If the insects actually eat the plant or part of the plant, Neem oil
would not only help (it isn't immediate like an insecticide but still
works....) it would also alter their regenerative abilities and might
help keep the population down next year, too.

http://www.neemfoundation.org/farming.htm#of

http://www.maxpages.com/neemarticles...USING_NEEM_OIL

Here's a label from a Neem product:
http://www.montereylawngarden.com/pd...mOil-Label.pdf

Seems like the mix is 1/8th cup Neem oil, 1 tablespoon of dish soap (I
use Dawn because that's what we buy) and a gallon of water. Kills
aphids instantly (well, any oil should since it just covers their air
holes and drowns them), helps with black spot, kills spider mites,
gets rid of grasshoppers for a couple of days when they get bad. The
soap acts as an emulsifier so the oil will mix in the water. I got a
little 40 oz hand pump sprayer at Wal-Mart and mix one tablespoon
Neem, one teaspoon Dawn, 36 oz water, shake and spray. I wish I had
gone with a bigger sprayer because I have to mix two bottles to get
all my plants -- tops of leaves, bottoms of leaves, stems and the top
of their soil.

I get itchy dry hands, knees and neck working outside in the summer
and a couple of drops of Neem oil in a little trial bottle of hand
lotion makes the itching stop immediately. Even just mixing it in a
little spray bottle with water and spraying my clothes helps keep
mosquitos away without putting DEET on my skin...although it doesn't
last as long so when we go camping I still use OFF :)

If you want, I have a few more links in my bookmarks somewhere that I
can find. I bought my bottle at Gardens of the Ancients near 290 and
the Flea Market in Austin. I assume that guy still reads the
newsgroup? After a year mine got thick and doesn't seem to work as
well so I'd suggest getting the 8 oz bottle more often than having a
bottle go bad on you. I think it was $25 for 16 oz which sounds like a
lot but it has lasted me well over a year now...

Found Neem oil one time when I was trying to kill black spot and
aphids with the same organic spray because I was lazy...been happy
with it for awhile now.

John
now in Houston


"Rusty Mase" wrote in message
...
I have an Eve's Neckless tree outside that accumulates leaf hoppers
like crazy. All the "honeydew" they excrete prevents you from even
walking underneath the tree during the summer. They appear
full-grown, so being a relative of cicadas, they must have a larval
form in the soil. I have been watching for them and they just now
arrived in full force.

Has anyone seen a gentle way to decimate this population of
evil-doers
after they populate my tree? Maybe a bacterial agent? Last year I
used my leaf blower but that just temporarily disperses them.

That bottle of malathion that has resided quietly in my tool shed
for
25 years now is beginnning to look real friendly at me and I think
it
is starting to sing "Bali Hi".

Rusty Mase

John T. Jarrett wrote:

of Neem oil in a little trial bottle of hand
lotion makes the itching stop immediately. Even just mixing it in a
little spray bottle with water and spraying my clothes helps keep
mosquitos away without putting DEET on my skin.

It's known to repel some mosquitoes, but not all genera. If
memory serves, it doesn't work on Culex, the ones most common
around here. I have tried it as a mosquito repellant here
near the coast and near salt marshes and Neem is remarkably
ineffective for that purpose.

I do find it useful for insect infestations on plants.


Mike Prager
Beaufort, NC (on the coast in zone 8a)
(Remove spam traps from email address to reply.)

Hmmm...just moved from Austin to Houston and the mosquitoes are
definitely different...and in fact Houston has quite a few different
species. They haven't started up yet really this year, but I'll have
to keep an eye out to see if they work better on some than others.
Kinda like the Mosquito Magnet :/ works great in some places but not
others.

Thx,
John

"Mike Prager" §kill-spam§mprager@§alum.§mit.§edu wrote in message
...
John T. Jarrett wrote:

of Neem oil in a little trial bottle of hand
lotion makes the itching stop immediately. Even just mixing it in
a
little spray bottle with water and spraying my clothes helps keep
mosquitos away without putting DEET on my skin.

It's known to repel some mosquitoes, but not all genera. If
memory serves, it doesn't work on Culex, the ones most common
around here. I have tried it as a mosquito repellant here
near the coast and near salt marshes and Neem is remarkably
ineffective for that purpose.

I do find it useful for insect infestations on plants.


Mike Prager
Beaufort, NC (on the coast in zone 8a)
(Remove spam traps from email address to reply.)