Neem oil for bugs?

[anniefish]

Hi all,
I've started using Neem Oil to get rid of fleas in our dogs and it works. Did some research this morning and as far as I can see it is safe for fish, but bad for bugs and can alwo be ussed for mildews. Has anyone tried it on their system yet?

Here are a couple of quotes from http://www.angelfire.com/biz/countryessence/about_neem.htm


Spray for indoor and outdoor plants, flowers and vegetables: Mix 30 ml Neem oil with 1 gallon water and few drops of mild dish detergent (to emulsify oil). Spray foliage including undersides of leaves. Repeat every 2 weeks. This is an organic and bio-degradable insecticide and fungicide; make fresh formulation for each spray.

Is Neem Safe ? – Neem is safe for humans, animals, birds and fish, yet deadly to most insects.

Also this site http://www.pureneem.com.au/garden-and-agriculture/info_10.html

Neem can be effectively used in hydroponics, aeroponics, greenhouses, shadehouses, ornamentals, interiorscapes, horticulture, landscapes, nurseries, turf farms, shrubs, flowering shrubs, fruit and nut trees. Great for the organic gardener! To date, neem is not registered in Australia and therefore should not be used by commercial growers of food crops.

Neem is effective in the control of fruit fly, aphids, mealy bug, cabbage worm, nematodes, Japanese beetle, leaf eating insects. Neem oil also controls powdery mildew, black spot, rust, leaf spot to name just a few. It can be used as a household pesticide for ants, cockroaches, house flies, sand flies, snails, termites and mosquitoes, both as a repellent and larvicide. However, neem oil is non-toxic to humans, birds, fish, bees, earthworms, mammals and predatory insects.

May be worth a try?


Ann

[Finn]

I use Einstein oil regularly in my hydroponics and have used it on my aquaponics system in the last couple of weeks. It is neem based and I have seen no ill effects on my plants or fish, but I have no more bugs. I covered my fishtank and sump to make sure overspray did not get in to the water. If you spray lettuce it is hard to get off and doesn't taste very good.

finn

[GaryD]

Hi Anne,



Mix 30 ml Neem oil with 1 gallon water and few drops of mild dish detergent (to emulsify oil). Spray foliage including undersides of leaves. Repeat every 2 weeks. This is an organic and bio-degradable insecticide and fungicide; make fresh formulation for each spray.


Sounds like it's certainly worth a try......but be careful of the detergent 'cause if the Neem oil doesn't hurt the fish the detergent certainly will.


Gary

[echidna]

I don't think I'd be too worried about a few drops of detergent in the mix, as long as you avoid spraying directly into the tank it should be O.K. When there was an earlier discussion about organic pest sprays, a few used a little bit of detergent and so I googled detergent toxicity for fish. The only thing I found specifically was a U.S. study that implied that it took a fair bit of detergent to cause major fish kills. Unfortunately it didn't cover low level applications but it did indicate that high levels were required for a 50% + kill.

[rdiaz63]

Hello everyone,

I have two aquaponics system. One with pangasus, a type of cat fish and another with prawns. I grew lettuces, tomatoes, cucumbers and some other plans successfully. I have a big problem with bugs attacking my tomato and cucumbers plants and someone from a garden store talk me about the benefits of the neem oil.

Have you trying using it on a system with shrimps or prawns before?

Can post the results?

Thanks

[Crusty]

Hello everyone,

I have two aquaponics system. One with pangasus, a type of cat fish and another with prawns. I grew lettuces, tomatoes, cucumbers and some other plans successfully. I have a big problem with bugs attacking my tomato and cucumbers plants and someone from a garden store talk me about the benefits of the neem oil.

Have you trying using it on a system with shrimps or prawns before?

Can post the results?

Thanks

The short answer is do not use Neem anything for any crustacean. Its primary function is to interfere with the molting cycle of insects through the interuption of the molting hormone (ecdysteroids) to break the growth/life cycle. That said, it will do the same with any other crustacean that molts to grow. Further the Neem based products have been found to retard the growth in Talapia. Knowing that, from my point of view I would not use it anywhere near any other species of fish either.

[rdiaz63]

Thanks Crusty for your answer.

But, that let me in the same position as before. What should I use to combat bugs on my aquaponics system? I've used many organic recipies such as garlic, hot peppers, oil a combination of all with unsuccessful results.

I tested the Neem solution on a test system I have with gold fish about week ago. No bugs and no damage to gold fish population so far.

Let me know if there is another organic solution to this organic problem...

Best regards to all of you.

[Tomer]

Hi
in permaculture we try and use repellent plants as much as possible. for snails (well, the middle eastern varieties, anyway) i plant Rosemary, Lavender, Sage, Mint or Garlics. against Nematodes (house-less snails) i plant Santolina (Santolina chamaecyparissus), Calendula, Tagetes/Marigold or chamomile
against lice Tree Wormwood (Artemisia absinthium) and Tropaeolum majus.
or a combination, of course...
i don't have experience with these plants in media growth, so can't help there..

[Outbackozzie]

For starters, what sort of bugs?

Anything Caterpillar like is killed overnight with Dipel.

Most Crawling / Sucking Insects are pretty much stopped by a heavy foliar application of Seasol. Leave overnight, wash off in morning. Repeat until no more bugs. Thes seasol dries out, gets sticky, traps bugs.