Does neem oil kill lanternfly nymphs is a very commonly asked question because neem oil is used for many different purposes and one of them is killing various bugs and insects that infect plants. This is why it is very important that the nymphs are taken care of before they cause more havoc as they are a very invasive species.
In this article, we will take you through all the information that you need to know on how neem oil kills lanternfly nymphs and what is the best way to go about it.
Contents
How To Get Rid of Lanternfly Nymphs Using Neem Oil?
You can get rid of lanternfly nymphs through the use of neem oil by first inspecting the plant thoroughly, arranging neem oil spray, spraying the plant well, and finally, applying aftercare and precautionary measures. This will help you get rid of the nymphs effectively.
1. Inspect the Plant
The first step in the process is to carefully inspect the plant for lanternfly nymphs. You will need to look out for the impact of the insects, the amount of the insects, how much time you will need to spray the neem oil spray, and how long would the infection be finished successfully.
The answer to all these questions is important as this will help you in making a careful schedule for the spray timings for biological control. The reason for the latter is that the spread of these lanternflies is of significant concern because they are highly adaptable and can make any place their new home within a small period of time.
They might resemble a butterfly when their wings are out but do not be fooled because if there is one of them nearby, the rest of them are not far away. Hence, you should inspect in a keen way, so that you can mark where they are, how have they harmed the surroundings, and how big is the infestation growing.
You will thus need to save your plants from them and ensure they are confined in one place where they can be effectively destroyed rather than let them run wild and free until they cause havoc everywhere.
Before going into a much deeper cleanse of the insect, if the invasion is small or has just started, you might want to hose the insects with plain water a medium pressure. The water will remove the insects and you can manually remove them from around your plants.
Keep in mind that this will only work when the insects are tiny in number. If the number of insects is much larger, follow the further steps to get rid of them, keeping your plants healthy and thriving.
2. Select the Right Day
Choose a dry and sunny day, but not under direct sunlight for spraying the plants, as this will help the neem oil work better. Start by spraying the plants from the top then make your way down to the roots of the plant.
After carefully and generously spraying the plants with neem oil, leave the plants be for some time, and this is best so that there is no chance that there will be rain, so it washes away.
The worst time to use the neem oil spray on the lanternfly nymphs is at night time and in cold or rainy weather because this oil needs sunlight to work at its best pace. So make sure you use the neem oil at the right time of the day and in the right weather.
The cool and wet weather is not a good fit for using neem oil on lanternfly nymphs. The main reason behind this is that the damp weather does not let the neem oil stick to the plant, resulting in no action of the oil on the nymphs.
Neem oil is thus a very effective and readily available remedy and the best thing about it is that it is non-toxic to humans, making it safe to use when you use it on a bright day with no chance of rain.
For the oil to work, the weather should be dry and warm so first, the neem oil sticks onto the surface and starts its work, and secondly, the neem oil would need a good amount of sunlight and this is why you would see how its temperature can rise and make it an uncomfortable place for the bugs to stay and work. If these conditions are not fulfilled, the neem oil spray would be useless and would require a second coat when the time is right.
3. Arrange the Neem Oil
The second step in the process is arranging the neem oil spray that will be sprayed on the plants to remove the insects and their infection. The neem oil has a slippery nature and insecticidal properties which is why when it is sprayed on the insects they lose their grip on the plant and fall away and secondly, are affected by the insecticidal properties of the neem oil.
So whatever neem oil solution you arrange, make sure that it has that oily nature and also a bitter smell that is the evidence of the presence of neem oil. This is the way that you would make sure the oil is still fresh and not expired.
In case, you want to spray the neem oil plants with edible fruits or vegetables on them, it is best to use the neem oil that has the least amount of chemicals and preservatives in it. This will ensure that your plants are not getting sprayed on by any chemicals that prove to be toxic later on. If you are using such a spray, make sure to wash your sprayed-on fruits or vegetables very nicely before consuming them.
