Late flowering spider mite questions.

[Springs]

Say, if a few plants that are aprox 2 weeks from finishing that are infested
with spider mites, its not such a bad infestation probably a 5/10 on the mitoscale, Ive sprayed a few plants when theyve gotten bad or on the verge of full scale break out in the past week or so, ive taken them out of my room and into the shower and sprayed em down with a fine mist, shook all the excess moisture off, then put them to the side in the room with a fan blowing on them for an hour untill dry. No mold or problems from it, kinda risky I think though, I wouldnt do it with my bigger buds, Ive been mainly spending alot of time going over each leaf blade with my deadly index and thumb.

I guess im wondering what other people do with plants that are mited later in flower, and what can be done to safely dry my buds, any magic tricks to make them and all traces disapear?!

[c-ray]

vacuum cleaner

[Springs]

I heard that once, I thought forsure danger bay. But ill give it a shot, thanks :)

[hydrorascal]

no great answer for your issue.

Would sure strongly suggest taking care of the issue before ya put anymore into the area.

[LordOvertoke]

i use a spray bottle on mist and drench the plants everyday after the lights come on....keeps them cut back long enough for your girls to finish.

i'd leave the fan off for a couple of hours after spraying.

but that late in flowering, all i ever use is water.

LO

[Springs]

Cool, thanks guys, should be able to fight em off well enough now :)

[Roscoe]

Spray 'em off gently with a hose every couple of days.

[Springs]

Not sure if they'd be expecting anything gentle, especially after the vacuum haha.

Oh also, please if anyone else has more good suggestions or tips please share.

[Glass Man]

How close to finishing can Neem be applied? I've been spraying the lower portions of the plants to keep mites from getting a foothold. I have only seen a few little webs and no leaf damage. I'm probably 2 weeks (+/-) from finishing, so I'm not spraying the buds. And of course I'll rinse by misting heavily with water a few days before harvesting.

[Deltanugz]

...

[Carpet Muncher]

it seems to me that they would vacate during the drying process.. but i would be worried about where they migrate to. you probably won't notice smoking a few mite egges.. or even a carcass or 2.. but i would stay away from spraying anything but water.

got Avid?

[Carpet Muncher]

one other thought.. on the outside chance you DON'T have NPS resistant mites, i would expose them to one for a few minutes and see what happens. (unless that stuff needs time to get out of the plants?)

[country boy]

you're screwed, pull them now before the cobwebs become apparent.
clean up all the crap after harvest, then Avid ALL...
then do it again...

[The Cannarchist]

DO NOT use a heavy duty vacuum.........The 10 gal shop vac's have been known to suddenly eat whole colas........With the correct size vacuum you should be able to suck the fan leaves off but leave the nugs.

3% Hydrogen peroxide will fry most of the eggs and some of the adults without doing serious damage to the plant.Just remember to get a fan on the plant after you spray.and check for botrytis bud rot over the final two weeks if you do spray.

[c-ray]

high ppm's of co2 in a closed room are also effective if one has the means

[The Cannarchist]

I've seen that done with 10,000ppm's of CO2.......the borg still lived after.

Is there a trick,C-ray?

[marigyp]

Just my two cents, but I folilar spray with one teaspoon of Neem Oil per quart right up until one week before harvest twice a week. It kills mites and I have had no mold problems since I started doing this. On my plants outdoors I also treat with Neem oil, and most insects land take a bite and scurry or fly off. I have not noticed any difference in taste at all.

[c-ray]

I've seen that done with 10,000ppm's of CO2.......the borg still lived after.

Is there a trick,C-ray?

repeat every few days, I don't think it kills eggs

[Carpet Muncher]

i wonder what % of growers use co2? my guess would be 2.

btw.. the shop vac idea is nuts. unless you like that sort of thing? (it gave me nightmares.)

