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So i finally got my neem oil to combat my spider mite infestation with. Read the directions on the back and all but theres one thing that concerns me, the bottle says to apply in early morning or late after noon and to not apply in direct sunlight. Will this stuff burn my leaves if i apply it while the lights are on???
It won't BURN your leaves per se but it can suffocate your plants. Raise the lights for 24h. Don't use much. Mist lightly. Let dry. Wait. Mist again. When you see a waxy shine, not like REALLY shiny, but glossy, you're all set.
k so i dropped my plant (i raise and lower the plant since my lights are stationary.) and ive been going in and lightly misting (i stop whenever i see a drop of the spray start to gather on the edge of a leaf) every hour or so. Think i've sprayed it about 3 or 4 times so far, im proceeding correctly, yes?
Neem Oil should be applied every 2 or 3 days. Only apply once a day and when applying apply to the underside of the leaves and mist like crazy to ensure you get all the nooks and veins on the underside of the leaf ( as this is where most pests live, underneath the leaf )Quote:
Originally Posted by Gundari
hope this helps.
Bob.
Stinky's method will work as well.. may not be as vigorous but it is still applying the neem.Quote:
Originally Posted by BobBong
Depending on what stage the plants are in, how bad the infestation is and how badly you want them out of there, you can vary the application method.. I've even hear of people bathing their clones in a light neem solution when bought to ensure that there is nothing there. literally taking the plant washing it in a solution.
Either way, never go above the recommended dosage as this won't necessarily be any more effective and could actually suffocate your plants like Stinky mentioned.
The infestation isn't really bad as much as it is persistant, i just cant seem to get rid of the little bastards completely. Im almost ready to send my plant into flowering (atleast i think i am) i just want to get the infestation down to a minimum so i only have to mist for the first two or three weeks of flower. What i was planning on doing was using stinky's method until i developed the glossy sheen on the leaves that your supposed to look for then convert over to giving the plant a bit heavier of a spraying every 3 days or so.
Application to the leaf underside greatly increases your risk of clogging the stomata and suffocating the plants. Neem is an anti-transpirant as well as a pest control.
If you've got mites, a pair of bug-bombs set off at 2 day intervals is a good place to start, and oh never mind... just don't spray under the leaves or apply to the point of runoff. Try spraying under a fan leaf- just one- and watch what happens.
MORE IS NOT BETTER.
Don't say I didn't warn you...
Always remember, time is on your side, your plant will not die in one day.......go slow, let your plant respond to what your doing then apply more if needed. I took care of thripes in 2 applications, but then mine were not all that bad.
How does neem work?
It's a thick oil from the Neem tree in India. If you can look for Einstein Oil, that's considered one of the better brands of Neem.
The reason i say spray the underside of the leaves is because that's where most pests and spider mites in particular will reside. On the underside of the leaf. Spraying vigorously once or twice will not clog the pores in the leaf. This usually happens if you get the Neem to water ratio wrong or add to much soap as a wetting agent.
If you spray only the top side of the leaves and never the underside than you won't get rid of your infestation.
Neem works by coating the pest eggs and preventing them from hatching.. which is why you apply every 2 or 3 days as this is the life cycle of well.. spider mites specifically.
Hence the bug bomb.Quote:
Originally Posted by BobBong
It's best to use a fully water-soluble pest control under the leaves.
Pyrethrin is the generally accepted one. It's sold at Home Depot under several different brand names; check active ingredients.
Pyrethrin is an option as well. If you don't muck up the ratio of neem to water than spraying on the underside of the leaves can work (I've done it) with little or no negative effects on the plant.Quote:
Originally Posted by stinkyattic
There are other ways to address spidermites but generally Neem is going to be the ultimate solution to an infestation.
It's always good to have choices :) Doesn't hurt to start with something a little less heavy than Neem, like a insecticidal soap.
Start weak and change tactics if you've been using the same pest control for more than a month.. pests can build a tolerance to certain things which is why it's good to switch it up if you're finding something not working.
when applying anything to a plant, I use this simple rule I ran across in gardening books long ago: if spraying fertilizers, etc., apply early morning, when the plants pores are 'open' ... if spraying a pesticide, etc., spray in the evening, when the plants pores are 'closed' ... :smokin:
I'm not sure if im more confused or more informed now >.>
Well i was using a pytherin spray, and it was working to keep the lil buggers under control. As for the effects of the neem, i just checked on the plant for the first time since the applications of it yesterday(i sprayed the underside of the leaves, probably wont do that again), the leaves are about the same color green but they are a bit droopy and some of them are rather fragile and dried out. Gonna give it another day and see what direction it goes from here before i do anything else.
edit: typos.
So now im beginning to get a bit worried, checked on her again real fast before the lights go out for the next 6 hours, and she's still pretty droopy and some of her leaves are reaaaaaallly dry, they look healthy other then that but they are extremly dry.
Dry like brittle? Are they becoming at all translucent? Can you post pics?
You know what, I'm tempted to sacrifice one of my bitches to science and do a neem-overapplication thread.
Stinky, my friend Custom39, literally bathed his plants with NEEM Oil, daily, was dripping from the leaves ... it barely dealt with the spidermites, but did not hurt the plant ... if I understood him correctly, he said the NEEM Oil basically just smothers the insects and eggs, doesn't kill them from toxicity, but from suffocation :wtf: ... I don't know if that's true, or not, but it didn't seem to hurt the plants ... I would have thought that would clog the pores and harm the plant ... your guess is good as mine, I dont allow bugs in my house (they refuse to wipe their feet) ... :jointsmile:
I once screwed up my neem oil application, and it's pretty obvious that something is wrong once it happens.
Usually I'll dip my smaller plants in a mixture of insecticidal soap and water, but I was all out of soap and so I used some neem oil.
Turns out, I didn't mix the oil in the water very well, and the oil was resting on top of the water (as oil does) so when I dipped the plant, it was pretty much covered in neem oil. The leaves turned kind of a translucent, browny, yellow, and became very crispy.
Needless to say, the plant died.
I wish I had taken some pictures, but I, like most people, tend to take pictures of my successes rather than my failures.
I mixed some nutes in with NEEM Oil for my outdoor Willie Nelson, and sprayed the shit outta it, no probs, plant loved it ... ???
Very brittle, but not translucent at all. The dry/brittleness is the only symptom (not even all of them are this way, its only probably about 4 or 5 sets of the fan leaves) aside from the fact that the leaves are all drooping (all of them are drooping) . My cameras currently over at my friends apartment (big halloween party). A few of them have some very subtle (hard to notice) brownish spots on top of the leaves. Is there anything i can do to save her or is she headed straight for the grave?
k got my camera back today and the plant seems to just kinda be hanging in stasis, ive been misting it with water on a semi regular basis hoping that id be able to wash off atleast some of the neem/water/soap mixture. Heres the quick picture i snapped of it, im pretty sure that the damage in the pictures isnt mites anymore...well atleast the spotty dmg.
You've got scarring, but it's okay. Stop misting wiht water now because you risk rot. I see SOME neem damage but it isn't severe- it's those darker, twisted leaves- just give it time.
You just made my day, thanks stinky ^^