You can also choose to make your own neem oil spray at home. You can do this by getting a gallon of water with two to three tablespoons of neem oil and a kitchen-safe dishwashing liquid in a container.
Now, you should make sure to thoroughly mix all of these ingredients together until a solution is formed, it should have some bubbles of soap as well if you used it to emulsify. You can use this homemade solution like you would use the store-bought one, but this solution might not have a long shelf-life as the other one because it is devoid of any and all preservatives.
4. Spray the Plant
You must first take a leaf and spray on the leaf this mixture you created so that you would see how good is the consistency. Then you can go ahead and spray the oil if the result of the leaf is a fresh-looking one, after 24 hours of being exposed to the mixture.
On the other hand, if you check and see that the oil has burnt or even weakened the leaf, then you must not spray it, but dilute it even more.
Now, what you have to do is spray the plant with the solution of neem oil, either homemade or store-bought. The first thing that you will need to remember here is that protective gear is of utmost importance.
For spraying, the container should have a nozzle with adjustable hole sizes because this will make the spraying much easier and non-tiring. You will also be able to use the spray more widely and consistently throughout the plant.
It is bad to use too much neem oil spray on lanternfly nymphs because the spray will start to affect the soil more than the bugs which can cause a problem for the growth and nutrition-uptake of the plants, and this is the reason why a moderate amount of spray is better, so that the plant wouldn’t go through a difficult time as you are removing these pests way.
The neem oil spray has a different pH than the soil and is also highly insecticidal in nature, although it’s natural. A large amount of this oil in the soil can ruin the fertility of the oil, which will cause the soil to lose its integrity and the healthy growth that you are aiming to provide.
You may not be able to grow any new plants in it unless the soil is mixed with new soil to remove the effect of the surplus neem oil. The present plants in the soil will also be affected as the neem oil will be in their nutrition stream so it is better to use only the required amount of neem oil to kill the lanternfly nymphs or any and all bugs and insects.
5. Apply Aftercare
The last step in the process is to apply the aftercare which will include making a schedule of reapplication of neem oil and also fixing protective and preventative guards. Make sure that after use, you store the neem oil in a cool and dry place so it does not go bad.
Lastly, the neem oil will start killing the insects; when it does, remove the dead insects from the plants as they will rot there. Sometimes, the rotting insects can have a very bad smell and attract other beings.
Lanternfly nymphs will not go away after just a single coat of the neem oil spray and they have a good reason for it. A single coat of neem oil will not be able to attack and rid the plant of all the nymphs at once.
It will need more than one coat to do so, and if not, they will still suck on the plants and drain them of all the nutrition and water in addition to causing fungal diseases on the targeted plants. Hence, you can go ahead and try to do so several times, so that the result will be positive one in the end, and you will free from them.
It is the best option that you use at least two to three coats of neem oil spray at the least to be sure that the lanternfly nymphs are carefully being removed from the infected plants. You will need to however increase the number of coats depending on the impact and the amount of the lanternflies in your garden.
Conclusion
In this article, we talked about the simplest way of using neem oil for lanternfly nymphs but in case you missed anything, here is a short conclusion of the important points in the article:
- You can get rid of lanternfly nymphs through the use of neem oil by first inspecting the plant thoroughly, arranging neem oil spray, spraying the plant well, and finally, applying aftercare and precautionary measures.
- The natural antimicrobial chemical compound found in neem oil is called azadirachtin and is very potent against very wide and diverse varieties of insects and bugs that may harm your plants or pets.
- The spread of these lanternflies is of big concern because they are highly adaptable and can make any place their new home within a small period of time like the praying mantis.
- The lanternfly nymphs or the Lycorma delicatula are a peculiar species of flies that have found their way from Asia to the rest of the world.
Here we come to the end of the article: how does neem oil kill lanternfly nymphs? We hope that this was an informative and useful article for you to read. Happy gardening!
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