Neem is is an incredible natural insecticide that kills off a variety of destructive garden pests. But did you know that there are several steps you can take–and important mistakes you’ll want to avoid–to make your neem oil spray as effective as possible when it comes to killing bugs? Let’s start with some general guidelines,…
You’ve likely heard of the benefits of neem oil as a natural, organic insecticide, but you might be less familiar with exactly how long neem oil lasts, both in terms of its overall shelf life and its effectiveness after you’ve mixed it with water. If stored in a cool, dry place, neem oil has a…
Derived from neem tree seeds, neem oil is an incredible natural insecticide. It’s mostly harmless to beneficial pollinators, but it’ll wreak havoc on the biological and hormonal systems of aphids, spider mites, whiteflies, and many other garden pests. Unfortunately, neem oil doesn’t typically kill bugs on contact, which raises an important question: How long does…
Neem oil is a powerful yet safe natural insecticide that I regularly use in my garden. It’ll cover garden pests in a light layer of oil and interfere with their biological and hormonal systems, causing reproductive disruptions and eventual death. But neem oil is, as the name suggests, an oily product that, once applied, will…
Have you ever seen aphids and wondered what to do about these little bugs? Maybe they’ve shown up in your garden for the first time, and you’re trying to figure out what that means for your plants. Or maybe you’ve ignored them in the past but want to be more proactive this time around. Whatever…
Have you ever seen aphids on your plants, possibly clustered around the buds or flowers? I saw aphids on several okra plants last year, including quite a few aphids around the plants’ flowers, and it got me thinking: Do aphids contribute to the pollination process? Although aphids don’t pollinate plants, they play an important, albeit…
If you’ve had any experience with aphids, you’ve likely read somewhere that ants are particularly fond of them or, like me, you’ve noticed ants roaming among and around aphid-infested plants. But what exactly do ants do to aphids? Do they make aphid infestations worse? Ants will generally worsen aphid infestations whenever they show up. They’ll…
If you’ve noticed aphids in your garden, chances are you might have come across ants as well. These species have developed a mutualistic relationship that often provides benefits to both, a fact written about extensively by gardeners and scientists alike. But does this mutualism ever break down? In other words, do ants ever eat or…
If you’ve been gardening for a few years, you’ve likely had aphids in or around your property at one time or another. In fact, with nearly 4,700 species spread across the world, aphids are one of the most common pests to show up in your garden, right up there with spider mites and caterpillars. If…
Have you ever noticed both aphids and ants together in your garden? This happened to me recently when I observed ants crawling all over an aphid-infested okra plant. I had more than enough okra, so I left the plant alone (instead of treating it with organic insecticidal spray) because I wanted to observe what would…
