Safe Insecticide - Neem Oil

By there very nature no insecticide is going to be safe for everything. After all, the whole point of the exercise is to destroy insect pests. But, we can and indeed we should be choosing to minimise the negative impact of our gardening by choosing safe insecticide products.

It isn't just to help the bumble bees and ladybugs either. Opting for a safe insecticide can be purely to ensure your safety, your children's safety and your pet's safety. Reading the ingredients list and warning signs on any regular garden insecticide can certainly make you shudder, so why not choose something a little kinder and less intimidating - after all it's only gardening we're talking about. Why on earth would you want to put your health at risk just to keep the roses aphid free?

Neem is an oil derived from, you guessed it, the Neem tree. It is an entirely natural product which extraordinary capabilities. Insecticides usually kill insects. Being poisons they can build up in the food chain and also kill whatever is eating those insects. Plus, the odd insect who survives, passes on genes resistant to that poison when it breeds. This is why farmers find themselves fighting an ever tougher battle with pesticide resistant insects.

Neem is different. When you use it, you won't see insects dropping like flies (sorry). But, you will over time, create a garden free from insect pests. Importantly, only those insects which eat plants sprayed with insecticide neem are affected. Though being an oil, you would kill any insect you sprayed the neem directly onto. That's why you should always spray when helpful predator insects are inactive - during the early morning or late evening.

I know, too many businesses trying to cash in on our desire for a more Eco friendly lifestyle can make certain products seem expensive.  This is especially true when you compare traditional environmentally damaging cheap products that have been with us forever.

You can pay a lot for Neem oil if you like.  But, then you get high grade oil used in cosmetics or to help skin problems.  I don't know about you, but my garden pests can do without that extra glamour.  I give them cheap yet pure Neem oil. 

If you buy a quart of pure insecticide neem you then mix it yourself to create your safe insecticide.  Then, you're really looking at cheap natural insecticides.  Look at the recipe if you don't believe me...

• 1 gallon of water
• 1 tablespoon of liquid soap (or mild dish-washing detergent)
• 4 teaspoons of pure neem oil

Yes, really only 4 teaspoons of neem per gallon of water.  For less than $40 you can buy yourself a quart of pure neem oil and then no matter how big your garden, it must last you a long time.

You can, of course buy ready to use Neem Insecticide formulations.  Of course, you will pay more for the privilege of someone else doing all that tedious mixing for you though!

Yes. But, there is a caveat to that. If you want something to immediately destroy pests this is not the product for you - well unless you want to smother every single one individually in Insecticidal Neem.

If you see gardening in the longer term, Neem Insecticide will work. It won't take long, just two or three insect life-cycles and with insects living short lives, that's not too long to wait - surely?

Neem works in many ways, not all of them fully understood. However, the primary use for the gardener is that it acts on insects stopping them from feeding. So, whilst the insects may not be gone, they do stop destroying your prized plants. In addition, Neem affects the development of insects, preventing them from molting. An insect which cannot molt, dies as a juvenile before it gets the chance to breed and bring new insect life into your garden.

Insecticide neem works incredibly well, but only if you are not expecting the immediate result of some poison you really don't need. Of course while you're waiting you can rely on your faithful old insecticidal soap to deal with the current generation of pests!