Over-the-counter pesticides and neem oil sprays are expensive, leave hefty residue on plant leaves, many not be extremely effective, and have lasting environmental consequences. By making your own neem soap, you will save money, know what ingredients are being used, and be overjoyed with shiny, clean, pest-free plants.
Feel free to explore scientifically-published articles such as this one (NIH) to brush up on the excellent results neem oil/azadirachtin (and other pesticide-free alternatives) can offer agriculture. Just know that neem is stinky, light sensitive (and makes your plants light sensitive for a bit), and goes rancid, but is reported to be a pest-deterrent, anti-fungal, anti-bacterial substance of the natural gods. Houseplants greatly benefit from neem oil-- when used correctly.
By creating your own neem soap, you are in control of the ingredients that go in to your pest mitigation efforts without introducing harsh pesticides. The neem soap solution helps mitigate pests by suffocating anything that is living on the plant itself, and leaves behind a lovely shine and protective barrier that pests do not appreciate.
This recipe will also save you money, especially if you share the up-front cost of the ingredients with friends! Each 24oz bottle of pesticide I've purchased from a gardening store costs $12-$20 and gets used in one weekend with a collection of over 400 plants.
This soap comes out to be around $1 per 32oz bottle!
Instructions
To use this effectively:
Only use at dusk or when the plant is protected from intense light and high temperatures (over 80F).
Prevention: Use every 7-28 days.
Live pest treatment: Use every 3-5 days for at least three treatments if you have live bugs. Continue to be diligent and apply until pests are eradicated.
You do not need to use anything else in conjunction with this on the leaves.
Spray thoroughly, coating all surfaces of the plant (entire leaf, petiole, stem) and the rim of the pot! Be sure to get underneath the leaves and in the nooks and crannies where bugs love to hide.
You do not need to rinse or wipe off. Let air dry.
It is OK to use systemic granules in the soil at the same time, but systemic is an insecticide and shouldn't be used outdoors near edible plants in a garden.
Mix only what you need, when you need it. This stuff goes rancid and should be used within a few days of mixing in water.
D.I.Y. Neem Soap Recipe
1/2 teaspoon mild cleanser such as Sal Suds (as a super clean freak I just have to say this is my favorite household cleaner base as well)
7 drops tea tree oil
7 drops rosemary oil
7 drops lavender oil or lemon oil
Shake this mixture well and only make what you need, when you need it! A concentrated soap recipe is available in my graphic below. Use the soap mixed in water within 5 days. Use concentrated soap within 2 months.
How I use it
I have been using Grow Safe horticultural oil for over a year now, and I’ve been extremely happy with it! However, after finding out so many folks in my local community began to buy it due to my recommendation, I wanted to try to find a pest-control solution that cuts costs and increases the ability to share ingredients among my local plant friends and enthusiasts. Turns out this neem soap is a pretty common “secret” but it isn’t as well known because it requires mixing and isn’t something readily available with the click of an Amazon button (guilty!).
Houseplants
Each “zone” of houseplants at my house gets a bath once a month. For example, I’ll take every hoya from my hoya shelf and put them in the shower or bathtub. I inspect, rinse the leaves, flush the soil thoroughly with water (see my Watering blog), and spray the foliage and pots down thoroughly with neem soap. I leave everything to sit overnight in the tub to drain and the foliage to dry. Then everything goes back in the morning.
Greenhouse plants
The greenhouse plants are a different story because of the ability to spray and hose everything down as often as I’d like! Each plant in the greenhouse gets a thorough spray down with neem soap weekly. I do not use systemic in the greenhouse anymore, as I worry about water run-off in my garden as I grow lots of edible plants and I have little dogs running around. I simply pick an evening, and as the sun is going down I pop on some tunes and inspect and spray! It’s quite relaxing, and never feels like a chore. So far this has been very successful as mitigating most pests, including mites.
I hate mites!
Neem soap price co-op
If you are local to Tacoma, WA please feel free to reach out if you are interested in the neem soap price co-op I organize. You bring me a bottle and I fill it with the DIY neem soap for you to take home and use. Saves money for everyone involved!
32oz ready-to-use, $2
1oz concentrated (fills ~3-4 of the 32 oz bottles) $4
2oz concentrated (fills ~6-8 of the 32 oz bottles) $6
3oz concentrated, (fills ~9-11 of the 32 oz bottles) $8
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