Neem oil.

[Gundari]

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???

Gundari Reviewed by Gundari on 10-30-2007. Neem oil. 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??? Rating: 5

[stinkyattic]

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.

[Gundari]

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?

[BobBong]

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 )

hope this helps.
Bob.

[BobBong]

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 )

hope this helps.
Bob.

Stinky's method will work as well.. may not be as vigorous but it is still applying the neem.
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.

[Gundari]

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.

[stinkyattic]

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...

[whatsthatsmell]

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.

[BobBong]

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.

[stinkyattic]

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.

Hence the bug bomb.
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.