NEEM OIL NATURE'S MULTI-FACETED GIFT

By Kathy Dannel Vitcak
Apr 14, 2017

GETTING RID OF BITING, STINGING, BLASTED BUGS THAT BITE OUR DOGS

Ever since people have shared their lives with dogs, we have been trying to get and keep nasty biting, stinging, disease-carrying bugs away from them and us.

It is said that during the Medieval plagues dogs and cats were both used to attract fleas off of the people and onto them. Seems a bit harsh to me, but if it was get the plague or use my dog as a flea magnet...

Arsenic was the go-to poison for thousands of years, but by the 1800s in everything from copper to nicotine to fluorides were used to get rid of insects.

The 1800s and early 1900s saw the introduction of deadly (and not just to the bugs) pesticides. Trained exterminators had to mix and apply those poisons to get rid of rodents and insects. WWII brought the development of somewhat "safer" pesticides. But those pesticides had unforeseen disastrous consequences for the environment. Yep, good old DDT. 

After DDTs legacy became more well-known the FDA became increasingly involved in regulating pesticides. Today's pesticides are more regulated than ever before with a welcomed resurgence to a more natural way of getting rid of annoying insects.

NEEM OIL FOR YOUR DOG

After reading what mankind has used over time to attempt to hold bugs at bay, I'm pleased to offer a more natural variety of ingredients for your dogs and ours. Let's take a look at NEEM OIL, one of the powerhouse ingredients we use as often as we can. 

Our BOO BOO BUTTER , BYE BYE BOO BOO BAR SOAP & BUG OFF BAR SOAP  each contain NEEM OIL. Neem oil in our products is one of the tools to help keep fleas, flies and any other annoying biting insects away. While it helps with ticks, it is not considered a fool-proof tick-away. What the heck is?

NEEM OIL FROM TEETH TO TOES

Neem Oil has been a go-to herb in Ayurvedic medicine for thousands of years. It has been used for everything from insect control to digestive support to dental care to skin care. And that's just the beginning of the powerful properties Neem Oil has.

While we use Neem Oil in our BOO BOO BUTTER, BYE BYE BOO BOO SOAP and BUG OFF SOAP as a topical ingredient, there is a plethora of evidence on Neem Oil's benefits when ingested. I actually use a Neem Oil toothpaste that I have been very pleased with. If this herbal component intrigues you, enjoy exploring Neem's many benefits!

Here's the technical scoop from good old Wiki...(I paraphrased)

Neem oil is an oil pressed from the fruits and seeds of the neem (Azadirachta indica), an Indian evergreen tree which grows quickly throughout the subcontinent of India. It is the most important of the commercially available products of neem for organic farming and medicines.
Neem oil varies in color; it can be golden yellow, yellowish brown, reddish brown, dark brown, greenish brown, or bright red. It has a rather strong odor that is said to combine the odours of garlic and peanuts.
Azadirachtin is the most well known and studied triterpenoid in neem oil. The azadirachtin content of neem oil varies from 300ppm to over 2500ppm depending on the extraction technology and quality of the neem seeds crushed. Nimbin is another triterpenoid which has been credited with some of neem oil's properties as an antiseptic, antifungal, antipyretic and antihistamine. Neem oil also contains several sterols, including (campesterol, beta-sitosterol, stigmasterol).
To learn more about the benefits of NEEM OIL start at the National Pesticide Center for more balanced info.