Neem oil uses

[Zoey]

Can you help with the use of Neem Oil in controlling mealy bugs? Is the oil just a leaf polish or does it have insect killing uses also? I mixed one quart water with 1 and 1/2 tsp. oil and 1/2 tsp. liquid soap. Sprayed over and under leaves. Don't have a big infestation but it is annoying. My collection is little of this, little of that. Thanks.

[Bud]

before you resort to the big guns...try cheap home remedies first:

10 drops dish soap
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon extract
2 cups tepid water

spray the plant until soaking wet
make some more to soak the pot for 5 min to kill bug eggs

repeat for the next week then rest it for 2 weeks and repeat again

Neem oil a good bug killer and scares away bugs for as long as theres the stench that smells really awful that wont go away for days if you get it in your hands
a highly industrial chemical oil...so...
Neem oil can burn leaves if you put the plant outdoors
even if its just a shaded sun
it also attract fungus

[imationkarl]

Originally Posted by Bud

before you resort to the big guns...try cheap home remedies first:

10 drops dish soap
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon extract
2 cups tepid water

spray the plant until soaking wet
make some more to soak the pot for 5 min to kill bug eggs

repeat for the next week then rest it for 2 weeks and repeat again

Neem oil a good bug killer and scares away bugs for as long as theres the stench that smells really awful that wont go away for days if you get it in your hands
a highly industrial chemical oil...so...
Neem oil can burn leaves if you put the plant outdoors
even if its just a shaded sun
it also attract fungus

I guess, until now, I have never considered thinking of neem oil as the "big guns." What do you mean by "industrial oil?" Good, raw neem is a naturally occurring oil of the Azadirachta indica, or neem tree. It's commonly known as one of the first organic defenses, after beneficial insects/fungi/bacteria have failed. Organic life coexists with neem oil fully, as I have seen after inoculating with beneficial fungi, and spraying with neem and the beneficial continue to thrive days later (observed under microscope.)

I use it as a general preventive on all of my house plants. Good, cold-pressed neem oil, like Einstein oil, is marketed as a "plant polish" for legal reasons. However, the term is rightly put. After I spray my plants, they look beautiful in their shine and green tone.

As you said, plants can burn off it. The oil acts as a magnifying glass and fries the leaves. It's very important to spray the plants, and let them sit in a dark space with some air circulation until foliage is fully dry. This is completely unrelated to nutrient burn.

Bugs hate the stuff. It interrupts various stages of the life cycle in many insects. It is more affective with certain species than others. For example, a spider mite infestation can be completely wiped out with 1-2 applications. Whereas fungus gnats it only interrupts a very small window in their life cycle, so it must be re-applied religiously and you will often have survivors, regardless.. in this case there are much more affective means such as yellow stickies and beneficial nematodes.

As far as your mealybugs go, I would neem them down (but that's me.) I use the recipe of using a 1 gallon sprayer. i put in around 1/10th gallon of warm water, drop in 1 capfull einstein oil (raw cold-pressed neem) with 1 capfull of coco-wet (a wetting agent; you can also use a couple drops of dawn soap.) i stir this until dissolved and then fill with cool water. stir again and spray. shake sprayer every minute or so while spraying. use fresh and rinse sprayer after use or the neem will clog it up.

cheers

[Zoey]

It does smell, that's for sure. I will try the recipe you suggested. It's hard to get the oil to mix with water and soap. Thanks, will let you know how it works. Zoey

[Bud]

what oil is mixing with water and soap??!!
cinnamon extract is not an oil

[ingse]

I use Neem oil.
Last summer i had the sliding doors in my "greenhouse" open and normally there should have been a lot of insects in there as well. A few bees and a bumbelbee flew in, turned around and left after a short time. There was no signes of any other insects there at all, and no damage to the orchids. I have had problems with scales, spidermites and mealy bugs before, but not after i started to use Neem oil.
Neemoil/dish soap/water is easy to mix if you shake the watercan and use tepid water and i spray all my plants about every 14 day from april to september, when insects are active here.
The smell is a bit strong, but i can live with that and i move the plants outside when i use it and never use it inside my appartment.
It is also important not to pour the oilmixture down the drains, because they can get clogged.
A bit OT but i bought a shampoo with neemoil for my dogs and none of my dogs had any ticks last summer
There is a lot of info. on the web about Neemoil and its positive (and negative) effects and the climate where you live might also give different results from what i have experienced.

