Dealing with houseplant pests is one of the biggest frustrations indoor gardeners face. Sometimes it seems that no matter how careful we are, our precious houseplants become infested with some bug or another… and it gets very stressful! It doesn’t have to be so difficult, you just need the right tools to help in your fight. Using neem oil as organic pest control on my houseplants was a game changer for me!
I love my houseplants, and indoor gardening is one of my favorite winter hobbies. But I’ve spent enough of my time dealing with houseplant pests, and I’m tired of all the fuss. So, I finally broke down and purchased some organic neem oil to use against pesty houseplant pests. I have known about neem oil as organic pest control for some time, but didn’t purchase it before because it can be a bit spendy.
Neem Oil And Soap Kill Houseplant Pests
What Is Neem Oil?
According to the label “Neem oil is pressed from the seeds of the Indian Neem tree”. The label doesn’t say how it works to kill pests. But from what I’ve read elsewhere, it messes with the brains of the houseplant pests, so they stop eating and mating and eventually die off. Neem oil won’t kill all of the the houseplant pests on contact, so it might take a few days for all of the bugs to disappear.
Related Post: Debugging and Cleaning Potted Plants
Aphids On Houseplants
Neem Oil as Organic Pest Control
There’s no way I’m using chemical pesticides, so the fact that neem oil is a natural, organic product is awesome. In years past, I’ve had chronic issues with houseplant pests like spider mites, whiteflies, scale, aphids, soil gnats and mealybugs.
Last year, we decided to try growing a pepper plant hydroponically. I’ve tried overwintering pepper plants in the house before, and I found that no amount of cleaning them would keep the aphids away. Pepper plants are serious aphid magnets. Since aphids multiply very quickly and I didn’t want to spend my winter fighting them again (and risk a repeat of the aphid outbreak I had in 2009, ugh!), I decided to bite the bullet and give neem oil a try.
Spray Neem Oil On houseplants
How To Use Neem Oil As Organic Pesticide
The directions say to mix the neem oil with a little mild liquid soap (I recommend using Dr. Bronner’s Baby-mild Liquid Soap), which helps the oil mix with water. The soap has the added effect of killing the houseplant pests on contact, so you should see an improvement right away.
Neem oil also has a residual effect, so you don’t have to spray the plant every day like you would with other all natural pest control methods. This residual effect also helps with pest prevention too! I spray it on my pepper plant every month or so in the winter just to keep the aphids in check. You could also wait until you see evidence of plant pests before spraying the plant again, because the infestation might go away completely after applying neem oil.
Neem Oil On Houseplants
I am happy to report that our pepper plant has been aphid free since we started using neem oil as organic pest control. I also tried it on the whiteflies that have been plaguing my hibiscus and plumeria plants for five years, and it worked like a charm. No whiteflies in my house this winter, woohoo.
White Flies On Houseplants
I would recommend using neem oil as organic pest control if you are tired of fighting indoor plant pest infestations, it’s by far one of the best pest control methods I’ve ever used. It’s expensive, but it comes in a concentrate, so a large bottle will last you a long time. Trust me, it’s Worth. Every. Penny! You can buy neem oil here. It sure has made my life a lot easier.
Recommended Books:
- Winter Houseplant Care
- House Plant Pest Control
- The Complete Houseplant Survival Manual
- The House Plant Expert
More Tips for Growing Houseplants
- Organic Plant Pest Control Supplies
- Purple Houseplants Are Bringing Sexy Back!
- 20 Low Light Houseplants
- 15 Of The Best Flowering Houseplants
- 20 Houseplants That Clean The Air In Your Home
Safe Pest Control Products I Use
For more information and tips for how to combat those super annoying indoor garden pests, click here… Houseplant Pests
Have you ever tried neem oil as organic pest control? Share your experiences in the comments below.
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I tried eradicating scale insect which is a menace to my orchids and mealy bugs to some of my plants which they keep coming back.
Then I tried using neem oil and light soap for the mixture.
I got it from an Indian store which sells it very cheap – like a sundry price.
And it worked so far..
The only setback – there is this oil fragrance that is a bit repulsive.
I guess it
Glad to hear you had success using neem oil! I haven't tried it against scale or mealy bugs yet since I haven't had to deal with these pests in a few years (knock on wood). It does have a strong smell, but it goes away after a few minutes, so it hasn't bothered me too much. At least you know it's not a toxic substance you're breathing in, that's a good thing.
Amy
what is the proportions of the mixture of neem oil & soap for control of mealy bug, is it diluted with water? several of my plants are infested with the pests.
