more details and share them with you.  Neem oil is a vegetable oil extracted from the fruits and seeds of NEEM, an evergreen tree which is native to the Indian subcontinent and is now being grown in many other areas in the tropics. The oil is perhaps the most important of the commercially available products of neem for organic farming and medicines.

The color of neem oil tends to be light to dark brown; it has a bitter taste and has a rather strong odor, something like a blend of the aromas of peanuts and garlic.
Neem oil is used for several purposes, including cooking, medicinal, cosmetics.  And of course, it is used as an insect repellent and a natural insecticide. 

According to Wikipedia, certain formulations made of Neem oil make it an effective repellent against numerous pest insects such as ants, houseflies, snails, termites, mosquitoes, mealy bugs, aphids, cabbage worms, thrips, whiteflies, mites, fungus gnats, beetles, moth larvae and caterpillars. Neem oil is not known to be harmful to mammals, birds, earthworms or beneficial insects such as buuterflies, honeybees and ladybugs.  Neem oil is also not known to cause any harm when applied on fruits and vegetables.

Someone once told me that neem was also effective against squirrels.  I would appreciate any additional information or suggestions to this effect.

Another advantage of neem oil is that it greatly improves and preserves leaf appearance of plants, shrubs and trees.

For more information on the neem oil sold on the biofloris web site, simply click here. For more details on the properties, uses and history of neem oil, click here.