I’ve been slowly trying to turn my home into a jungle over the years. I’m a huge fan of houseplants – they make homes happier and healthier. Sometimes though, we run into the nuisance of houseplant gnats.
Fungus gnats are similar in appearance to fruit flies. That’s what I thought I was dealing with for a while. But of course, instead of being drawn to fruit, they’re drawn to the soil around your potted plants, where they breed and multiply quickly.
You may notice just a few gnats around your plants one day, but they can quickly turn into much larger annoying numbers. When nothing is done to remedy the issue, larvae may begin feeding off the roots, harming and potentially killing the plant.
I try to always avoid using chemicals in my home, which is why I lived with the issue of fungus gnats for far too long. I used sticky fly tape near my plants for a little while, but that was just too risky with a toddler in the house. Then I learned about neem oil.
I first heard of neem oil years ago when an organic farmer at our farmers market recommended it after I told her the kale in my garden had a bug infestation.
What is neem oil and how does it work?
Neem oil is an extract from the seed of the Indian neem tree, and works great as a natural insecticide. It naturally kills and repels the bugs we don’t want on and around our plants, and, as long as they don’t get directly sprayed with it, poses no harm to the good bugs (like bees, ladybugs, earthworms, butterflies, etc.). It’s like natures gift from one plant to another.
Once the bugs consume neem oil, it disrupts their hormones, causing them to stop eating and reproducing, and they eventually die off. It kills some bugs on contact, but not all, so it may take some time for the issue to get completely eradicated.
How to use neem oil for getting rid of houseplant gnats
You can buy a pre-made solution for your plants, or you can buy concentrated neem oil to make your own. I choose to make my own so I know exactly what’s in it and what quality ingredients are used. It’s also the most cost effective.
How to make your own neem oil spray
Ingredients:
- 1½ teaspoon pure cold pressed organic need oil
- ½ teaspoon pure castile soap or another form of mild detergent
- 4 cups (1 quart) warm water
Directions:
- Pour 4 cups (or 1 quart) of warm water into a sprayer bottle [like this one].
- In a small jar or container, mix the 1½ teaspoon of neem oil with the ½ teaspoon castile soap and stir thoroughly. This emulsifies the neem oil so that it does not separate from the water in the bottle.
- Add the neem oil/soap emulsion to the warm water in the sprayer bottle and shake well.
Don’t worry about the pungent smell of neem oil… it will go away once the solution dries on and around the plant.
It’a a good idea to test the solution on a few of your plant’s leaves prior to using on the entire plant. Neem oil is generally safe for most plants, but it’s best just to be sure it doesn’t harm your particular variety. Spray on 2-3 leaves and give it a day or two to make sure the leaves don’t turn or drop off.
If you don’t see any adverse effects after the testing period, you’re good to go. Simply spray the leaves and soil with the neem oil solution. Just don’t use it in direct sunlight, as it can give the plant a sunburn.
You can continue to do this once a week until you don’t see the bug issue any longer. Remember, it may take a couple of weeks for the houseplant gnats to completely die off. You can also use the neem oil spray once a month as a precautionary measure.
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Sources:
https://getbusygardening.com/neem-oil-as-organic-pest-control/