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Neem. Does it work or not?

Jeff H said:
Put some basil plants next to the infected plants. Aphids will be gone in no time.

Of course, basil won't kill them but aphids hate basil.
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Didn't know that. Do you know of any other herbs that are good for deterring bad bugs? This just gave me a good reason to start the herb garden my wife wants! 
 
Jeff H said:
Put some basil plants next to the infected plants. Aphids will be gone in no time.

Of course, basil won't kill them but aphids hate basil.
Click to expand...
 
In case anyone was curious, I tried making a basil tea (not AACT, just basil boiled in water - I'll try anything at this point!) and have been spraying liberally and frequently and it does seem to be keeping the aphids at bay.  They've been getting out of control lately, but since misting them frequently with the basil brew, they seemed to be less concentrated.  As a matter of fact, for the last week I've not used soap or neem, just basil tea and lots of squishing with my fingers.
 
I have been reading all of your replies but there's not much evidence of people saying it works. I started this thread because have a friend who swears by it and I just happened to have a bottle and was looking for hope that the aphids wouldn't destroy my plants. I did a lot of searching and understand how neem works now. It's not the kill all cure all immediately type of thing and you get no instant gratification of dead bugs all over the place. What you do get tho is a film on the plants and the bugs that ingest it basically turn retarded, forget to breed, eat and fly. Now I've been watering with it too and it has completely annihilated those little gnats. I haven't seen any in a couple weeks. As for the aphids i have only been finding one or two here and there and this sunday will be my 4th treatment... So kinda have to think that after another application or so they should be gone. I also found out the plant takes up a little of the neem through the roots and produces a natural barrier for the future. When a bug bites it gets a taste of the neem in the plant and poof he's a goner!

I'll report back in a couple weeks and say whether or not it worked completely.
 
SichuaneseFoodFan said:
I wouldn't count on the systemic effect of neem...
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Not counting on it.. Just curious if it works, if not no biggie. I look at it like i got the neem so whats the sense in buying something i don't need and if it works I'll use it again. If not I'll just nuke the bastards but this has it under control for now.
 
Best thing I have found is dish soap and water. Also concerned about pesticides with a six month old on the house. Also, I water alot of my plants in the sink, spraying the buggers off into the drain when I see them. Good luck!
 
Neem oil is not a rapid insecticide, it disrupts the insects' feeding and reproduction but the effects can take some time to kick in. It's not a magic cure and you need to be patient. If you want instant results you need to look at other insecticides.
 
Also there are several "neem" products sold to gardeners. What you want is 100% neem oil. The principal insecticidal ingredient in neem oil is called azadirachtin, which you can also purchase as a spray. There is also a commonly available product that's called "neem oil", but if you read the back it states that it contains "hydrophobic extract of neem oil". This is junk and is basically a fancy way of naming the oil that is left over after the azadirachtin is extracted. While various oils do have uses in the garden mainly as anti-fungal sprays, this leftover oil will not be as effective against insects. The 100% neem oil (Dynagrow makes a good product) will give you the best protection.
 
You should mix in a small quantity of dish soap (about 2 teaspoon per gallon, get the non anti-bacterial stuff) in your spray that will act as a surfactant as well as being effective at directly killing insects itself
 
You can use something more powerful like pyrethrin first. Even spraying with soapy water can help. Anything will hurt your plants if accidentally used at too high a concentration.
 
On indoor plants it will be a contstant battle with the ebb and flow of aphids.
 
Ok, forget the basil tea.  Any aphid relief from it was short lived.
 
Just got some pyrethrin and it seems to be doing the trick.
 
jblo said:
 
In case anyone was curious, I tried making a basil tea (not AACT, just basil boiled in water - I'll try anything at this point!) and have been spraying liberally and frequently and it does seem to be keeping the aphids at bay.  They've been getting out of control lately, but since misting them frequently with the basil brew, they seemed to be less concentrated.  As a matter of fact, for the last week I've not used soap or neem, just basil tea and lots of squishing with my fingers.
Click to expand...
 
