diatomaceous earth mixed with NEEM oil

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rSin
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diatomaceous earth mixed with NEEM oil

Post by rSin »

OJ hits it

DE works mechanically
Its loaded with sharp edges that
Cut the carapisces of the bugs
As they crawl through

So, mixing it with liquids
Particularly an oil
Will blunt it effectiveness

It needs to be dry so
You want to reapply it aeter waterings

And wait till your soils surface
Is free of excess moisture
the intolerance of the old order is emerging from the rosy mist in which it has hitherto been obscured.

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diatomaceous earth mixed with NEEM oil

Post by Prawn Connery »

Fungus gnats don't do any damage to plants – they won't feed on the leaves or buds. It's the larvae at the root zone that do the damage. And that's only when they are in large numbers.

Diatomaceous earth kills insects and grubs on contact by first slicing them open and then dessicating them by drawing out moisture through the cuts in the carapace. Spreading it on the top soil will prevent gnats from landing and laying eggs and will also kill existing larvae as they move through it or try to emerge from pupae.

To kill the gnats themselves you can spray pyrethrum, which is natural and harmless to mammals. You can then layer DE across the top soil or mix it in. It won't matter if it gets wet. DE is made up of millions of shells of fossilised microscopic marine organisms that are razor sharp (at the microscopic level) and made of silica.

Interesting fact: you can mix DE with water and drink it to kill gut parasites. But it is easier to apply to top soil when dry.

Neem oil you can save to use against leaf-eaters such as spider mites, thrips and aphids. Normally you mix 5ml per litre and spray it on in two doses, three to five days apart (three days if it's hot, five days if its cooler – this is to break the cycle as spider mite eggs hatch; neem won't kill the eggs).
Last edited by Prawn Connery on Mon Apr 13, 2020 2:28 am, edited 1 time in total.
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diatomaceous earth mixed with NEEM oil

Post by Prawn Connery »

ripper5 wrote:I've been having a Whitefly problem. Been spraying the room and plants with rubbing alcohol mixed with water and dish detergent. I've been able to knock them down, but not out. Got them off my Datil Chili peppers plants only by removing the Datils from the room. Spraying them especially underneath the leafs and then putting them out side in the sun. Can't do that with the ganja though. They're about half way through flower so I don't want to use anything toxic.
:frown:
Whitefly is a bastard. I've been lucky over the years, but I have a friend who has been battling it a long time with limited success.

The hotter your grow room, the faster white fly breeds and the harder it is to get rid of. It has a long and complex life cycle.

Growing indoors, usually there are no predators to take care of white fly like they do outdoors, so your only choices are to introduce biological defences such as parasitic wasps, lady bugs and nematodes etc, or to apply natural insecticides in rotation, such as spraying pyrethrum to kill the flying adults and nymphs, and then following up with neem or eco oil to kill any emerging larvae.

Yellow sticky strips are not that effective, but they at least let you know when you have a white fly problem that may otherwise not be immediately noticeable. Whitefly can quickly get out of control if you don't get on top of them early.
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diatomaceous earth mixed with NEEM oil

Post by rSin »

You want food grade DE

If your drinking it


I hear its the best medicine going
In the third world
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diatomaceous earth mixed with NEEM oil

Post by ripper5 »

Im thinking they're in the soil. It's recycled soil that had no problems first go around. I've added worm castings from Home Depot maybe that's how they got in there. This has been on going since the last small 4 plant batch. I ended up taking them a few weeks early due to these little bastards. Don't know when I can get out to purchase some Neem oil. In the meantime I'm spraying them with soapy water just about daily. When these are harvested I'll be shutting it down for awhile. The damage is apparent...
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