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Neem, benefit or health problems?

Ratzilla

Member
Veteran
I personally have been using neem seed meal for years in eradicating the fungus gnat pest.
I used to use a neem concentrate to bring down fliers.
Way back when i believed that crawly things in my soil was bad i used a neem spray concentrate to try and get rid of bugs i saw in my mix.
I would spray the top of the soil every 4-5 days after doing this more then a couple of times the bugs that were in the soil began climbing up the plant while the plants began going down hill from to much neem so I thought.I never did get rid of the pests.
I now use a tbsp of neem seed cake on the very top of the soil in the pots and cover with a breathable fabric like a old bed sheet for 7-10 days before I actually used the pots and it grows a very friendly fungus that completely eliminates the gnats while doing no damage with other critters that are crawling around in my mix.Since I have not seen any fliers where I had to use a spray.
Bugs in your mix could be a good thing I think of them as my little helpers eating and shitting readily taken up food for the plants.
I have been doing this with this constantly recycled mix and have notice no harm to he plants or my smoking pleasure.
So yea to much neem will have bad effects but a little goes a long way in creating a friendly fungus that completely eliminates gnats with no apparent adverse effects.
I do feel like I am a organic guru.
RatZilla old I am!:biglaugh:
 

DrMay1987

New member
I have severe migraines and nausea and my doctor advised me to try Neem. I found a lot of great reviews about this on the Internet, but I would like to find out more about the effects of Neem on headaches. I generally try to lead a healthy lifestyle thanks toxxxxxxxx. I feel much better than I did a year ago, but I would like to learn more about Neem. I will be glad to receive any feedback and suggestions. Thanks in advance.
 
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HOVAH2.0

Well-known member
Veteran
I've used neem oil, diluted of course for years...its my goto to prevent everything... only problem I've had was florafeeding too much before harvest but soil treatment additive is great ..
 

Bio boy

Active member
Neems used for skin conditions aswel ad other things though
When my dog and kids get lice i mux neem oil in gel put on hair 2days wash out no lice

Now am using it in soil after years spraying ipm...

Are u al saying neems bad?toxic? Shouldnt be used ?
 

Maple_Flail

Well-known member
Neems used for skin conditions aswel ad other things though
When my dog and kids get lice i mux neem oil in gel put on hair 2days wash out no lice

Now am using it in soil after years spraying ipm...

Are u al saying neems bad?toxic? Shouldnt be used ?

the discussion SEEMS to be around the prevalence of issue with neem.

Douglas.Curtis a thought here. Have you ever been tested for a Hiatal hernia? This remedy behavior and wanting to scream while vomiting sounds all to similar.
personal no known issue with pylori here. (not doubting your claims, actually trying to figure out how to tangibly quantify it)
 

jimilo

New member
After using Neem, I have had problems with digestion. Study the drug carefully, as there are some contraindications. I didn't take this into account before using it.
 

chilliwilli

Waterboy
Veteran
Hey ladies and girls whats your view on neem?
In some cultures its used for abortion and i found a studies about early abortion in rodent and primate.
So better no neem usage when u try to get pregnant?
 

18B

New member
I too get bad issues with anything grown using neem...I get head aches, feeling off, kinda tight in the gut...it is 100% from neem.
i grow my own and do not use neem, but a friend does. He gets his clones from me...same weed, grown different. I can smoke mine all day no problem...hit his weed and I'm down for the count.
I noticed this many years ago and just stopped using neem. I never knew it was possibly such a wide spread problem.
 

LostTribe

Well-known member
Premium user
I've been using 1 tbs of raw cold pressed neem oil, 1 tbs of Dr. Bronner's Sal Suds and a little more than a tbs of isopropyl alcohol in a gallon of water for bugs. It's worked great, as long as it's done at lights out when the stomatas are closed - otherwise you burn your plants.

However, due to Douglas's nasty neem allergy, and the probability that there are others who similarly suffer from it, I am going to replace the neem in the recipe with some other oil soon, as it is getting low in the bottle (I don't seem to have a physical problem with neem and I grow for my own use, but I inevitably share some with others).

My understanding is that the neem oil is in that particular mix for the purpose of getting it to stick to the bugs/eggs (so that they dry out), rather than for its other insecticidal properties. So any oil should do as a replacement.

Not sure which component of the SM-90 is actually able to deal with bugs but its main ingredient is sulphonated canola oil. They came out with soil moist or super moist something like that but its missing one of the SM-90 ingredients. I still have half a gallon of SM-90 but it hasn't completely knocked out the FG's. FG's came in from one bag of Happy Frog. I'm cooking my own soil now but still trying to get rid of them. They come and go in waves. I am trying Mosquito dunks in my water now.

sm90
1% coriander oil
94% sulphonated canola oil solution (how is this a "solution")
5% triethanolamine
-also read it contained Salicylic acid but not labeled

DC and anyone else have effective means of destroying these FG populations?

Best
LT
 

Crazy Chester

Well-known member
DC and anyone else have effective means of destroying these FG populations?
It seems to me there's two ways to go: kill all insects and larvae in your soil/res or leave them be and only kill the FGs.

My IPM spray kills everything, as I believe the right application of H202 and Physan 20 would do.