Only thing I got to eventually work with aphids was a little bit of dish soap in water in a spray bottle. I sprayed the plants daily or I sprayed insects directly whenever I saw them. I haven't seen aphids for about a week now so maybe we are where we need to be.
 
I blend 4 cloves garlic, 1/4 cup olive oil, 2 banana peels, 3 hot peppers to a quart water and a few drops dish soap, filter and add 1/4 cup to my 2 gallon yard sprayer, fill and spray 2 times per week. Works better then Neem Oil and doesn't burn. Aphids hate garlic, peppers and bananas.
 
Early last season, I had a problem with aphids and possibly some other invisible beasts chewing and shriveling new growth on my plants.  I used a combination of neem oil, spinosad, and Safer 3-in-1 garden spray and sprayed all 15 of my plants.  I don't know which or what combination did it, but my plants recovered.  Later I saw that possibly a hornworm that I never saw was tearing up a plant or two.  I know those suckers can take out a plant in a day or two, so I decided to hit my plants with the same mix again.  The plants stopped getting eaten after a day or two and I never did see that sucker.
 
I have some pyrethrin at home, but have read some negatives about using it - can't remember what (sorry!), but then I've read possible negatives to using spinosad, too, so I don't know.  I'll have to investigate pyrethrin again this year in case I need to use something else.  For next growing season, I know I'll be using some combination of spinosad, neem, and the Safer 3-in-1 spray at least as a start to combat the evil bastards.  I may try the ladybug route, as well.
 
The fight continues.. I'd first like to point out that the neem did seem to control them when spraying every sunday but that got old after 4 or 5 weeks. Idk finaly i decided I'd buy something else (azamax) and nip it in the bud. Two weeks before new years day i treated them and by the next week i didn't find a one. I go down stairs daily and look to make sure i don't find any and all my searches came back empty... untill yesterday. I retreated the infected plant with the axamax last night and went looking today and they were still alive. So now I'm wondering is this stuff just supposed to knock em dead or just break the cycle? Its no way near as bad as before but I'm getting real tired of these little green bastards. I suppose its not going to hurt to treat the one plant again tonight and I plan to treat all the others even tho I'm not finding bugs on them.
 
I finally threw out all of mine (400) because i could not break the cycle. I tried neem, etc and it would knock them down and they came back. I finally took one outside and pulled the plant and it was root aphids. If you have root aphids nothing is going to work. I released 3000 ladybugs and they ate all on the leaves but not roots.
 
Azamax ... = branded neem .... Same active ingredient ... Neem works I believe more as a suffocating contact oil contrary to claims etc. Hence the need for frequent applications. If you want to knock the crap out of everything (including beneficial insects ) to allow your plants to recover your best bet is a combination of wettable sulphur (or lime-sulphur if you want) and pyrethrin .... It will Knock em dead and stay on the plant for a couple of weeks to deter repopulation. Use as a last resort though as it will kill every bug good or bad. It is relatively safe and organic which is a bonus.
But you also should look at your overall plant health to see why they are being attacked in the first place. Plants send out distress signals when they are sick/root bound/ not in optimal health ... Attracting bad insects. Spray plants with seaweed extract and look at increasing overall plant health ... Prevention is better then a cure
 
Neem oil  works but you need to do it in three applications 4 days apart. when I need to fix a plant or two I have a lid for my pots that I cut a 1 in. slot all the way to the center and I put it over the soil. then I flip the plant upside down and set in on something that will hold the lid in place. With the plant hanging upside down. I use my pump sprayer and saturate the whole plants underside. Using neem only suffocates the live ones so three or 4 days later do it again and then 4 days after that. That should take care of the prob. I think if you keep the oil in the fridge it will last longer but you have to warm it up when using again.
 
I use insecticidal soap - several brands out there - I believe Safer is one. They are different than Neem chemistry and less toxic. Insecticidal soaps are potassium salts is oleic and linoleic acids and come from soy oil and tall oil (pine tree derivatives). They work well for me in most cases for mites and aphids. Get them early before they really become a problem!
 
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