Alan
Hi Alan,
Follow the instructions on the Neem oil label. It depends on how concentrated your Neem oil is.
Amy
Neem oil seems to work well at combatting black spot on my roses, as well.
Oooo, good to know! I wonder if it will work on other types of fungi. I’ll have to give it a try.
I have used neem oil to combat aphids and spider mites on my hibiscus. My plant sits in front of a window so I sprayed it in the evening. i have never used it before so I sprayed as much of the plant as I could, cause I read it only kills aphids if it hits them and I had aphids all around the flower buds and underside of my hibiscus flowers.
It is approximately one week later and there are no buds on my plant and i have about half of the leaves have turned yellow….help! did I just shock the plant? could it be that the sunny window the next day fried the leaves or is it safe once it dries on the plant?
This is my first plant I have taken in the house in the fall, and I did not know I needed to give it a good water soaking before I brought it in! It did not have aphids outside and was flourishing. It actually did well and was blooming tons till I sprayed it with the neem. Please keep in mind that it is November, and I think this plant also can go “dormant” at certain times of the year but the fact that I sprayed it last week seems important.
any advice?
It’s not uncommon for a hibiscus to start dropping it’s leaves once it comes indoors in the fall – and like you said, hibiscus plants will start to go dormant for winter. I would make sure that you are watering it consistently (don’t overwater though), and keep an eye on it. The sun coming through the window at this time of the year probably isn’t strong enough to burn the leaves. I’m guessing that the shock of moving indoors is what’s causing the yellow leaves, and not the neem oil.
Good luck,
Amy
Thank you! The interesting part is that the majority of the leaves that turned yellow, didnt fall off. I picked them off. The bush still has approx. half of its leaves and is looking better this week vs last. I do see small fruit fly type flies sometimes around the plant and there is definately some sort of little worm in the soil, they are very tiny. Im assuming they are from the soil that the plant came with in its original pot cause i only used potting soil when I replanted it in the summer. Do you have any concerns with these details and do you suggest I give the plant any nutrients or miracle grow or anything???
Those bugs you describe are called soil gnats. Here’s a post I wrote about how to control those… How to Control Soil Gnats
Don’t fertilize it during the winter, maintain it in it’s semi dormant state. Once it gets used to being inside, you should start to see new growth and it will probably even flower for you this winter.
Amy
I sprayed neem oil on my hibiscus and heard it was bad for them.The bottle never gave an accurate description
of the mixture ratio?So i poured a small amount of neem oil in a water spray bottle with dawn dish soap and sprayed it on a white infestation(possibly scales) causing harm to my hibiscus plants.What should i do next?
Did I cause harm to my plants?
Are you sure it was the neem oil that caused the damage? I’ve never had an issue spraying it on my hibiscus. It could be the bugs cause the damage. Sounds like it could be mealy bugs.
dawn is a detergent, not soap. detergent can cause damage to delicate plants.
Its is mealy bugs.I poured a solution of 3-1 from lowes.Well sees if it works.
Oh bummer!! Chemical pesticides don’t usually work on mealybugs, they are immune to most chemical pesticides. I would stick with the Neem oil and also work to dab the mealybugs off with a cotton swab soaked in rubbing alcohol. In time, they will die off. Good luck!
I am going to try and buy it local and use it on my grapes for Japanese Beetles anyone ever use it for those critters and did it work?
Yes I came home from a long trip and all my plants were infested with Japanese beatle bugs, I sprayed them with need oil and caught as many has I could and drowned them in soapy water after two days they were all gone but my neighbor who doesn’t take advice had swords on his fruit trees. This year I’ll spray before I leave town to be safe.
I love the neem oil worked great on the Japanese beetles and the grapevine beetles
Can I use been oil on a jade plant? My jades have been outside for the summer and I want to bring them in without infecting other plants! I’ve heard that neem oil or Murphys oil soap can harm jades and cause them to suffocate from the oil. Is this true? What should I treat a jade with for scale? They also look like they have some kind of fungus on them. It’s a white fuzzy patch (not mealy bugs) and underneath the patch its all brown. Not sure if I should go straight to liquid sevin or not! Thanx so much for any advice! I have an indoor greenhouse and don’t want to bring anything in!
I haven’t used neem oil on my jade plant before, because I haven’t needed to. But, it should be safe to use as long as you buy the pure oil (with no other chemical additives that many companies put in). The stuff I buy (shown above) is organic, and pure neem oil. Follow the directions on the label to use it on your plant. I would test it on your jade before spraying the whole plant. Spray a few leaves and leave it for a week and make sure the spray didn’t cause any damage.
