This was an e-mail from a woman who responded the post I wrote, Home Depot Then Lowe’s, about the sudden loss of leaf life in my vegetable garden and my frantic attempt to save my now deceased squash plants – deceased because by the time I got to saving the plant, the destruction to the leaves had taken a bigger toll than even neem oil could put a stop to. I visited the links provided in the e-mail, and they go to a very educational website.
It’s a lovely letter, so I thought I’d share.
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Hi Helen,
I just came across your blog and your post where you mention neem oil (I have a website that educates people about neem, so I always check it out when neem gets mentioned on the web.)
Hope you don’t mind me writing, but comments were closed. I like your attitude towards sprays and chemicals, and I just wanted to let you know a couple of things about neem, and especially about bees.
Neem doesn’t kill insects or grubs. It acts as a feeding repellent and it also interrupts their breeding cycle. Don’t conclude it doesn’t work, just because there are still moths around the next day. It needs to be used regularly.
The other thing is that it is NOT toxic to beneficial insects, BUT it will kill your bees nevertheless if you spray it during the day. It’s an oil and it clogs their skin and suffocates them if they get in contact with it. The best time to spray is in the evening when the bees have gone home for the day. Then it can dry overnight.
Dry neem will repel all chewing and sucking insects, and if they eat it it will stop them from breeding. But dry neem does not hurt any good bugs and it doesn’t hurt you. In fact, people take neem (leaf and bark) as a supplement because it has so many benefits.
If you want to learn more about it check out my site;
http://www.discoverneem.com/neem-oil-insecticide.html
By the way, you probably know this anyway, but neem oil is also absolutely FANTASTIC to use on dogs, to heal their skin if they have problems, or to deal with fleas, ringworm, mange etc. Especially when saving neglected dogs who have horrible skins and whose immune system is already compromised because they are so weak, neem really is a saviour. The last thing to put on those dogs would be chemical warfare…
Anyway, I better stop rambling. (Always on a mission to spread the word…)
Good luck with your soon to be hole free garden!
Best regards,
B.
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Birgit “B” Bradtke
birgit@discoverneem.com
www.DiscoverNeem.com