At one point or another in a cannabis grower’s career, they still stumble across a need to deal with insects and other pests trying to assert their dominance over their plants.
There are several commercial pesticides that are full of synthetic chemicals designed to eliminate these pests.
However, an organic cannabis grower knows to stay far away from certain products as they can be harmful to the plant.
Neem oil has been on the cannabis scene for a long time and is a positive pesticide that takes care of the problem naturally.
Neem is perfectly safe on cannabis plants and has a proven track record of being incredibly beneficial for our bodies as well. Neem oil can be used to treat insects and other pest issues effectively on your cannabis plants. Specifically, it can be used to treat fungus gnats and aphids.
Let’s take a look at what makes this product so special and why every grower should have a bottle on their shelves for potential cannabis problems involving pests and fungus.
What Is Neem Oil?
Neem oil comes from a tree that lies on the Indian Continent and can be found in southern Asia from the Neem tree (Azadirachta indica tree).
It contains the active anti-pest component being azadirachtin. It is beneficial to both cannabis and humans. In fact, they make neem oil soap in India today for washing.
A regular application of neem oil to your plants can help and even reverse infections from:
- Spider Mites
- Nematode Infestations
- Fungus Gnats
- White Flies
- Aphids
The interesting thing about neem oil is that it leaves all the beneficial insects like bees, butterflies, and ladybugs alone.
Neem oil is also effective against fungal infections like:
- Powdery Mildew
- Black Spots
Applying neem oil on a regular basis could be an excellent preventative measure for all of the above issues.
How To Apply Neem Oil To Your Cannabis
Neem oil is to be diluted and used as a foliar spray on your plants. It doesn’t kill on contact, but instead, hinders the ability of the pest to reproduce and feed on your plants.
It’s important to note that a lot of neem oil products tell you to dilute the product in the water before being sprayed. This ultimately doesn’t make sense since oil and water don’t mix anyway, so avoid this advice.
Instead, you want to use an organic or natural insecticide soap to dilute the neem oil with the water. Make sure the soap has no fragrances or other compounds that could hurt your cannabis plant.
Ensure that the insecticidal soap only accounts for about 2 percent of the mixture and it’ll help emulsify the oil into the foliar spray.
It is common practice to not spray your plants with anything in the flowering cycle and the same applies to neem oil. You don’t want to spray anything onto the cannabis flowers as they can absorb some of the spray and it can have an odd taste lingering on your flowers.
