Help! Leaf Damage on Outdoor Plants — Neem Oil Not Helping

As far as I understand neem oil and it works so that the insects have to eat the plant... now, this is not a problem for you outside, but when flowering comes the caterpillars can destroy the whole crop.

Maybe try some BT before it enters bloom. Does not look like heavy damage but there is some. Neem might be helping by a small fraction but not enouth for its cost.

Yeee neem oil can clog stomata if sprayed on underside of a leaf. This can cause problems with both photosynthesis and cellular respiration. The tiny pores on leaves that regulate gas exchange and transpiration. This blockage can hinder photosynthesis, transpiration, and oxygen release, potentially leading to yellowing leaves, stunted growth, heavy neem oil application, especially in hot weather, can cause leaf burn due to the oil trapping inside and giving the appearance of burns. Most likely self inflicted. Since you admitted applying several times.

Ok, no if's but's or maybes, this looks like a small caterpillar. Even if it isn't, this is an easy fix. BTW folks, Neem is TOXIC, do not use it on your plants...and it's relatively ineffective due to the number of times you have to apply it. If you could find a few praying mantis, they would help to balance things. But I'd personally give it an evening dousing with hydrogen peroxide and apple cider vinegar mixed at a rate of 1 teaspoon of each per litre of water. Id also apply a thin coating of cinnamon powder to the soil to prevent any bugs trying to hide in or emerge from the medium itself. I wouldn't fret about this just yet...these stresses can create healthier plants in the long term, meaning bigger, stronger, harder buds. Also, you can wash the plants at harvest by rinsing in a large bucket of water quickly and lightly, then shaking off excess water and leaving them in a breezy spot until the surface water dries before putting them away to dry properly. This will get rid of a lot of the insect feces, broken legs, bodies, urine and subsequent mildew that contribute to that throat burn and bitter aftertaste SOME outdoor weed has. Its a science and after 30+ years i still learning all the time. I hope this helps.

neem oil is useless. just smells bad, lol. you are starting flowers, so there's really a limit as to what you can spray on the plant... and most options won't be effective at athis stage if they also don't poison your flower, unfortunately. don't know how effective predator bugs would be... they'd just move on in the wild, i'd guess. The BT stuff mentioned is safe. It's been used on world food crops for decades if not a century. anything that doesn't fly, a little DE around the pots could help. if it gets wet it is useless, which outdoors will happen regularly. so that may or may not be worth the hassle/effort. Probably better off using one of those mesh 'greenhouses'. Or, DIY something similar. may not help as much midstream but keeping most bugs out from the start would reduce damage.

Some similar damage on mine. In my case it’s the Psylliodes… neem didn’t do anything … got the problem now for some weeks but it’s doesn’t really bother the plant. I don’t really want to try anything with soap or similar things because the plant is building up the flowers… good luck

Maybe, if you apply sulfur in the leaves, it can kill the pests.

Caterpillars (butterfly & moth larvae) Signs: holes in leaves, sometimes eaten buds. Solution: Bacillus thuringiensis (BT), hand-picking, neem oil as prevention. Grasshoppers / Beetles Signs: large bite marks and irregular holes. Solution: insect netting, neem oil, insecticidal soap. Slugs & Snails Signs: big holes, slime trails on leaves. Solution: iron-based slug pellets, copper rings/barriers, hand-picking at night. Aphids Signs: clusters of small insects on stems/underside of leaves, sticky honeydew. Solution: neem oil, insecticidal soap. Natural predator: ladybugs (they love eating aphids). Spider Mites Signs: tiny yellow/white dots on leaves, fine webs under leaves. Solution: neem oil, insecticidal soap. Natural predator: predatory mites (Phytoseiulus, Amblyseius, etc.). Leaf Miners Signs: white trails/tunnels inside leaves. Solution: remove affected leaves, neem oil as prevention. I hope this little overview could help you a bit😊

Liquid Soap for gardens and small touch of Fairy dish washer solved infestation in my normal garden. Neighbor planted cabbage and we had a lot of caterpillars in our garden too, never before we had any troubles with them ...

Hey 👋 Looks like you got a caterpillar somewhere ! Not sure if neem oil helps when having caterpillars… I would try to search it, and „remove it“ manually… Good luck 🍀 👊