Sherry, that sounds 'way too strong a mix to me. I hope JT will weigh in on this. I haven't used my Neem oil for a while, and the instruction booklet is missing from under the label (naturally) so I can't tell you for sure, but I'm thinking it was more like 2 tablespoons per gallon of water. I also add some dish soap - about a tsp. - to the solution. It helps keep the oil in suspension, and spread it over the leaves as a surfactant. Added later, here's a good site
http://www.discoverneem.com/ne... for the dilution ratios. 1tsp. per quart of water. They do say to use soap for a surfactant, too. You can double the amount for a severe infestation.
The oil/soap combo is a good mechanical means to smother and dessicate the mites. The Neem does also have insecticidal properties, but mites are arachnids, not insects so the mechanical means works best. You need to be sure to cover all surfaces of the leaves and stems with the spray, and the soil surface, too. Be very careful about keeping the plants in the shade while they have the stuff on them. I would just keep them shaded until you're finished having to spray. The plants are stressed anyway, so could do with the relief from your strong sun. Do you have a piece of shade cloth or something you can just 'tent' over them?
You will have to repeat the spray probably once a week for a few weeks to make sure to get the new generations of mites that may be hatching out even after the present population is killed. Systemics (that are applied by drenching, and taken up by the plant roots) will only need one application, and last sometimes a year, but Neem is not a systemic.
