Anybody ever have any adverse effects using neem oil?

[BashertofCyndi]

Im bout to start usin neem oil every other day in my flower room till I can knock down some whitefly population. That dont sound like too much neem dose it? I wont use it a week before flower but up till then Im figurin on hittenem bout every other day.

 

[rick shaw]

You can use neem up to the third week of flowering.

 

[Sleepy]

apply once...wait a week...apply again wait a week...apply one last time and you will be done.

you will be breaking the cycle, not killing immediately...

the second application prevents any eggs being laid,the third is insurance.

 

[gingerale]

Sleepy is right...if you spray too much neem too often, it does slow down plant growth and makes the leaves look funky, cause it clogs up the pores and makes respiration difficult. but it'll kill them critters dead...

 

[j242]

Love the NEEM oil and my plants love it too,

 

[The Bling]

you know it makes you sterile temporarily.

 

[EddieShoestring]

i'd say that every other day is too often-
once a week sounds about right-

i spray my vegging plants with neem routinely, whether they have bugs on them or not (which they rarely do because of the neem) and also apply as a root drench now and again all the way through flower

i've given plants experimental overdoses of neem and have not seen any adverse reactions with overapplication as a drench-but if you get too much oil on the leaves it can coagulate (sp?) and leave mushy dead spots

cheers
eddieS

 

[Greyskull]

i read somewhere (probably his website) soma uses neem every 4 days i think...
i like to hit em once a week once they're "of size"... meaning in dixie cups... regardless of whether i need to spray, or not. preventative.
i like to stop spraying them about week 3 or 4 of flower.
that said, ive sprayed need all the way until week 7 of plants taken down at 63 - no problems. the plants pretty much absorb the neem btu if youre worried about 'tainted buds' you can always wash them off a few days before harvesting.

good luck

 

[VerdantGreen]

would agree every 3-4 days as this will break the mite/fly/egg cycle.

it doesnt need to be any stronger than 1tsp / litre of warm water. couple drops of soap and wizz it up with a blender. making it stronger doesnt make it more effective.

VG

 

[growshopfrank]

Neem is nice (other than the smell) but for whitefly use something with nylar instead

 

[smellychronic]

Neem Oil seems to have a good effect on somethings. I do think it clogs the pours on the leaf more than anything else.

 

[PeteWeedSeed]

I've done grows where I foliar feed everyday. I don't believe it clogs the pores on the leaves, however I did notice with daily foliar spray the leaves grew huge, some where over 8" across. If that's a result of clogged pores and leaf expanding to make up for it.. i have no idea.
Sadly that was a one time grow before I had to move and no time to test what caused it, so I'm not sure about it.

conclusion.. I've never seen a single bad thing about it, even with daily use. Except the damn smell of it, makes me want to puke sometimes.

 

[growshopfrank]

Also if you use neem in the later weeks of flower you end up with "funky flavor syndrome" that will lessen the enjoyment of your herb.

 

[VerdantGreen]

thats one of the main reasons not to use it too concentrated.

ive used it 1tsp/litre up to fairly late flower, just spraying very lightly from underneath to get the bottom of the leaves where sap sucking insects live (thats where the phloem is )
hardly any goes on the buds and if one is in the line of fire i shield it from the spray. ive never smelt or tasted it smoking the dry buds

having said that the best time to use neem is before you see any pests (or failing that in the very early stages), do this every week until 2nd week of flower and you will be almost guaranteed a clear run. once you have a proper infestation nothing will clear it (well nothing that would allow you to smoke the buds without poinsoning yourself anyway....)

VG

 

[Clackamas Coot]

If you're concerned about the oil content you can use neem seed meal (or karanja seed meal) and make a tea. The organic versions of these meals contain 1500 ppm of the active compounds useful as a fungicide as well as a pesticide. This is the levels in conventional neem oil products. The organic versions of the oil are 4500 ppm - 3x the levels.

Combined with kelp meal or seaweed extract (which are effective in limiting the hatching of the eggs) and applied on a regular basis you'll have an effective mix.

To 5 gallons of water add 1 cup of the neem seed meal and 1/2 cup of kelp meal and bubble it out for 24 hours or so. You can apply this as a foliar application as well as applying to the soil where it is very effective in killing gnats and aphids.

HTH

CC

 

[whodair]

you know it makes you sterile temporarily.

ahh a spermicidal lubricant ?? nice homie !!

 

[Sheriff Bart]

the only adverse effects ive had were not from the neem oil but the surfactant i was using. i wasnt payin enough attention the other week and i mixed up a bit too much ultra fine oil (parrafinnic oil) and neem oil and well i killed a few seedlings and almost killed one of my moms. from now on i think i am gunna stick with the Pro-TeKt as a surfactant, has the potassium silicate in it too which is nice. but also neem and cacti/succulents do not mix ime, but most everything else will tolerate neem alright.

 

[Wise]

Yes, I applied too much on an outdoor crow a few weeks into flower which damaged and blackened leafs and hairs. After a few weeks they recovered but the damage was done.

 

[pearlemae]

Follow the directions on the label they are there for a reason. For some reason people have this funny tendency when using pesticides that if a little works a lot is better. But thats not so. The manufacturer has directions so you don't O.D. you, your plants, or the environment. Just because its organic doesn't mean it can't harm the environment if used improperly. Just my humble 40 years of gardening experience.

 

[StealthDragon]

nasty. I'd never spray anything on flowering plants, it's kinda scary how many of you do though.