---
title: "Ssoo i really dislike neem oil, mainly for its negative environmental…"
description: "Ssoo i really dislike neem oil, mainly for its negative environmental impacts, and impact on bees, fish and tadpoles, but also it's smell 🤢. I've been using…"
url: "https://getplanta.com/community/lKxUkhzRR_aIJD7o1QvtwQ/ffhrQndG6zIzZhu0MagxaK?language=fr"
community: "Pests, diseases and problems"
author: "Wolfen 🐺"
published: "2024-12-12T23:12:05.870927Z"
language: "en"
image: "https://images.getplanta.com/v2/cloudinary/global_data/communities/pestsDiseasesAndProblems.jpg"
---

[Communauté](https://getplanta.com/community.md?language=fr) / [Pests, diseases and problems](https://getplanta.com/community/lKxUkhzRR_aIJD7o1QvtwQ.md?language=fr)

# Ssoo i really dislike neem oil, mainly for its negative environmental…

_Publié par Wolfen 🐺 le 2024-12-12_

Ssoo i really dislike neem oil, mainly for its negative environmental impacts, and impact on bees, fish and tadpoles, but also it's smell 🤢. I've been using up the last of a Neem/castille/alcohol mix i had before I switched, but after the 2 mealy bugs just waltzed out of the soil after drenching it with it 🙄. I'm just going to dump it. I have growsafe, but I primarily use that for TC. Has anyone used Arber pesticide? I've used their fungicide and liked it, but haven't used the pest spray for any period of time. Or have any other recommendations i can research

## 10 commentaires

### eatyacarbs a commenté le 2024-12-12

ugh i also hate the smell and no one ever talks about it!

#### Wolfen 🐺 ha respondido el 2024-12-13

It's so so bad

### Mugsy a commenté le 2024-12-13

I use the Arber pesticide as a preventative with each watering, I can’t say I’ve used it as a spray to attack live pest infestation. I love that it’s organic and the scent is very manageable (better than its fungicide smell IMO).

### 9s a commenté le 2024-12-13

My favorite product is mitex for most pests! Smells like Christmas to me and made with natural oils. I always follow with captain jacks.

### Moe a commenté le 2024-12-13

I use Arber it worked pretty well for me. It does seem to be a great prevention sprayed. It did take out the Thrips I had. For the mealybugs bug I had to use it lot. As well as rubbing alcohol solution to really cut them back. The plants don't mind the spray really at all, but the flowers that's a different story. Quite a few fell off after spraying them. Overall I like it the smell isn't to strong, neither.

### Claire5904 a commenté le 2024-12-14

Neem smells like a combo of rubber and vomit to me. Sorry for the grossness. Also I have found all of Arbers products to be great but if you have a very large collection you will go thru it really fast.

#### Wolfen 🐺 ha respondido el 2024-12-14

That was another concern, I have over 200 plants 😬

### J a commenté le 2024-12-15

I use PureCrop1 and find it very effective against spider mites, whiteflies, and aphids (haven’t had any other pests yet, luckily). It is claimed to be effective against pretty much any plant-eating insects but does not harm beneficial bugs. Also very safe for people and pets, and can be used on food crops as well as house plants. No smell, no residue left on leaves, no need to rinse the plant afterwards.

Now for the downsides: kind of expensive, have to order it online (your local garden center won’t have it), you have to dilute it before use, and the pH is crazy high (around 10) if you just use the dilution as is. Some plants can handle it but some get burned, especially the flowers. To adjust the pH down to about 6.5 - 7.0 you have to use citric acid, not phosphoric acid, so you can’t use the convenient product called “pH Down” because it’s a phosphate buffer. (I saw a similar product that uses citrate buffer instead of phosphate but I can’t remember its name). If you don’t have a pH meter or pH paper, you should test the diluted PureCrop1 on a few leaves of each type of plant to see if the plants can tolerate the stuff at pH 10. I don’t mind the hassle and I like the other properties of this product, but I can see how it might not work for everybody. Good luck!

#### J ha respondido el 2024-12-15

Sorry, I should have said it’s effective against soft-bodied plant-eating insects. I don’t think it works on beetles and I’m not sure about caterpillars.

#### Michelle ha respondido el 2025-07-14

Commenting to refer to this later!

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