Neem oil for bagworms is a great way of preventing them and also getting rid of them if they appear on plants, bushes, or trees. Neem oil is a natural antimicrobial, so it is used broadly for gardening purposes.
Read on, as we will tell you exactly how and when to use the neem oil spray for bagworms and also how to make your own neem oil spray at home so let us get started with the process.
Contents
How To Get Rid of Bagworms By Using Neem Oil?
You can get rid of bagworms using neem oil spray by inspecting the plants for bagworms, picking the right time to spray, arranging the neem oil spray, applying the spray on the infected plants, and finally, applying aftercare and precautionary measures against the bagworms.
Neem oil is a natural oil with 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 for insect control and the best thing about it is that it is non-toxic to humans which makes it safe to use.
Bagworms are very peculiar and odd-looking insects that attack a lot of trees, bushes, and plants. There are around 1350 different types of species of these bagworms all around the world. Fortunately, neem oil works very well against them.
1. Inspect the Plant
The first step in the process is to inspect the plant thoroughly for the bagworms. These insects have a very dusty brown color and most of them are encapsulated in a similar colored sac. Hence, you should examine the plant that they are on, and inspect where they have infested the most.
The life cycle of the insects includes hanging on to the trees until they feel fine to come out, so be sure that you have targeted them in the right way before their infestation grows. You can spot them easily because even if they come out of the silky husk they make themselves, their husk remains attached to the tree or bushes.
The bagworms resemble caterpillars in a lot of ways when they come out. They have many pairs of legs on the sides of their bodies which makes them active and helps in grabbing onto the surface of the leaves or bark.
The bagworms can be seen hanging from a tree in bunches. Each bag contains only one bagworm, so you can have an idea by looking at the bunch how many of the bagworms are infecting your plants and how much needs to be done.
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. Hence, you should have confidence in the oil and how it will help you in the journey of tackling the harmful pests.
Before going into a much deeper cleanse of the insect, if the invasion is small or has just started, you should 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, follow the further steps to get rid of them, for keeping your plants healthy and thriving.
2. Pick the Right Day
Choose a dry day for spraying the plants as this will help the neem oil work better, and a day in spring when they are not hiding in the plants, also, when the sun isn’t fully direct and bright. Start by spraying the plants from the top then make your way down to the roots of the plant.
It is excellent if the neem oil spray goes here and there because it is safe for almost all plants except for the ones with wispy leaves like oregano, and basil as they have thinner leaves, hence, it may burn them. After carefully and generously spraying the plants with neem oil, leave the plants be for some time.
On the contrary, the worst time to spray neem oil for bagworms is at night when the sun has already set in rainy or cold weather. This is because the neem oil requires a dry and sun-lit day in order to work best. So make sure you have the conditions sorted out for the best results.
At night, the neem oil will not be potent for removing the bagworms because the bagworms are maybe gone away from the plants to sleep or may be in hiding from other predators. However, if you want to go ahead and do so during the times when the sun is setting, you can do so as well because they won’t be as active.
So make sure to spray the neem oil in the sunlight and on a dry day because rain and wet weather can make the use of neem oil redundant. Use the weather forecast to see when it might rain and steer clear of those days. Also, make a schedule to repeat the neem oil spray for maximum and efficient results.
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 slippery nature and also a bitter smell that is the evidence of the fact that the oil is perfectly fresh. You must make sure that it is fresh, and this is important because it will let the oil work in the right way, because the expired one may cause more harm than good to the plant as well as the insect.
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.
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, that doesn’t have any added excessive chemicals added.
Mix all of these ingredients together until a solution is formed. 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
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 you must 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 and if you have any allergies to the oil as well. 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 consistency throughout the plant but be sure thhat you won’t do it excessively.
Too much neem oil spray on bagworms-infected plants can be bad and hazardous to the plant, soil, and your. Neem oil is used as a pesticide and as an insecticide because of its natural properties, but if used in a large amount, it can destroy the pH of the soil.
Too much neem oil spray can easily seep into the soil, making it unbearable for the plants to take up nutrients and survive in such a situation. This is why it is best that you use the neem oil spray at a recommended dosage and only when it is required.
Make a timetable for the spray and this is why you do not end up spraying more than required. Also, try and spray all the necessary spots on a single day, so the plants won’t get accidental sprays while spraying the other plants.
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.
Bagworms on plants will not go away after a single coat of neem oil spray. You will need to thoroughly apply the spray two to three times and then check vigorously if there is still a need for more spray. This will help you get rid of the bagworms.
The bagworms are small insects and can hide easily around the plant, making it harder to get them all on the first try. This is why it is recommended that you apply the spray more than one time for maximum results.
While working on the plants with the spray, make sure that you spray everywhere equally so no parts of the plant are left untouched and you should do this once or maximum twice a week. Do not forget the bits and places under the leaves and around the roots, so that you would tackle them in a thorough way.
Lastly, the neem oil will start killing the insects and when it does, make sure you 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. Use a damp cloth to remove the dead bagworms from the surface of the trees, bushes, or smaller plants.
The other most important thing is to remove the silky bags that they are in. You will find them attached to the barks most time so removing them will work in your favor, so reapplying and tackling them is important.
Even though the empty husks do not have any side effects with them but for cleaning purposes, it is good to get rid of them when you remove the dead worms. Other than that, your plants should now be fine with good aftercare and removal of the worms.
Conclusion
In this article, we talked about the simplest way of using neem oil for bagworms but in case you missed anything, here is a short conclusion of the important points in the article:
- You can get rid of bagworms using neem oil spray by inspecting the plants for bagworms, arranging the neem oil spray, applying the spray, and finally, applying aftercare and precautionary measures.
- The bagworms are mostly found in a silk bag which they make themselves.
- The neem oil should be sprayed during the day.
- Make sure to remove the killed insects from the plants as they can cause a very bad smell and attract other beings to the plants.
- After using the neem oil, make sure it is stored safely.
The bagworms can be tedious to get rid of when the neem oil is not used in the right way. We hope that this was an informative and useful article for you to read.
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