[Joe King Park]

Hi
yes , your plants being so far developed should / will benefit from intense saturation of C02 ( Ozone works well too )
The Cannarchist mentions 10,000 ppm
i need to dig up a link/article that can explain better than i
please bear with me
JKP

p.s ; such high concentrations are not healthy for human exposure, stay safe

[Glass Man]

JKP,
Welcome back.

I just chopped my garden a little early because of mites. The trics were just starting to get cloudy, so I don't think it was a big mistake to do. I don't have CO2, yet. I wasn't sure about Neem all the way till harvest, but marigyp just said it was okay. I'll be willing to try that if it ever happens again, hope not!

I'll be posting some bud shots soon. This harvest was pretty good. Got my densest buds yet, some the diameter of my wrist. One strain I was disappointed with because the colas never really fully developed, but upon harvest I realized the stalks were covered in really dense thumb-sized nuggets, which smell like heaven. That's okay with me.:)
Hoping the trics were mature enough. We'll be testing for "brain tickle" soon.

As for now, I'm off to study.....Carbon filters & CO2 injection.

Peace,
~GM~

[Fireman Sam]

JKP,
Welcome back.

I just chopped my garden a little early because of mites. The trics were just starting to get cloudy, so I don't think it was a big mistake to do. I don't have CO2, yet. I wasn't sure about Neem all the way till harvest, but marigyp just said it was okay. I'll be willing to try that if it ever happens again, hope not!

I'll be posting some bud shots soon. This harvest was pretty good. Got my densest buds yet, some the diameter of my wrist. One strain I was disappointed with because the colas never really fully developed, but upon harvest I realized the stalks were covered in really dense thumb-sized nuggets, which smell like heaven. That's okay with me.:)
Hoping the trics were mature enough. We'll be testing for "brain tickle" soon.

As for now, I'm off to study.....Carbon filters & CO2 injection.

Peace,
~GM~

Now then, there is a plant tonic out there that has an added and very very useful side affect of killing bugs including our favourite borg : the spidermite.

Its worth using only as a plant tonic. Plants love it.

Spray your plants once weekly from clone to just before 12/12 and job done. In fact I spray the whole grow with this stuff. This has got rid of mites in my GR that have withstood Torq, Avid and Dynamec, and those are nasty shitkillers that make me dress up in a full face mask and NBC Army issue suit for safety.

This stuff works... and is nowhere near toxic. The worst that happens is that the concentrate will slightly irritate your bare skin if you drop some onto it. Wash it off and its gone.

There are a lot of happy people using this stuff in the UK.

Spidermite No More.

here : www.sbpi.co.uk

best

FS

[The Cannarchist]

Thanks FS,excellent link.The Borg have got immune to Avid in Van as well,plus its difficult to obtain in BC.

You doing Coli's still?

V

[Verite]

They love stable temps, if the temps get low at night you can put them out and hopefully the mites will vacate for a warmer realm.

[Kurious]

Predator mites hunt and eat spider mites. @ first sign of spider mites order @ least 1000 predator mites. The more the better. You can get them from Worm's Way. There are people in California that breed them for sale also but I no longer have the link. When the PM run out of food they die off. PM are not cheap but what is the value of your crop? I fought the little bastards for 6 months and the PM were the only thing to totally eradicate them.

Kurious

[Joe King Park]

Feather Duster !!!!!
Joe

[Elohim is plural]

...do not use heavy ozone...plant damage will occur...high co2 works well but does not kill eggs...using avid at this point is irresponsible...

...at two weeks left pyrethrins(end-all, chrysanthemum flower) are still safe, along with neem or 3% h202...i vote h202 wipe down with a sponge if plant numbers are low...

...in the future consider shining lights(floro's)up under the leaves...mites have nowhere to hide...it doesn't work in all shapes of gardens but it works in lots...windy is good too...unfortunately persimilis are finicky...
EIP

[guest]

i hate mites i lost 2 mounth growing time... they kiled most of my clones, one mother... had to re start to get a new mother and some mo clones... but what i did was bug bomb the hole house and then put a no pest strip in my cab and aint seen any mites abd its been a mounth. but is this a good thing to do when one gets close to a harvest.not shure if the no pset strip is good to keep in a cab what do you guys think.

