neem in the roots?

[greenie]

Hey guys. Got a quick question for you. I have in the past run neem oil in my hydro solution to kill fungus gnats. I mix in a lite neem solution, and flood tables while continuosly stirring to keep it dissolved. I flood the tables 3-4 times, and then change to straight water which i flush with the rest of the day after letting the plants abosrb the neem mix for a few hours. Doing this is supposed to make the neem systemic in the plant for about a month. It worked to kill fungus gnats.
QUESTION: would making neem systemic to the plants make spidermites chewing on said plants die? it seems like it would be a better way to apply neem than to spray it.

[SharkieJones]

Neem has a hormone in it that confuses the reproductive cycle of certain insects. I plan on using it in the future as a spray on the leaves.

[cap]

no. neem is a preventative, not a control...you also were using it to control gnats in the system itself, like in the reservoir etc....
spidermites, however, are a completely different animal. these fuckers lay their eggs on the undersides of your plants' leaves, NOT in the reservoir.
for information on how to control red spider-mites (or any other pest on the plant itself) see--
http://forums.mycotopia.net/showthread.php?t=18365 (Mite Eradicator [Natural Alternative To Professional Poisons/Miticides])
good luck fighting the good fight

*a sprayer bottle of isopropyl alchohol is good to keep around the grow area for ;hand-picking' borg or any other crawling or flying pest you see on your plants..just be careful not to let any alch. contaminate the reservoir/rootzone, as it will cause death to the fragile root hairs.
and dont overdo it! alchohol can cause rapid drying out of the foliage if you apply too much to one spot. a little doesnt hurt them at all though and can even be used under hot HID lighting because it evaporates instantly...whereas water-based treatments need to be done out of the light, so that the droplets dont magnify the light and cause burning/holes in the foliage!

hope this helps

[greenie]

ok. I thought that i read that putting it in the roots, using cakes as in the essay, or as i was planning by flooding the root zone with neem solution, the plant would absorb the poison and be systemic? as i understand, systemic means that all the plant now contains neem for approx 4 weeks. wouldnt eating the fluids have the same effect as being sprayed on them? perhaps even more so?