Jade plants can get powdery mildew and other types of mildew too, so that’s probably the white stuff. The neem oil spray should help with that too, but it’s good to remove the heavily damaged leaves so that it won’t spread to the rest of the plant (unless all the leaves are already infected, don’t remove them all! 🙂 ). Here’s a post I wrote about scale… Controlling Houseplant Scale
Amy, Thanx for all your valuable info. I just bought your e-book for battling bugs on indoor plants! Do you use Neem oil on even your succulent plants too? Do you also ‘wash’ them in the tub of soapy water and neem before bringing them inside for the winter? It seems like they would get way too wet after submerging them for 10 minutes or so and get “rot” from being too wet! OR do you just use a spray bottle on the succulents with the neem and soap? Thanx, you’re a great help!
You’re welcome Sherry, thanks for buying the e-book! I hope you love it! Yes, as long as you get pure neem oil (like the kind I show in this post) and then dilute it yourself it should be safe. If you’re worried, just spray it on a few leaves to test it out and give it a few days to make sure it doesn’t cause any damage. Be careful about what type of soap you use though. Use a mild liquid soap (like the one I mention above), because soaps with detergents and degreasers can cause damage to plants.
I soak my plants in a tub of soapy water to debug them before bringing them inside. I do this with all my succulents, and haven’t had a problem with them rotting. Make sure to allow the soil to dry out completely before watering them again, and only do this with plants that are in pots that have drainage holes. Also, be sure to allow the water to drain completely from the pot. I don’t put neem oil in the water when I soak the plants. I only spray neem oil on plants that are prone to pest infestations, or when I see the first signs of an infestation.
If you’re too nervous to try that method, you can simply wash the plants and give them a good hose down before bringing them in. But again, make sure they have plenty of time to drain. Of course, if you want you could spray them all with neem oil (after testing it on a few leaves). But it can be a bit stinky when you spray everything at once. 🙂
We get white flies year, so I’m trying this! Thanks for sharing at Merry Monday!
You’re welcome, thanks for stopping by!
Hi Amy, I have lost some plants to white flies, mealy bugs and spider mites and am still battling them from the remaining surviving plants. I’m not sure if the dishwashing detergent I have is suitable. However, I do have baby bottle cleanser which can be used to wash vegetables and fruits as well. Can it substitute the dishwashing liquid soap to rid the mealy bugs and spider mites? And do I need to rinse off after spraying the plant with the solution?
For routine maintenance, do I just use neem oil mixed with water or it’s neem oil with some soap mixed in water?
look forward to your advice. Thank you.
You can use a mild dish soap, but I don’t recommend one that contains detergent or degreaser. No, don’t rinse your plants after applying the neem oil solution. You need to mix soap into the neem oil/water mix because, since water and oil don’t naturally mix together, soap will help get them to mix.
I selected Neem Oil over Sven to combat Aphids on my outdoor Hibiscus plants. Today, is the second spray. The brand I bought says to apply a seven to 14 day treatment. I notice that when I cutback the Hibiscus plants that the Aphids came to visit. Stress could be the reason. Living here in the California Desert you expect the unexpected. Q? Do you know of any reason not to apply for seven days in a row? Any other tips appreciated too. It’s that bad. Thanks.
I would definitely follow the instructions on the label. Neem oil works like a charm to keep pests off my hibiscus, so it should work great for yours too. To help speed things up, you can try washing the leaves with a mild soapy water and rise it well to get rid of most of the aphids. The neem oil will kill them too, and has residual effects to keep them from coming back… but it can take a few days before you notice a difference on a heavily infested plant. Definitely don’t use any type of chemical pesticide on aphids, they can become resistant to chemicals very quickly.
I have petunias, herbs, and roses planted in separate containers on my patio and I’m dealing with aphids on the roses and slugs and caterpillars on the petunias. I’ve also got some brown spots and basil bugs on my basil that has been flourishing until now. I’m going to put ground eggshells into the petunias with slugs but would the neem oil help with the caterpillars and aphids? And what can I do for my poor basil plant? Thank you!
Neem oil will definitely help to get rid of the caterpillars and aphids, but be careful using it outdoors on flowering plants because it can also kill bees and other beneficial insects. On outdoor plants, I recommend trying a soapy water spray first to see if that gets rid of them. I use a mix of 1 tsp Dr. Bronner’s organic liquid soap to 1 liter of water mixed into a spray bottle. Spray it directly on the pests to kill them. It doesn’t have a residual affect, so it won’t harm other insects.