insects

outsideasy 9/1/2010, 2:51 am

Ok, we have a new garden area and 14 garden boxes on a rock bed in a mobile home park. How do the bugs find our new plants so easy ? Aphids and misc bugs eating my tender new plants and soapy water and non chemical things don't have any effect. I am now looking for Neem oil to start spraying on them, any suggestions on where the best place and price to get Neem oil ?

Chopper 9/1/2010, 3:29 am

Excellent question. How do they know? I have been told that above us at all times there is a veritable highway of bugs that float from place to place on the winds. Amazing.

No idea about the Neem oil. I did find a spray with neem in it at HD but it was meant for roses and was pretty expensive for the amount you got - just a quart ready spray.

GloriaG 9/1/2010, 10:37 am

Hi outsideasy,

I use Neem Oil on my orchid collection as well as my vegetables - whenever I have a problem that won't respond to gentler measures. You can purchase it from the web at:

http://www.planetnatural.com/site/neem-oil.html
http://www.amazon.com
http://www.ghorganics.com/SupremeNeemOil.html

Lowe's carries "Green Light" Neem Oil for veggies. Home Depot also has one that shows roses on the container - but if you read the text it's OK on vegetables up to the day of harvest.

Prices, sizes and strength vary by manufacturer. I use the 70% or 100% and dilute it according to package directions.
Hope this helps.
Gloria

**herbarium** 9/1/2010, 11:37 am

For aphids I use a blast of water and/or insecticidal soap. I only use neem on things that are more difficult to control. Since it is an oil some plants may be damaged if you use it when temperatures are high. Be sure to check for temperature and other restrictions on the label.
If you can find out what the other creatures are before treating that would be best. Often insects that aren't doing the damage get blamed because they just happen to be there. Sometimes they are the ones actually eating the pests. There are websites and books for identification but also your local extension service. http://www.csrees.usda.gov/Extension/index.html

outsideasy 9/2/2010, 10:22 am

Thanks for your help I purchased a 16oz bottle of Neem at the local Nursery and sprayed last night. I hear the coffe maker sounding off so I'll get a cup and go investigate the undersides of my plants. Thanks again for all your input and interest in SFG

ander217 9/3/2010, 8:27 am

Be careful when you spray Neem. It is toxic to bees until it dries. Belfrybat has posted when it's safer to spray, but I don't remember which hours of the day those are.

Chopper, I never thought about a bug highway above my garden. That's a cool idea. Apparently there was a traffic jam over my garden all summer.

outsideasy 9/3/2010, 1:31 pm

Hi All
I sprayed with Neem Wednesday night and this Friday morning my plants actually look healthier, I don't know if in fact thay are or my perseption is in way to positive mode but they do look better. When I wave my hand over the tops of the plants no white flies fly out and no new inch bugs found and the powdery mildew looking spots have not grown. That's about as scientific as I can get for describing what I see. I think that Neem gets a thumbs up from me and next is to use it on my landscape plants and flowers to see how it handles those problem areas (Roses Petunia's) if it would only stop snails from coming around too.
Thanks again for all your info

Garden Angel 9/3/2010, 2:06 pm

Love your name! glad you are seeing improvement. I just wanted to second Beuna on the insecticidal soap, I use Safer brand organc and biodegradable, don't think it is toxic for bees at least not that I have seen, but could be wrong.

outsideasy 9/5/2010, 3:25 am

I love Neem oil, it totally cured my garden problems, ( All new gardners should be told about Neem oil from the start) no white flies no new holes in the leaves no aphids or none that I could see and everything in general looking good rather than finding sick plants looking sad, they are all looking happy and growing well again. I will look up Safer brand garden products too.

outsideasy 9/5/2010, 6:19 pm

OK, maybe I jumped to a conclusion to soon on the effects of Neem oil and aphids and inch worms but they still look better since I sprayed them. This morning there were aphids on a lot of the veggies again and I found one inch worm but I'm sure there are more so I am going off yo the the store to find the Safer brand products so I can spray every day if I need to. Neem is sprayed once every 7 to 14 days and I can tell that that won't work.

outsideasy 9/14/2010, 12:08 pm

I purchased a spray bottle of Safer Tomato and Vegetable insect killer and now between these two products I seem to have a handle on the insect problem I (we) were having. I sprayed 5 Harlequin beetles and the Safer product stopped them in their tracks. So for the month of Sept I have sprayed my garden and others with Neem Oil then after about 5 days Safer T&V killer for about three rounds and it seems to have saved my garden. I don’t think I have to be as aggressive now but only time will tell if that bug highway has rerouted or not.
Thanks for all you suggestions
Al

Shoda 9/14/2010, 2:08 pm

Sorry to hear about the bugs. I think I purchased Neem oil at the local nursery (Navlet's) but I am not sure. I would try calling around.

I gave up on spraying and purchased some lady bugs. I let 1/3 of them out every day for 3 days and they mostly took care of my problems. Not sure if you can still find them in the nursery's. Don't spray if you are using lady bugs because you will kill them off too.

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