Neem oil ?

[Stick Bender]

Hi Fellas I have a small haul of osage I cut over winter & finally got it split into staves but summer time is my busiest work time & I travel a lot I have not had time to debark & prep, I have them stored out side in the garden & being kick out by the garden boss, she says if there not out in 2 weeks she is mulching them...lol  so I was told by several arborist  that if I spray them with Neem oil that it will kill the wood wasp larva , so I ordered some organic Neem oil has any body have any exspereince with using it ?  It supposedly is supposed to be good at killing larva ?

[bjrogg]

I'm afraid I don't have much experience with Osage. I do believe Ive heard of guy's using diesel fuel and probably cheaper. I'm thinking someone with more experience than me will chime in. Good Luck hope you can save them from the mulch pile.
Bjrogg

[Stick Bender]

Thanks BJ but the shop/garage is connected to the house I don't want to put diesel smell in there I will get kicked out of there too she has turned a lot more bossy sense making Grandma status ...lol but this Neem oil is good for other stuff in the garden supposed to be one of the best natural pesticides & fertilizers we will see if it works as advertised , it's only going to be a month or so tell I can get to them but have a lot of staves in the shop now !

[Pat B]

Horticultural oils are used to suffocate insect larvae but whether or not it will work in this application I don't know. Arborist know trees but do they know enough about bow wood. Not putting arborist down, just wondering.  I've heard you can spray with Malathion to eliminate wood bores.
 If you are storing your staves outside they should be off the ground and under cover with good air circulation.

[Stick Bender]

Ok thanks Pat  yea I have them stored like you said I just have to bring them in for a while tell I can get the bark & sap wood off I have limited storage around here but from what I have researched I think this Neem oil should work, I will find out I guess it's funny I have some osage with bark on that never got infested & some that did  but none of these show any signs of bugs so far !

[Pat B]

The wasps lay their eggs on the bark. If they were cut before the wasps breed and none were left over they wouldn't be a problem. I have osage staves in my wood collection with the bark on and no bugs.

[Eric Krewson]

We all have time to do what we want to do and no time to do what we don't want to do, it's human nature.

Pealing osage, especially if it is a huge pile of osage, is my least favorite activity. I once let a huge pile of osage splits turn into bug riddled warped snakes because I convinced myself I didn't have time to fool with it.

The truth was I didn't want to fool with it at the time.

[Stick Bender]

 I think chasing a ring on osage  is a real pleasure of bow making just some thing about getting to a pristine ring that's enjoyable, I get lost for hours doing it , but was looking to try the Neem oil as a temporarie deturant  tell I could get to them ! Different  ways of looking at it some like doing it and some don't .

[Mac43560]

Use what forestry ppl use for bark beetles.  Carbaryl (trade name Sevin) or permethrin.  Im partial to permethrin bc I treat my work clothes with it all the time and you can get it at any big store with a camping section.  I live in chigger and tick territory so its a must if you dont want lyme disease and you want to continue eating red meat (google" lone star tick"). Pemethrin and carbaryl have been used for years to treat standing timber preventatively for bark beetles

[Eric Krewson]

I like chasing a ring, bark and sapwood are a different story.

[Stick Bender]

 I picked up one of those Swedish push knifes that I saw on Jawges site & it really speeds up the debarking & sap wood removal  or if I'm in a hurry I use the band saw but with the push knief and elbow grease I can usually get the bark off and a good portion of the sap wood off in about 15 min. & take my time getting down to the back ring ,thanks for the other deturant but picked up the Neem oil all ready & I don't know if these have any eggs in them I cut them in winter when it was pretty cold out & brought them home I will put the Neem oil on & get them prepped as soon as I can.

[Danzn Bar]

I like chasing a ring, bark and sapwood are a different story.

+1
DBar