Neem oil Good or not?

[ysanabria]

Couple of my plants have mites, I never had any serious problems before but now I have a lot of my collection closer together.
I have never used any pesticide besides alcohol and soap.
I want to know what do you think about using neem oil as preventive in all my plants or what should I do to prevent pest now that the rainy season seems to be bringing a lot of bugs
Thank you

[kmarch]

I wouldn't use Neem as a preventative. I've used it for things like mites and mealies with good success but as a cure not a preventative.

[Onleme]

There is a product here in OZ that is gaining popularity called Eco-Oil, which will kill off all your orchid nasties, also another product Eco-Rose which is a fungicide, these are both non toxic nor are they harmful to us humans, being all natural, can be used without the need of face maskes etc, we use it on our orchids and vegetable garden, no more worrying about the chemical factor for us.
It is an Australian product. The best way to go if you want chemical free
Do a search, maybe its available over there, well worth it if you are concerned about chemicals as these are non toxic, chemical free
Steve

[lmartiny]

I just read some geeks' comments using Neem oil for Mites succesfully. I bought Neem Oil, then I recall seeing negative comments about it for use on orchids, so I was afraid to use it. It is probably year and a half old now. I was going to look for miticide, but not sure HD or such would have it.

[orchids4me]

I've not heard any good things about neem and orchids but keep in mint too any product with oil in it can burn your plants and chids if in the sun.

[Ray]

Neem oil is a good preventive measure, as it is an "anti-feedant", meaning most insects prefer not to go near it when looking for a snack.

As far as it being a pesticide, it is an oil that can suffocate insects, but the active ingredient, azadirachtin, is a mild toxin, as well. Personally, I find that a tablespoon each of cooking oil and liquid soap in a quart of water is just as effective, and smells better.

A caveat that applies to ANY application of an oil is to spray early in the morning when the plants are cool. Doing so when they have been warmed by the sun is a guaranteed way to cause leaf burn and blast all buds and flowers.

[rcb]

I use Neem for mites, and it does work. I've never used it preventatively though. And you have to be diligent about applying it.

Lynne, I'm not sure I've ever heard that Neem does any harm. As for finding a miticide at a store, there aren't many choices. Most of the ones are oils as well. This year, I tried what a product that listed as a miticide - didn't work. Went back to the neem.

Ray - I might be wrong here, but I thought Neem also disruptes the reproduction cycle as well?

[ysanabria]

Originally Posted by kmarch

I wouldn't use Neem as a preventative. I've used it for things like mites and mealies with good success but as a cure not a preventative.

What do you recommend to use as preventive?
thank you

[11Orchid126]

A quart of water with a couple of drops of dishliquid is always effective. Bugs don't like the taste of soap. Some variations include 1/4 c. alcohol, or 1/4 cup of Formula 409. Be sure to spray both sides of the leaves and drench the medium.

[lmartiny]

I looked today and picked up a product called Natria by Bayer advanced. It is in a ready to use spray bottle and it says it is for insect, disease and mite control. I'm still a bit hesitant to use the Neem, but do want to try it on that tough white scale that gets on the Sago palms. I also picked up two large out of bloom ground orchids for half off.

[Brooke]

Please note the word CONTROL. It means it will not eliminate the spidermite but reduce the population.

Brooke

[willowbanks]

Ysanabria, with the amount of plants you have it would become quite expensive buying pre-mixed squirt bottles of any product.

There is nothing wrong with useing neen oil as a preventative, it acts as a fungicide and insect killer.

Lynn, could you tell me what the active ingredients are in the Bayer Natria product you have, I can get the label up on the screen but can't read the small print.

Bill

[Ray]

0.20 % sulfur, 0.01% pyrtethrins, 97.9% inert materials (water and surfactants)

[JungleMel]

The neem product I used was only at a 9% concentration and after once a week treatments for 3 weeks, the mites were gone. Neem only kills the adults so you have to reapply to kill anything emerging before they have a chance to reproduce again.

I as a preventative I don't know how well it would work as you couldn't apply it that often for an extended period of time I would think? However, I had read that it degrades with sunlight and doesn't stay on the leaf very long, is this true?

[kmarch]

Originally Posted by ysanabria

What do you recommend to use as preventive?
thank you

I dont use preventatives. I control pests when they show up.

[willowbanks]

Originally Posted by Ray
0.20 % sulfur, 0.01% pyrtethrins, 97.9% inert materials (water and surfactants)

Thanks for that info Ray.

At those rates it's a bit of a rip off, not much better than spraying water.

ysanabria, neem oil doesn't kill the mite on contact, works 2 ways,

1/ When sprayed on your plants it leaves a film that the mites don't like and they starve to death.

2/ While they are starving the neem oil disrupts there ability to reproduce, no more new batches of mites.

Bill

[digitalgate]

I alway have bacteria problem following application of Neem oil. Of course , just black dot nothing serious. But it does make the plant ugly . Luckily , i only use it occasionally around 2 or 3 times a year.

[FLBob]

I've used neem oil for several years. It does a good job of killing sucking insects like scale, mealy bugs, and mites. It has the added benefit of making my leaves shine.

The only plants that I've had any problem with is thin leaf oncidiums, some of them seem to breakout in black freckles following the application of neem.

[Joe Geoffroy]

I purchased Neem oil at an Orchid show, brought it home and followed the directions and proceeded to spray my chids,well after the first spray it was obvious something was terribly wrong, the oil did not mix with the water and boy what a mess............globs of oil all over my Orchids, it took several hours to remove it with alcohol.