My experience with the IPM spray (soap, oil & alcohol) as a drench is that it kills everything - however, when the weather in my area is favorable for FGs, they will keep coming back once the drench dissipates or dilutes below what it takes to kill them. In my indoor garden, that's good enough for me due to my relatively high degree of control over its conditions - I can almost always keep the FGs in the position of constantly trying to establish new populations in an inhospitable environment, leaving my plants relatively unaffected. I haven't used SM-90, H202 or Physan 20 yet, so I can't say from personal experience that it does the same thing - but, I believe it should. What I use keeps them from killing the plants at times when the weather where I live is perfect for spawning large populations of FGs, but it will not appear to eliminate them from the garden, but, when the weather changes and dries out, the FGs immediate absence from the garden becomes obvious.

Due to that, I think my homemade IPM spray/drench, SM-90, H202, Physan 20, etc. - all those products that kill both beneficial and harmful microbes - really do eliminate FGs from the plants and the ones that continue to be seen flying around the garden are new gnats that came from that excellent breeding ground outside the garden, but the new gnats will be unsuccessful at establishing themselves in the plants given regular IPM, which is why not too many of them will be found on sticky traps, potato slices, etc.

The foregoing is what I usually do and it usually works for me until my outside environment changes to become unfavorable for FGs.

However, I've had really bad FG infestations before I used my homemade IPM that dunks did not work on.

A handful of times I tried something that alternatively worked beautifully and sometimes didn't work at all - nematodes. The nematodes must be variation Steinernema feltiae. I once treated a reservoir that was crawling with FGs with these nematodes and it was like dropping the nuclear bomb on them - there was no trace of live FGs or larvae withing 24 hours of application - it was completely effective, no doubt about it.

Yet, they completely failed to work once as well. I'm convinced that when it didn't work, it was because the nematodes I bought were already dead. And, that's the problem with nematodes - getting fresh ones. If you get true live ones - I think its the silver bullet against FGs and will work quickly, selectively and completely in a short period of time.

The beauty of nematodes is that they leave any beneficial microbe environment intact and selectively kill only the FG larvae.

Good luck, LT - if you can't get good nematodes - just keep them at bay with SM-90. If your plants are still growing through the infestation, even if it's only a little, I think it means you will be ok - as soon as the weather gets dry enough that new FGs don't keep coming to try to re-infest.
 

jimilo

New member
After using Neem, I have had problems with digestion. Study the drug carefully, as there are some contraindications. I didn't take this into account before using it.

. Due to severe pain in the abdomen, I began to constantly use anesthetic drugs, as they delayed the pain by 3-4 hours and I could work. In this regard, I developed a serious addiction associated with the constant use of painkillers, even when I do not feel pain. It worries me a lot and I don't know where to go. My attending physician did not provide me with useful advice and I decided to write here. Perhaps some of you have come across a similar one. Any help, please.
 

Crazy Chester

Well-known member
Not sure which component of the SM-90 is actually able to deal with bugs but its main ingredient is sulphonated canola oil. They came out with soil moist or super moist something like that but its missing one of the SM-90 ingredients. I still have half a gallon of SM-90 but it hasn't completely knocked out the FG's. FG's came in from one bag of Happy Frog. I'm cooking my own soil now but still trying to get rid of them. They come and go in waves. I am trying Mosquito dunks in my water now.

sm90
1% coriander oil
94% sulphonated canola oil solution (how is this a "solution")
5% triethanolamine
-also read it contained Salicylic acid but not labeled

DC and anyone else have effective means of destroying these FG populations?

Best
LT

Maybe using SM90 with some some soap would work as a "wetting agent" - i.e., something that breaks the surface tension of the water to make sure every part of the plant is covered with the SM90. BTW, I replaced Neem in my IPM spray/drench with "vegetable oil" I got at the supermarket (I think its canola or corn oil) - it has worked fine for my IPM since then.
 

Maple_Flail

Well-known member
Maybe using SM90 with some some soap would work as a "wetting agent" - i.e., something that breaks the surface tension of the water to make sure every part of the plant is covered with the SM90. BTW, I replaced Neem in my IPM spray/drench with "vegetable oil" I got at the supermarket (I think its canola or corn oil) - it has worked fine for my IPM since then.

sulphonated canola oil is already a wetting agent.

"Sulphonated Canola Oil is an oil soluble anionic surfactant with excellent emulsification properties, is compatible with a wide range of materials and is stable over a wide pH range. It may reduce foaminess and provide anticorrosive properties in formulated products." -google
 

Crazy Chester

Well-known member
sulphonated canola oil is already a wetting agent.

"Sulphonated Canola Oil is an oil soluble anionic surfactant with excellent emulsification properties, is compatible with a wide range of materials and is stable over a wide pH range. It may reduce foaminess and provide anticorrosive properties in formulated products." -google

Good eye! Is it because it's "sulphonated" oil?
 

Maple_Flail

Well-known member
it appears there is some positive interaction with sulfur and certain oils, not sure on the mechanisms of infusion be it sulfuric acid or raw sulfur infusions.. Chemistry isn't my strong suit

my laymens thought on this, is that oil infused with micro micro raw sulfur would allow the oil to 'Stick" better to what you are trying to cover by leaving buffering micro bits of sulfur behind that are coated in this oil..
seemingly similar mechanisms to natural saponis and surfactants
 

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