It’s difficult to work out what our organic Neem oil cannot be used for in the care of your garden, and your pets.
In fact, it’s pretty difficult to list all the benefits the Neem tree (Azadirachta Indica) gives us – they have annual conferences about it so we are constantly learning more.
Some customers are convinced it reduces black spots and all sorts of plant ailments, and the foliage of all plants (including house plants) is immediately, strikingly, improved.
All the common pests are dealt with easily – Aphids, Rose slugs and the like – but customers are constantly telling us other amazing results.
Lily beetles have been dealt with (although it needed three applications) and another said it ridded her of a Box Tree caterpillar problem, Scale insects have been at last removed and slugs definitely sorted out!
Neem Oil is a soothing antibacterial, anti-fungal natural, organic oil that has been used to treat ailments for thousands of years in India. Where, happily, the Neem tree grows all over the place.
Neem Oil is a really effective natural deterrent against loads of flies and horrible biting things including lice, mites, ticks and even the dreaded Scottish midge! (The University of Edinburgh studied this)
So, how do you use Neem Oil?
In my sprayer, I mix a teaspoon of Neem Oil with slightly less Green Tree oil shampoo (my choice, you can use any gentle shampoo) with a litre of warmish water.
Just spray your plants, making sure you try and get under the leaves too. It is effective either by either killing the pests outright or by preventing the larvae from feeding. Neem Oil’s main ‘active ingredient’ is Azadirachtin but it is perfectly safe for all the insects we like to encourage.
All of them – bees, other pollinators and butterflies – would have to ingest the foliage to be affected, which they don’t. (Also, quite a few customers have told us that Neem is ideal for preventing fungal diseases such as Rust and Mildew.)
How about your animals?
If you have a horse or pony, it’s good for existing conditions such as mud fever, sweet itch, mange, thrush and the like, including even ringworm. Use neat and gently bathe the infected areas. You can do this twice a day. (The same applies to in helping the healing of wounds and other skin inflammations.)
An important extra benefit is that while your Neem is improving the infected area, it will also be deterring all those biting things – some of which may have caused the problem in the first place!
Using your Neem Oil to deter all those pests can be done in two ways.
Mix a teaspoon of Neem Oil with your favourite shampoo and with a litre of warm water. Use it as a shampoo on your horse, dog, or whatever! It is not only how it deters pests but how great the coat looks after a few applications.
Don’t waste any leftover solution – either the rub down or the shampoo – tip it around your garden it is an ideal pest repellent systemically taken up by plants.
For ticks though, perhaps a less gentle approach may be necessary. Again, use your Neem Oil neat, spreading it all around the tick. They should be gone overnight.
Be aware if you have particularly sensitive skin or are prone to allergies –it may be best to wear some protective gloves.
Also, it is very thick and needs an emulsifier (fancy word for soap) if you are not using it neatly.
That’s our Neem Oil – a natural, organic, safe, healing oil, biodegradable fertiliser, pest repellent and anti-fungicide. What’s not to like?