The point of all this is that be carefull when you buy this, for it could be very old and it's not cheap.

I bought another bottle at a local nursery and it worked quite well in getting rid of the pest, but to tell the truth I will never use it again, I just use soap & acohol. it's not as messy as the neem oil.

[digitalgate]

ehh.... Neem oil is oil . They don't mix. You are suppose to shake well before use. add a little soap to emulsify the oil before use.

[Joe Geoffroy]

I did shake well, and I realize oil and water don't mix but this oil was old and even had a bad smell !

My intention was to let people know thatthere some old Neem oil out there..................

[digitalgate]

Neem oil smell quite bad if that is what you mean. But at least it is better than Melathion.

[zaeem]

I have used neem oil monthly.Shake bottle well from any source I get from a chemist shop.It mixes with water and spray immediately.Good shine on leaf.Smells!! yes, safer organic oil.
zaeem

[Mercedesladie]

I have used Neem oil several years now on all of my plants. I use very warm water, dawn liquid soap and Neem. Spray the leaves generously and saturate the soil twice a year. I have never had a problem with the orchids or the other house plants. I place some of the orchids outside on our screened porch in the spring and bring them inside in the fall. Before they come in they are given a bath in the Neem solution and so far no bugs!

Hope this helps.

[Anitteb]

I have a Wilsonaria that developed a scale outbreak so I tossed it outside. It's been doing OK but now the weather is warming up and it needs to come back in, so I got some 100% neem oil and diluted it in water and dishsoap and sprayed down the plant, rubbing off the scale on the leaves (which was significantly reduced with all the recent sun). I want to bring it in and put it in a room without any other plants, but I hate hate hate scale and don't want to risk contaminating any of my indoor collection. What's the ballpark on it being safe to bring the treated plant back inside and how often should I treat it with neem?

[zaeem]

I use neem oil only when any leaf problem emerge.Not regularly.I use a mild insecticide once monthly.

[JLu]

OK , my favorite subjects..--cides and ---"natural"

If you post a question like this you'll get a million answers mostly based on non-scientific evidence and people's personal feelings about "natural", "safe",and "environmentally friendly". The answers should be based on efficacy, reasonable and relative safety, and real, scientific environmental impact. You can't always evaluate all these things. You just do your best.

First efficacy...if it doesn't work effectively then using it just causes useless safety and environmental concerns and if it works a little bit it just increases the necessary usage, exposure, and enviro impacts.

Mites (most likely meaning various spider mites) are among the most damaging and hard to eradicate pests. Most normal insecticides are useless or only weakly effective because the arachnids (mites) aren't really effectively killed. Sometimes the adults are killed but the immature and eggs go right on producing adults. So even if a decently effective insecticide (e.g. beta-cyflutin) is used, it is necessary to use it nearly continually. That makes your exposure and any potential environmental impact a problem.

Safety...if it kills something it probably isn't good for you either, but I admit the potential issues vary widely or are just unknown. "Natural" means absolutely nothing...be sure you read that..nothing. Man doesn't make anything that nature hasn't already made before man existed. The chemical elements are all natural...we remake a few that long ago disappeared because their radioactive half lives are measured in milliseconds or less, but these are not the ones we see, just scientific curiosities. The chemical compounds we see all exist somewhere, but we make them in concentrated form to achieve some useful end purpose...like --cides--but medicines, packaging, colorants, inks, toners,...all the things we buy and use daily.

Environmental impact..start with your medicine cabinet. If you pour drugs down the drain or put them in trash then they show up in water supplies as the do. --Cides do too if used heavily, or mis-used. BUT so do fertilizers (which cause algae blooms), detergents (which we routinely recommend for insecticides here), gasoline, oil, even (excuse me) human waste.

SO to the point...neem oil...it kills some things by suffocating them. It's non selective and it is a great way to suffocate your plants stomata and aid in leaf burn if applied in sunlight or high temperatures. So it is a weak insecticide and a common plant problem if over used or improperly used. Is it good for you? Probably not, but it isn't likely to kill your grandchildren right away as far as anybody knows.

If you want to kill mites, use a miticide such as Floramite. It kills all stages of spider mites from eggs to adults. One application is usually all that is required. It's reasonably safe to humans because it attacks one bio pathway of the mite. It kills with intelligent purpose, not like smashing with a hammer. The same goes for other products with other specific purposes like modern fungicides that are formulated for efficcay and minimal impact on people and the environment.

[comment removed]

[digitalgate]

if you ask me now and compared to several years ago. I would be terrified of spider mite. But that i realized another more deadly pest is Weevil. Spider mite is an easy kill with Neem or mineral oil. Weevil kill rate with Neem is only 50% and one weevil is enough to create harvoc !

[Peekapoolady]

I use neem oil and it works great for me! It makes the leaves shine and only takes a small amount. I think sometimes these problems are made to be more complicated then they really are.

[maria1971]

I spray my plants with Brooke's recipe regularly.

[berkeleysgr8]

I'm hoping to try neem on some of my orchids that are infested with scale. Two years of wiping scale off with alcohol has not gotten rid of the problem. I also tried Safer 3 in 1 and a Bayer product. I'll try with a small number of the plants first... just to be sure I'm not going to kill off my entire collection! I'm desperate to get rid of the scale!

Note: The scale problem all started with a plant I bought off of eBay and didn't properly quarantine. Because my orchids are growing in close quarters, scale spread to almost every plant. It has killed several plants in the last couple years.

[digitalgate]

U don't expect quick result with neem oil . It will take a few day for neem to work .