Neem oil bug spray has been used in place of conventional pesticides and insecticides for a very long time and for good reason. The reason behind its fame is that it is all-natural, very effective, non-toxic, and easily made at home which makes it perfect for small home gardens. Neem oil thus can be used on many different plants for many different diseases and insects in your inorganic or organic garden.
In this article, we will take you through all the important information related to neem oil bug spray, how it can be made, and how to best use it so let us get started.
Contents
How To Use Neem Oil Bug Spray on Plants?
You can use neem oil bug spray by first inspecting the plant thoroughly, and picking the neem of choice, arranging the neem oil bug spray from the shop or making it yourself, spraying the plants with it, and finally applying aftercare and taking precautionary measures.
1. Inspect the Plant
The first step in the process is to inspect the plant carefully so that you may understand what bug, insect, or infection is bothering the plant if neem oil will work against it, how much deeper the infection is, and how long it will take to be eradicated. These all are very important questions that need to be asked before you embark on using the neem oil bug spray for your plants.
The most important thing here is that the time you discover that there is an infection or infestation taking place on your plants, you immediately start your countermeasure on it. This will help in containing the infection to the plant or to the part of the plant, and this is why you should be very carefully examining the health of the plant and checking where the infestation is taking place.
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 very small in number. In the case that the number of insects is much larger, then you should aim to check the way the plant is growing and how you can manage to tackle them, and the frequency of the neem that you must be applying, in the long run.
2. Pick The Neem of Choice
The second step in the process is arranging the neem oil spray bug spray that will be sprayed on the plants to remove the insects and their infection. The neem oil has a slippy nature and a consistency in the oil-texture that it has and insecticidal properties.
In short, this is how and why it will be effective 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 slippery nature and also a bitter smell that is the evidence of the presence of neem oil. In addition, you should also check and see the color of the oil and how it has an orange yet brown color, and smells earthy with some acidic tones.
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 substances 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.
3. Mix the Oil
Additionally, 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.
Mix all of these ingredients together until a solution is formed and it has a homogeneous consistency. 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, but again, go for the fresh type because it works better and you can dilute it if necessary.
Neem oil is a natural oil that has the power of a pesticide and insecticide, all packed into one powerful oil and extracted from the neem seeds and tree. Neem oil is thus a very effective and easily available remedy and the best thing about it is that it is non-toxic to humans, making it safe to use.
The other oils that can be used in a neem oil spray are rosemary and lavender oils either in a solution form or raw. The rosemary and lavender oils have strong insecticidal properties and pleasant fragrances, so they bode very well with neem oil. You must remember that this is necessary, if you cannot stand the smell that will be around for a couple of days.
Neem oil is very bitter in taste and with an unpleasant fragrance, which is why the oil is mixed with a compound with a much better smell. The rosemary oil resembles the neem oil in a lot of properties but does not has its aroma and taste which makes it a great addition to the oil.
You may also see gardeners that use rosemary oil bug spray without the neem oil because in many ways it is a replica of the neem oil.
4. Spray the Plant
The third step in the process is to 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.
It will save you from getting any bugs or insects on your clothes and later on to your skin, because if you would get a rash from the oil’s texture, then you should not risk it and wear long sleeves. You should also wear eye goggles, gardening gloves, overalls, a face mask if sprays are involved, and gardening boots if you plan on going inside the garden with taller plants.
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 with the consistency of the plant, and this way, you should also make sure to avoid spraying so much that it would block the air pockets.
Choose a dry and sunny day for spraying the plants as this will help the neem oil work better. Start by spraying the plants from the top then you must 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 so that the infection or infestations marinate in the neem oil which will eventually kill them.
You can pick the bugs of such plants or just destroy the whole pot because they can be easily grown afterward. The main reason why you shouldn’t apply neem oil to such plants is that the leaves of these plants are very wispy, and the neem oil can easily burn them off, hence you should dilute it properly so that it would weaken.
The leaves are the most critical part of these plants and their being burned leaves the whole point of keeping only the plants with stems and roots. These plants also mostly only have beneficial insects on them and do not require drastic measures to remain healthy.
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 that will help in safeguarding the plants from future invasions and infestations. Make sure that after use, you store the neem oil in a cool and dry place so it does not go bad.
In some cases, it is best that you wipe down the excess neem oil big spray after spraying it. These cases include fruits or vegetables that have very thin skin and the long exposure to the neem oil can cause them to adopt the smell of the neem.
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.
You can keep homemade neem oil on the shelf for around two to three months or depending on the condition of the oil. If the oil has developed cultures that are not supposed to be there, it is best to get rid of the oil.
After this, remember that the shelf-life of a commercial neem oil is around one to three years and this is because it has certain chemicals that act as preservatives and prolongs the life of the oil. If you want, you can add such chemicals to your neem oil and prolong its shelf life as well.
The store-bought neem oil spray and the homemade one are both great for working against the infection-causing insects and bugs so make sure that when in need, you deeply its use and see your plants come back to life.
Conclusion
In this article, we talked about the simplest way of using neem oil bug spray but in case you missed anything, here is a short conclusion of the important points in the article:
- You can use neem oil bug spray by first inspecting the plant thoroughly, arranging the neem oil bug spray from the shop or making it yourself, spraying the plants with it, and finally applying aftercare and taking precautionary measures.
- The neem oil bug spray can be used on plants, shrubs, and trees but we suggest that you do not use it in closed spaces because its fumes can be suffocating.
- 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.
- If you need to spray it in a congested room, make sure a window or an exhaust fan is open so that the ventilation is not compromised. You should also wear a mask when handling such aerosols.
Here we come to the end of the article: how to use neem oil bug spray. We hope that this was an informative and useful article for you to read. Happy gardening!
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