Natural plant care product
How Can Neem Oil Kill Insects?
Neem oil has an adverse effect on over 200 species of plant-feeding insects. These include mealy bugs, aphids, cabbage worms, thrips, whiteflies, mites, fungus gnats, mushroom flies, locusts, beet armyworms, the Japanese beetle and other leaf-feeding beetles.
How neem oil actually works as a pesticide? It contains a component called Azadirachtin, a natural insecticide and repellent which acts as a feeding and growth disruptor.
What this means is that once consumed, azadirachtin will prevent insects from feeding, stunting their growth and preventing the larvae from reaching the next instar or adult form. In a while, the colony of harmful insects will die out.
Besides insects, neem oil and neem-oil based products are also effective against nematode worms, as well as against many well-known, pesky fungal diseases such as powdery mildew, black spot and rust fungi.
How To Use The Neem Oil Spray?
Always test the neem oil spray on a limited area before applying it generously. Spray your solution only on one limited part of the plant at first so you can watch for any adverse effects for a day. If the plant seems to take the spray well after 24 hours, you can proceed to spray the entire plant.
Carefully spray all parts of the plant with the spray solution. This is best done in the evening or on a dry and cloudy day. Repeat the treatment every 8-10 days. During the main growing season it makes sense to spray preventively every 6-8 weeks.
Some more general safety guidelines when using neem oil sprays are:
- Never use your neem oil spray in direct sunlight.
- Do not spray your plants in extreme temperatures, both hot or cold.
- Do not treat the plants that have been stressed with bad growing conditions, such as drought or overwatering; improving the plant's conditions prior to spraying is important to avoid adding damage by spraying.
- Keep the neem oil and the neem oil spray in a safe place to avoid ingestion by children or pets.
The Neem oil solidifies at temperatures below 20°C. Before use, either place it briefly on the heater or warm it up in a water bath, then shake well before use.
ingredients: Water, Vegetable Neem oil, Vegetable emulsifier