Dangers of Neem Oil

[therevverend]

Potassium based soaps and sulfur will completely eliminate any indoor infestation. If it doesn't, you need to increase your awareness of your methods and fix the gaps you're leaving.

That's awesome. I remember it took me a while to wrap my head around the idea that mites could be eradicated with just soap and water. The hard part are the eggs, every week you've got a new generation and if you don't wipe it out you start over from day 1. Most people don't have the discipline and patience to stay on their game.

A big part of your success is this: 'I've never picked up mites from the environment, even though I've lived and grown in several states and several properties now. So far, they've always come from other growers, or on cuts from other growers.'

That's amazing, keeping your grow room that clean and sterile. I'd get them every summer, and once again it takes a lot of discipline, patience, and time a lot of people don't have. It's an essential skill for growers. The hardest part for me, was dealing with the infestations I was always fighting.

In the mid 90s there wasn't even neem oil. At least we'd never heard of it. When I got Avid it was a Godsend, no more having to kill all your clones and start over from seed every summer when your infestation got bad. Which makes for a terrible moral dilemma. Now there's so many less toxic options we're really lucky. I haven't grown indoors for a few years which is nice, I've always preferred outdoor growing but it has it's share of problems.

I've talked to some 502 Washington state outdoor recreational growers, checked out their grows. Not a single mite and they have had terrible problems with russet and varroa mites. The official state clone dealers are all infested and the desert is full of them now. The bugs have nowhere to go but onto the lush green ganja plants. I'm assuming the clone dealers don't care because they're not flowering the plants, just selling cuts to people. Which is why I don't take cuts from people anymore.

The growers use biological controls. I was so proud of my buddy, he had thousands of plants and not a mite on them. He said his biggest problem was the predator mites were starving to death! He was talking about getting into insect breeding so he doesn't have to keep buying new ones for each crop. Never has to spray. Couldn't believe it, the cleanest garden in the state was a big commercial 502 garden. If I had an infestation this is what I'd use.

 

[JustSumTomatoes]

The mites have never messed with my MJ plants (knock on wood) but they seem to show up every now and then on my other garden plants.

 

[Weird]

neem is great and has its place in an organic regime without any contamination to flowering plants

 

[ozzieAI]

there is NOT a single supporting fact to reflect the negative claims made about neem in this thread...

when used appropriately in the production of cannabis there are no negative implications from using neem oil...

 

[gladysvjubb]

I have been using NO PEST STRIPS for years and years and never have any bugs. Highly recommended. Just do not live with the fucking things! Read and follow directions.

 

[Douglas.Curtis]

That's awesome. I remember it took me a while to wrap my head around the idea that mites could be eradicated with just soap and water. The hard part are the eggs, every week you've got a new generation and if you don't wipe it out you start over from day 1. Most people don't have the discipline and patience to stay on their game.

I agree. It IS work to grow cannabis cleanly. I does take meticulous care, and I can see why people use systemics (neem is systemic with cannabis, sprayed or drenched). It takes a whole lot less work.

A big part of your success is this: 'I've never picked up mites from the environment, even though I've lived and grown in several states and several properties now. So far, they've always come from other growers, or on cuts from other growers.'

That's amazing, keeping your grow room that clean and sterile. I'd get them every summer, and once again it takes a lot of discipline, patience, and time a lot of people don't have. It's an essential skill for growers. The hardest part for me, was dealing with the infestations I was always fighting.

Most of it has to do with grow management. I keep a veg area near my front door, where I entertain visitors. I check my grow rooms when my clothes are clean and I'm showered. I check the flower room first when clean, then move to the veg area, never the opposite.

My flowering areas are always HEPA filtered, so nothing is going in there unless it's on me or equipment I bring in with me. This means they always show up first in veg, where they're the easiest to get rid of.

So any time I start seeing mites showing up in my bonsai veg cab, I know I need to be extra careful, and pay attention to who's been visiting or where I've been lately.

I've talked to some 502 Washington state outdoor recreational growers, checked out their grows. Not a single mite and they have had terrible problems with russet and varroa mites. The official state clone dealers are all infested and the desert is full of them now. The bugs have nowhere to go but onto the lush green ganja plants. I'm assuming the clone dealers don't care because they're not flowering the plants, just selling cuts to people. Which is why I don't take cuts from people anymore.

Argh! Yes, cuts from other growers are the main sources for most pests. Mites, botrytis, pm, root aphids, the list goes on. I've been gifted mites, root aphids and pm, though I've only had the PM show up once in a poorly set up veg area. lol I quarantine everything, though it's rare I take in a cutting anymore.

The growers use biological controls. I was so proud of my buddy, he had thousands of plants and not a mite on them. He said his biggest problem was the predator mites were starving to death! He was talking about getting into insect breeding so he doesn't have to keep buying new ones for each crop. Never has to spray. Couldn't believe it, the cleanest garden in the state was a big commercial 502 garden. If I had an infestation this is what I'd use.

This is where it's at for outdoor.
Nematodes in early spring, as soon as the ground warms up, then predator mites a bit later and throughout the grow. So glad to hear things are going well for them, it makes such a huge difference.

 

[chronic82]

Safer brand 3 in 1 conc ii is the only sulfur/ potassium soap product approved for use in Oregon. Do you think this stuff would be effective?
My goal for my next crop is to only use Oregon approved pesticides and fertilizers and have a bug free crop

 

[Douglas.Curtis]

Safer brand 3 in 1 conc ii is the only sulfur/ potassium soap product approved for use in Oregon. Do you think this stuff would be effective?
My goal for my next crop is to only use Oregon approved pesticides and fertilizers and have a bug free crop

Yes, Safer's is a very good insecticidal soap and I use it myself.

 

[f-e]

Smells like chicken pot-noodle. I have used both recently, and I'm not sure which one was worse.

0.5% drench stopped the springtail's in my coco. Sourced it from the skin care isle. Held it in solution with a wetting agent. Usual EC and pH.

 

[f-e]

Same 0.5% solution of neem drench, seems to of killed fungus gnats. There were plenty on the day of application. Just 1 crawling the next day. It's now day 5. Not conclusive till we get to a week, but if I don't post here again, they are not back.