How To Use Neem Oil | Neem Oil Recipes

What is Neem oil?

Neem oil comes directly from the fruit of the Neem tree, which is commonly found in and near India.

The Neem tree is often referred to as the miracle tree for its many medicinal benefits from the bark, leaves, and fruit.

Medicinal benefits are not the only thing that Neem tree can provide. Neem oil contains a chemical compound called Azadirachtin.

Azadirachtin is well known for being a natural insecticide and pesticide. When Neem oil is sprayed on plants, it can help combat fungus, bacteria, insects, plant diseases, and weeds.

Below are easy-to-follow recipes that can protect people, plants, and pets.

Here are our top five recipes

1. Neem Garden Spray
2. Neem Soil Drench
3. Neem Bug Repellent 
4. Neem for Head Lice
5. Neem Body Balm

1. Neem Oil Plant Spray Recipe

Neem oil is an infective insecticide and pesticide. Protect your plants from fungus, bacteria, plant diseases, and leaf chewing or sucking insects.

You won't have to worry about killing helpful bugs like Leafhoppers, Aphids, Scales, Mites, Caterpillars, Whiteflies, Mites, Thrips, Mealybugs.

Ingredients

Home Garden solution for 32oz (1 Quart) of a 0.5% solution of Neem spray:

• 1 Tsp (1/2 oz) - cold-pressed Neem oil
• 1/3 Tsp - Insecticidal soap or Castile soap
• 1 Quart - Warm water

Industrial solution for 4 gallons of a 1% solution of Neem spray:

• 13 Tbsp (6.5 oz) - cold-pressed Neem oil
• 5 Tsp - Insecticidal soap or Castile soap
• 4 Gallons - of warm water (If you have trouble dissolving the oil, use more soap).

Mixing instructions

Use warm water if possible. When making a large batch, premix the smaller ingredients in a small amount of warm water and then adding that to the rest of the water in the larger container.

1. Mix the warm water with the soap first!
2. Then slowly add the oil while stirring vigorously.
3. Fill the mix into your sprayer. (Or fill the premix into your sprayer, which should already contain the rest of the water. Mix well.)
4. Keep shaking or otherwise agitating the mix while spraying.
5. Use the mixture within eight hours.

Instructions

Use spray quickly as possible once the spray has been mixed or at least within 8 hours for full effectiveness.

Spray the neem insecticide solution on all the leaves, especially the undersides where insects like to hide. Spray once every two weeks when using a 0.5% solution.

This should protect your plants, and it will help prevent further insect problems. If an infestation has occurred, spray once a week until the problem disappears.

If it rains, you may need to respray sooner. If you are dealing with a less sensitive insect species, you may need to increase the concentration of the neem spray.

2. Neem Oil Soil Drench Recipe

Why should you use a soil drench? Systematically give your plants a good soil drench allow the Azadirachtin in Neem oil to be absorbed into the plant.

This allows the neem oil to protect the plant from the inside out. It will also help prevent fungus infections and root rot.

Ingredients

Home Garden solution for 32oz (1 Quart) of a 0.5% solution of neem:

• 1 Tbsp of cold-pressed Neem oil
• 1 Tsp of dish castile soap
• 1 Quart of warm water

Instructions

It's best to combine neem and castile soap before adding to warm water. After thoroughly mixing the neem and castile soap, add to the warm water.

It's best to only do a soil drench once per month. In the case of an infestation is best to water weekly until the problem is resolved.

3. Neem Oil Bug Repellent Recipe

Used for horses, cattle, pets, and more! Much more affordable than buying Fly Spray from the store.

Ingredients

• 2 Cups - Vinegar
• 1 Pint or 16oz - Warm Water
• 1 Tbsp- Neem oil 
• 1/2 Tsp - Garlic Essential Oil
• 1 Spray bottle (For topical use replace the vinegar with Aloe Vera Juice and the Garlic EO with Lavender EO)

The Neem Oil will separate, so this needs to be shaken before and during each use. The Neem Extract will not separate but is not as effective as the oil.

The essential garlic oil will increase the effects of the formula, but it works well without also.

Instructions

• Remove the nozzle from an old fly spray bottle or a commercially bought spray bottle. Insert a funnel. Pour 2 cups of vinegar into the bottle using the funnel.
• You can use either apple-cider, distilled vinegar, or for healing use Aloe Vera Juice. Add water to fill 16 oz.
• Add the 1 TBSP Neem Oil.
• Replace the nozzle and shake. It makes about 32 ounces of fly spray, which is the typical size of a bottle of commercial fly spray.

4. Neem Oil Head Lice Recipe

Like any other insect that feeds by sucking, neem can efficiently kill lice. Neem is effective at killing insects at all stages.

Using neem on your scalp will effectively stop the reproducing and maturing of lice. Neem can also be used to paralyze, suffocate, and then kill them.

Ingredients

• 2 Tsp of Cold Pressed Neem Oil
• 1 Tsp of carrier oil (Avocado oil, MCT oil, or Grapeseed oil)
• Natural Shampoo

Instructions

Neem oil is too strong to be applied directly to your skin, so it's best to dilute. You will want first to mix your neem oil and carrier oil.

After the oil is mixed, warm the oil and apply it to the scalp. Leave the oil in your hair for one hour.

After an hour, comb through your hair to remove the dead lice. Finish up by washing your hair with shampoo. Here are some pre-made Neem products for the skin and hair. 

5. Neem Oil Body Balm Recipe

As mentioned above, neem oil has medicinal benefits. Neem has been used for centuries to help treat all manner of skin ailments. Neem can help reduce inflammation, stop itching, moisturize skin, and it works as an anti-fungal.

Ingredients

• 21.3g / 1.5 Tbsp Shea Butter
• 28.3g / 2 Tbsp Cocoa Butter
• 17.7g / 1.25 Tbsp Castor oil
• 21.3g / 1.5 Tbsp Grapeseed oil
• 10.6g / 0.75 Tbsp Neem oil
• 1.2g / 0.25 Tsp Vitamin E oil (optional)

Instructions

You will want to melt the cocoa, shea, grapeseed, and castor into a double-boiler. If you don't have a double-boiler, you can substitute by placing a glass or metal bowl in a pan of hot water.

The point of this is to melt everything slowly. Once the mixture is a complete liquid, mix and then let it sit in the freezer for 5 minutes.

Take the bowl out, and either hand mix it or use an electric mixer. While mixing, add the neem oil, vitamin E oil, and any other essential oil you want to add for scent.

After it is well mixed, add the mixture to a clean container that has a lid. You can use the balm immediately after letting it set up.

Sum it up!

Neem oil has so many different uses. That's why here at Zatural, we offer a variety of different neem products that we love.

Zatural's Neem oil products contain organically grown cold-pressed Neem seed oil. Each product is 100% natural and free of harmful additives.

For educational purposes only

*FDA DISCLAIMER -The FDA has not evaluated these statements.