Neem oil

Posted: Thu Sep 10, 2009 12:47 pm

This is what I have found on neem oil Very Happy

Neem oil, the oil pressed from the seeds of the neem tree, is the most widely known and used neem product.
Well, at least in the western world it is. Indians, of course, have known and used all parts of the neem tree for thousands of years...
Neem oil has many different uses and benefits...
· A natural insect repellent
· A safe pesticide
· A fertilizer
· A skin care ingredient
· A contraceptive
· A medicine with hundreds of different uses...
Neem oil has many complex active ingredients. Rather than being simple poisons, those ingredients are similar to the hormones that insects produce. Insects take up the neem oil ingredients just like natural hormones.
Neem enters the system and blocks the real hormones from working properly. Insects "forget" to eat, to mate, or they stop laying eggs. Some forget that they can fly. If eggs are produced they don't hatch, or the larvae don't moult.
Obviously insects that are too confused to eat or breed will not survive. The population eventually plummets, and they disappear. The cycle is broken.
How precisely it works is difficult for scientists to find out. There are too many different active substances in neem oil, and every insect species reacts differently to neem insecticide.
Neem oil does not hurt beneficial insects. Only chewing and sucking insects are affected. It is certainly fascinating.
Like real hormones, neem oil insecticide works at very low concentrations, in the parts per million range. A little neem oil goes a long way.
But this is not something that happens over night. People spray neem oil as insecticide, and expect everything to die instantly, because that's what they are used to from chemical poisons. When that does not happen they conclude neem insecticide does not work.
It does work! Give it time to work. It's a much smarter way to deal with insect pests than to just kill everything.
Someone did an experiment. It involved two jars, two leaves, and two grasshoppers. One leaf was sprayed with a chemical insecticide, and one with neem oil. The two grasshoppers were put in the two jars, with one leaf each.
The first grasshopper ate the leaf and died almost instantly. The grasshopper with the neem oil covered leaf did not touch the leaf and lived. At least for a few days. Eventually it starved to death.
What would you prefer? A poisonous half eaten lettuce, or an organic, untouched lettuce? It's a no brainer, isn't it?
Neem stops insects from eating the plants.
Part of this action is due to to the hormone like action of neem oil that I explained above. Insects "forget" to eat after they've been in contact with even traces of neem oil.
But it is also the presence, the mere hint of a smell of neem oil, that seems to be enough to keep leaf eating insects away. Neem oil can be very powerful as an anti-feedant and insect repellent.
This anti-feedant property is one of the most often advertised and lauded properties of neem oil insecticide. However, the hormonal effects I described above are even stronger.
Neem oil as an insect deterrent works well against grasshoppers and leafhoppers, but all other insect pests are controlled mostly through the hormone action.
The subtlety of the hormonal effects, and the fact that they may take days or weeks to manifest, makes people overlook them. Ill informed gardeners seek instant gratification, i.e. lots of dead insects immediately, rather than a balanced environment in the long run.
It's a shame, because the hormonal effect is where the real power of neem oil lies. It's the key to neem oil being an effective insecticide and good for the environment at the same time. It's also important to understand this effect to use neem oil insecticide correctly.
Neem Oil Amounts For Insect Spray
For 1 liter of a 0.5 % dilution of neem plant spray you need:
· 5 ml neem oil
· 1-2 ml insecticidal soap or other detergent
· 1 liter warm water

Just multiply these amounts if you want to make a bigger batch. If you want to make a more concentrated batch multiply both the amount of neem oil and the amount of soap used:
For 20 liters of a 1% solution of neem insect spray you need:
· 200 ml neem oil
· 20 ml insecticidal soap
· 20 liters of water
Method For Preparing Neem Insect Spray
· Use warm water if possible. If making a large batch make a premix in a small amount of warm water, then add that into the big container.
· Mix the warm water with the soap first!
· Then slowly add the oil while stirring vigorously.
· Fill the mix into your sprayer.
· (Or fill the premix into your sprayer, which should already contain the rest of the water. Mix well.)
· Keep shaking or otherwise agitating the mix while spraying.
· Use the mixture within eight hours.

