Neem oil is the go-to natural oil to prevent garden pests from devouring your organic fruit and vegetable garden. But, if you’re looking for an alternative to use if you don’t have neem oil on hand, olive oil is the next best natural substitute most people already have in their kitchens.

While olive oil does not contain as many powerful compounds as neem oil such as azadirachtin (pest hormone disruptor) or act as a natural fungicide, it is still safe to use in your organic garden to suffocate the pests living on the underside of your plant leaves.

One benefit of olive oil against neem oil is the safety of your pets.  Olive oil is safe to use if your pets like to get into your garden while neem oil is toxic if ingested.  There is a low chance of deadly toxicity if pets ingest neem oil but there are still noticeable side effects such as salivation, gagging, difficulty breathing and irritation.

What olive oil can do for your garden plants is suffocate the pests.  This is especially useful when you have a spider mite problem and aphids.

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You can mix Organic Castille Soap and Organic Olive Oil to spray on the underside of the leaves once a week during the summer months (do not spray during the hottest part of the day).

Give it a try and let us know what you think about this useful organic garden pest trick!

Olive oil has many uses outside of the garden as well.  Here are some ways you can use olive oil to your benefit:

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