Does neem oil kill springtails, is asked by people who are no longer comfortable with the number of springtails in their yard and want to control them. These organisms may be beneficial, but they can also be considered a nuisance when they grow too many, so you should be sure to have the right tools to free from them.
Neem oil is a natural solution to end your springtail problem, so you must learn how to use it properly. Read this article to learn how to solve your springtail problem using neem.
How To Kill Springtails With Neem Oil?
To kill springtails with neem oil, get an original neem oil and any emulsifying product you choose. Dilute the oil and spray it on areas with springtails in your yard. You must reapply when needed, fix the surrounding’s moisture, and keep your garden hygienic.
Of course, neem oil kills springtails, and while the product is not strong enough to kill large pests such as lizards, it is strong enough to kill springtails. In short, you must be aware that this product is harsh for the organisms, so they either flee or die when you spray it on them.
1. Get Your Neem Oil
You need neem to repel springtails, so go get some. Head to any shop nearby and search for any product with 100 percent neem. The neem has to be pure because you will be diluting it. It may not be as effective as the pure one if it is already diluted, and if you can, make yours by yourself.
You can make neem by yourself using its seeds, and this way you can even make an essential oil out of its leaves. When you make yours by yourself, you will have the assurance that what you are using is original and pure. Homemade neem is also fresher and more effective so long as you do it well.
In addition to these, you must also remember to take some precautions as you would follow which is when using neem oil are wearing gloves and other protective clothing, keeping your kids and pets away from the yard when spraying neem, and using a light neem concentration for plants so that you do not burn them. Spray your plants in the morning or evening but not during noon under direct sun.
2. Get an Emulsifier
This is any product that you can use to break neem so that it can mix properly with water, so you must remember that oils and water hardly mix. An emulsifier helps you to dilute your neem with water so that you can have a lot of neem to use in your yard or garden. There are so many neem emulsifiers in shops; you can also make your own mix.
One popular and readily available neem emulsifier is detergent. Detergent also doubles as an insect killer, so using it for your oil makes it more effective in killing springtails. You can also use wood ash or coal; on the other hand, an extreme way of mixing the oil with water is to boil both.
3. Prepare the Neem Solution
When you get your neem and emulsifier, you are ready to make your neem product. First, decide what surfaces you will spray the product on. If you are spraying the neem on or around any plant part, add two droplets of neem to one liter of water.
If you intend to spray the neem directly on the soil, you can add three or four droplets of neem to a liter of water. The more concentrated the product is, the more effective it will be. At the same time, remember that more concentration also harms plants, so you have to consider your plants.
Add one to two droplets of emulsifier to the neem-water product. When you have neem, water, and emulsifier together in a spray bottle, shake them until they mix well. If you can still see oil floating on the water, add half a tablespoon of emulsifier to help bind the floating oil.
4. Identify Places With Springtails
If there are springtails in your yard, they will be straightforward to find. They prefer soil with a lot of moisture, so check mulched areas or places around water sources such as swimming pools. They also love potted soil, as most potted plants are overwatered and the soil is usually damp. If your yard has shaded areas, check the soil in those areas.
You only have to raise a few objects, such as rocks, to discover the springtails. So long as one springtail is there, more are underneath so that you can mark that place as a springtail hideout. When you discover many springtail hideouts in your yard, move on to the next step.
5. Spray the Springtails With Neem Oil
It is time to attack the springtail infestation using your neem solution. Spray visible springtails with the oil and then pour some more oil on the soil where you found the springtails. Do so until you cover every springtail hideout. If you see some springtails fleeing, spray them or kill them instantly, as they might return.
Don’t worry; the neem solution is completely safe and non-toxic, so you can use it as much as you want. However, consider your plants as well, and for this, remember that if you have plants around, using too much neem can cause overwatering, harming plants. In this case, spray the neem alone and not pour it on the soil.
6. Reapply the Oil
You don’t expect springtails to just disappear from your yard because you used neem oil once. Effective pest control involves using and reusing your neem product consistently until you no longer see springtails in your yard.
Continue using the oil for at least one week or when you feel like it is necessary, and of course, it would depend on the type of plant that you have and how it is handling the process. You can rest for a while when you lift rocks and can no longer find springtails.
However, note that fixing your springtail problem involves more than spraying neem. The presence of springtails in your yard has an underlying cause, so fixing the cause will solve your springtail problem. Move on to the next steps to fix the underlying causes of the infestation of springtails.
7. Fix the Moisture Issues
If you can make sure that you apply it on soil dry, and with this, you would have solved over half of your springtail problem. These organisms grow in moist or damp areas, so keeping the soil a bit dry is all you need to prevent their excess growth. Do not overwater your plants, especially the potted ones.
Also, ensure that your soil is well-drained so that excess water can leave quickly. If you have drainage issues in your yard, fix it quickly. Sometimes, excess moisture in the soil is caused by little droplets of water from your roof. Install a gutter to fix this. Just try to prevent your soil from becoming too moist.
Moreover, you no longer need to ask “how to get rid of springtails naturally,” because as you fix the moisture issue, or also apply a few organic products such as diatomaceous earth and in this case, or natural essential oils for springtails. Hence, you will see the plants thriving, and the bugs will be kept away.
8. Stay Hygienic in Your Garden
Springtails are also attracted to nutrient-rich soils, so ensure that your potting soil or regular garden soil is not full of wasteful organic materials. Clear dead leaves from your yard and keep the yard clean, so that you would also help the process of getting rid of them with the solution, as you ensure that the nutrients in the soil are just right for your plants and not too much.
When the soil is both nutritious and damp, it becomes desirable to springtails and other organisms. Try to keep your soil clean, and you would start to notice a significant decline in your springtail population.
You can prevent the springtails from coming back when you keep your soil moist and clean. So long as you do not overwater your plants and leave organic materials scattered across the yard, springtails will not find your yard desirable. Keep your yard dry and clean.
9. Check for and Kill More Springtails
Remember that we are still using neem to kill every springtail in your yard. After fixing the yard’s moisture and organic nutrient issues, search for the remaining springtails and kill them using neem. In less than a week after consistently spraying the yard with neem, you will solve your neem problem.
A professional pest exterminator is the best person to end your springtail problem for you. The agent will check potted plants and plants in your yard for springtails. They also know the best places where springtails hide. They will kill off every unwanted organism from your yard in a day or two with the same product and added chemicals.
Although you may try to use chemical pesticides as these products are mostly inorganic, but you are sure that every springtail in your yard will either die or flee just a few days after using the products. They are also readily available in stores, but a faster approach to killing every unwanted organism, such as springtails and spider mites is to use chemical pesticides.
Conclusion
Springtail control will be easier for you now so long as you stick to the tips in this article, so here are some awesome points from this article:
- You can identify springtails easily, as they are mostly in moist places such as potting mixes and shaded areas.
- Reduce moisture to stop springtails from becoming too many in your yard, as the organisms love moisture.
- Neem is an excellent product to control springtails, so you don’t have to buy other expensive products for your springtail problem.
- Using detergent as an emulsifier for your neem will make the neem more effective in killing the springtails.
- Stay hygienic in your yard so that springtails will have fewer to no objects to eat in the yard.
So long as you stick to the tips in this article, your yard will be free from springtails in a few days. Remember and stick to the precautions; if you can make your yard clean and dry, you’d have solved your springtail problem.
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