[BruceP]

Neem Oil is both effective and extremely safe (it's used in medicines and cosmetics), though it does have an odd smell which is reminiscent of french onion soup (not in a good way). I use it outside, so it's not that big of an issue for me.
The active insecticidal agent in Neem is azadirachtin, an insect growth regulator (essentially prevents insects from fully developing). It also has anti-fungal properties.
Cautions about exposure to sun/heat is applicable to the use of ALL horticultural oils.
Here's a link to the AOS article on Neem.

BTW, it's labeled as a "leaf polish" to avoid the cost of registering it as a pesticide. I was speaking to the head of a well-known plant nutrient company at the Tropical Plant Industry Expo in Ft. Lauderdale on Saturday who said that they had calculated the cost at aprox $4 million. (I did walk away with a free bottle of Neem!).

[DavidCampen]

Originally Posted by BruceP

Neem Oil is both effective and extremely safe (it's used in medicines and cosmetics), though it does have an odd smell which is reminiscent of french onion soup (not in a good way). I use it outside, so it's not that big of an issue for me.
The active insecticidal agent in Neem is azadirachtin, ...

Yes, I have azadirachtin but don't like to use it because of the stink that lasts for several days.

[empiref]

Originally Posted by BruceP

Neem Oil is both effective and extremely safe (it's used in medicines and cosmetics), though it does have an odd smell which is reminiscent of french onion soup (not in a good way). I use it outside, so it's not that big of an issue for me.
The active insecticidal agent in Neem is azadirachtin, an insect growth regulator (essentially prevents insects from fully developing). It also has anti-fungal properties.
Cautions about exposure to sun/heat is applicable to the use of ALL horticultural oils.
Here's a link to the AOS article on Neem.

BTW, it's labeled as a "leaf polish" to avoid the cost of registering it as a pesticide. I was speaking to the head of a well-known plant nutrient company at the Tropical Plant Industry Expo in Ft. Lauderdale on Saturday who said that they had calculated the cost at aprox $4 million. (I did walk away with a free bottle of Neem!).

Hello,

Sorry for bumping this thread, but i didn't want to start a new one.

I bought some Neem Oil and used it today, using the AOS recommendation: "Mix 1 teaspoon (5 ml) of neem oil and ½ teaspoon (2.5 ml) of a gentle, plant-safe liquid dish soap (as a spreader and sticker for the oil) to 1 quart (.9 l) of warm water"; I used water at room temp. instead of warm water.

I sprayed my cyms, phals and oncs early in the morning for preventive measures.

My question is the following, the Neem product that I acquired is from a reputable spanish company that specializes in organic agriculture. It was labelled, NEEM EXTRACT 30% SC. - Composition: 30% neem oil.

Does this mean that I use 5 ml as instructed or since it's 30% neem, or I should use 16.6 ml per quart of water?

Thank you all for your help.

[imationkarl]

Originally Posted by empiref

Hello,

Sorry for bumping this thread, but i didn't want to start a new one.

I bought some Neem Oil and used it today, using the AOS recommendation: "Mix 1 teaspoon (5 ml) of neem oil and ½ teaspoon (2.5 ml) of a gentle, plant-safe liquid dish soap (as a spreader and sticker for the oil) to 1 quart (.9 l) of warm water"; I used water at room temp. instead of warm water.

I sprayed my cyms, phals and oncs early in the morning for preventive measures.

My question is the following, the Neem product that I acquired is from a reputable spanish company that specializes in organic agriculture. It was labelled, NEEM EXTRACT 30% SC. - Composition: 30% neem oil.

Does this mean that I use 5 ml as instructed or since it's 30% neem, or I should use 16.6 ml per quart of water?

Thank you all for your help.

you used the product correctly. if the plants burn, they didn't dry long enough before light hit them.