Veggie oil works without the smell. :)
this post was submitted on 22 Dec 2025
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Seriously: could I just use olive or seeds oil to get rid of aphids, for instance?
Most oils will suffocate aphids when applied directly, but neem oil contains azadirachtin, a pesticide which will stay on the plant and will keep aphids away by disrupting their lifecycle.
This makes sense. Thanks.
You can just make a simple soap solution to spray them with. Look up home made insecticidal soap.
Last time I tried that I killed my plant, lol.
That's thinking outside the box! No more plants, no more pests!
Get at the root of the problem
You can't use regular soap; insecticidal soaps are fatty acid salts with potassium, while regular soaps are made with sodium.
As I do more reading though, I find warnings that many dish detergents will harm plants. Some people do spot tests, but buying a commercial insecticidal soap is safest. I guess I've been lucky, maybe because I use a crunchy natural dish detergent that is pretty mild.
I don't know what you consider regular soap, but my understanding is that liquid soaps typically have potassium, bar soaps may use either. But I was using the term pretty loosely, people often make homemade insecticidal 'soap' with dish detergent which isn't technically soap at all. Any surfactant tends to kill insects by compromising the waxy coating that keeps them from drying out.
I would also like the answer to this question please