Additional Instructions
Spray the neem insecticide solution on all the leaves, especially the undersides where insects like to hide. If you have plenty drench the soil around the roots as well. It does not hurt, neem oil is actually good for your soil.
Use your neem insect spray as quickly as possible, definitely within eight hours. Once your batch neem garden spray is mixed the neem oil starts breaking down. Always make a fresh neem insecticide batch for spraying, and only prepare the amount you need.
Certainly

You can buy pure neem oil from Health Food Stores. I paid about £11 for a 250 ml bottle but because of the potency of the stuff that will last you a good deal of time.

You mix this at a 10 - 20% strength.

To use for Mites - You mix the Neem oil with a base oil. A cheap base oil that you can buy is Grapeseed oil from the supermarket. You mix 10 - 20 mls to every 100mls of the Grapeseed oil.
The tip is don't make too much of it at any one ime because the fresher it is the more potent it is on the nasties.
You then just rub this potion into the feathers and the skin and make sure it is really down to the skin and then leave. You then need to reapply the second time after a few days.
The downside to this is that the feathers are not at the cleanest BUT my horse has stopped cutting lumps out of his legs with scratching .

Posted: Thu Sep 10, 2009 12:50 pm

Very useful Tracey!

Posted: Thu Sep 10, 2009 3:52 pm

Wow thanks Tracey..! You just sorted out my itchiness problem and my sex life in one thread..! lol
But seriously though, that surprising how potent the stuff really is though. Im not sure I can get it in Norway but I will certainly try..! Smile

Friend for Life Joined: 25 Jun 2008 Posts: 3141

Thanks Tracey, such a lot of information.

Posted: Thu Sep 10, 2009 8:04 pm

Quote:

You just sorted out my itchiness problem and my sex life in one thread..! lol

really? Am I missing something? Embarassed

Posted: Thu Sep 10, 2009 8:27 pm

Sounds more like something has been found as opposed to missing... Wink

Master Friend Joined: 20 May 2008 Posts: 364

the main supplyer here is from the neem team or you could get it on ebay

Posted: Thu Sep 10, 2009 8:50 pm

Yes...Tracey said its used as a contraceptive....! I still have a rather usefull labido regardless of my age... Laughing

I must say that I have started to wonder just how its used as a contraceptive...??
Orally I would imagine.....but hey, thats getting away from the 'point'....hahaha... Laughing

....ok ok Im going to bed...!

Posted: Thu Sep 10, 2009 8:58 pm

Oh yes, sorry I missed that part (or at least didn't absorb all the information!)

Friend for Life Joined: 25 Jun 2008 Posts: 3141

It stinks so much Nick no one would want to go near you let alone make babies. Laughing

- that's where it's contraceptive powers come in.

Posted: Fri Sep 11, 2009 8:15 am

Thats pretty safe then..!

Posted: Fri Sep 11, 2009 8:15 am

Hey Lizzy who mentioned anything about babies..?? hahaha...!
(he says..scratching his head and back and legs at the same time)

Friend for Life Joined: 25 Jun 2008 Posts: 3141

No contraception ergo babies - my goodness Nick you have led a sheltered life. Laughing

Posted: Fri Sep 11, 2009 10:28 am

Lizzy

Posted: Fri Sep 11, 2009 10:35 am

Im here to learn... Laughing

Posted: Fri Sep 11, 2009 10:38 am

Ha, probably this forum isn't the best place!! Laughing

Friend for Life Joined: 25 Jun 2008 Posts: 3141

Too right Tracy. Wink

Posted: Fri Sep 11, 2009 11:06 am

Quote:

Ha, probably this forum isn't the best place!!

... and no, I can't recommend any more suitable forum (before you ask!) Laughing

Friend for Life Joined: 25 Jun 2008 Posts: 3141

Posted: Fri Sep 11, 2009 11:47 am

Awww I was hoping this was going to turn into another string of puns that I could read whilst having my lunchtime can of coke! Gutted! Laughing

I guess if we carried on the admin may condom (condem) the site. I better not grease the wheels any further by encouraging you all.

Sorry... Rolling Eyes

Posted: Fri Sep 11, 2009 12:16 pm

Hey wait a minute Emma....sorry if Im naive but....whats c o n d o m...? and g r e a s e....? You mean Shire horse grease now right...?? Very Happy

a horse thats been condemed because of grease....! aahhh...I see now... Very Happy

thank you.....