Viewing post #3197751 by catpaworchid

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Dec 7, 2024 7:14 AM CST

I have used Neem Oil for controlling pests on my orchids for about 15 years now. I never mix it with anything.
I have both a one gallon and 2 gallon pump sprayer. I fill either one with water first leaving a little bit of room at the top. With the one gallon, I add a teaspoon of Neem Oil and a couple of drops of a mild dish soap. Then I close the top, pump it up and use the 'fog setting' on the brass spray head. The two gallon sprayer gets twice the Neem and twice the dish soap.

When I first started using Neem, I started a base line schedule if you will, three treatments, each one a week to ten days apart. After that, I would spray with Neem once a month. Yes, it is a systemic good for not only controlling insect pests but for controlling fungus and bacterial issues as well. In the beginning three treatments I sprayed as much of each orchid as I could, including the roots. My thinking was that the first spray smothered the adult insects. If eggs were present, and they probably were, they hatch and the second spray got those smothered. The third spray was strictly for good measure. BUT you must cover as much of the plants surfaces as possible. If you spray without achieving good coverage, you are allowing the beasties to survive and breed in those areas that you missed. And man, they breed extremely quickly, exploding in numbers overnight.
Every new plant gets the three spray program. But the veterans of my program only get sprayed once a month. The beauty of this program is that after the Neem oil has built up within the orchids tissues I can miss a spraying here and there without any ill effects.

This treatment program I started works very well. It is a result of talking with a lot of orchid growers in Florida where I lived for 9 years. I NEVER MIX IT WITH ANYTHING ELSE. Why? Because I was advised when I started that in mixing Neem with other chemicals or treatments, you can get precipitants to form and settle out clogging the sprayer or spray nozzle.

I am not surprised with something like an indoor ficus tree, that you cant really ever control insects! With something wit that many branches and leaves, how does one achieve full coverage? Neem does NOT kill by contact or by residual touching. It kills by smothering, choking off the pests air supply.
Last edited by catpaworchid Dec 7, 2024 7:19 AM Icon for preview

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