[Fireman Sam]

Thanks FS,excellent link.The Borg have got immune to Avid in Van as well,plus its difficult to obtain in BC.

You doing Coli's still?

V


Hi man, how are you?

Yeah still growing in coli's - I wouldn't be without it with my limited space ;)

best

FS

[Fireman Sam]

Predator mites hunt and eat spider mites. @ first sign of spider mites order @ least 1000 predator mites. The more the better. You can get them from Worm's Way. There are people in California that breed them for sale also but I no longer have the link. When the PM run out of food they die off. PM are not cheap but what is the value of your crop? I fought the little bastards for 6 months and the PM were the only thing to totally eradicate them.

Kurious


Predator mites go into diapause in 12/12 so they hardly work at all in a flowering garden. You might get the little fuckers to do soemthing in 18/6 but then even that is no guarantee. They are lazy bastards and I've given up with them.

FS

[mojojojo]

im surprised no one has suggested the thing that actually works.
"no pest strips" get them at walmart,
i dont know about where you guys are but the mites here dont stop and the only thing after years of fighting them, that i can say worked good is the no pest strips ,just make sure you dont breath the air from your show and
tht the grow is sealed off for at least (turn out take off) 12 hours.(its not organic,but it works)
peace

[Carpet Muncher]

unless of course they're immune to them.
or like the ones i've seen that are immune to pyrith and Avid too. from what i can tell, the vast majority are now immune to both. (NPS & pyrithium based insecticides)

fyi.. they can grow immune to any insecticide that doesn't kill them physically; either through suffocation.. oils.. or through dehydration.. insecticidal soaps.

[Fireman Sam]

CM : If you can somehow get hold of that spbi. I guarantee it will work to eradicate mites at least as long as the period I have been using it for myself with resistant mites. That's 3 months so far.

I can only speak from my direct experience, when it stops working I'll shout.

best

FS

[c-ray]

with constant exposure to one type of insecticide mites will become resistant in time, the best and most responsible policy is to alternate with at least 2 types, and to strive for 100% kill as any mites that survive will pass on resistance to their offspring

there is also an enzyme based mite killer around that melts the little buggers, and is one of the safest in late flower as far as smokability goes since the enzymes dissapate in a matter of hours...I'll see if I can find a link

[Carpet Muncher]

FS, what does spbi stand for? (couldn't find it)

c-ray, yes, rotating insectides is the best way to go.. 3 is what i've always read. from what i can tell, if they're resistant to an insecticide they came in that way. more than likely they developed it at a commercial greenhouse.. like the ones that supply HD and wallyworldmart (thanks.. i'll add 'enzymes' to the ways they're killed physically vs chemically.)

[Fireman Sam]

FS, what does spbi stand for? (couldn't find it)

c-ray, yes, rotating insectides is the best way to go.. 3 is what i've always read. from what i can tell, if they're resistant to an insecticide they came in that way. more than likely they developed it at a commercial greenhouse.. like the ones that supply HD and wallyworldmart (thanks.. i'll add 'enzymes' to the ways they're killed physically vs chemically.)

Sorry, it's the drugs

www.sbpi.co.uk, it's not a insect/pesticide.

fs

[Carpet Muncher]

thanks FS.. couldn't find it outside the UK, so i emailed the manufacturer to double check.

[Deltanugz]

...

[HellBoy]

good info Delta... I've had the same prob in late flower and was afraid to use any other form of insecticide... even the "safe" ones have time limits or affect taste, etc...

HB

[HellBoy]

However... cured turned me onto an easier than easy way to control the lil fkers..

Raid has a "No Pest Strip" now that is an "aromatic" .... kind of like a Glade room scent thingy.... it WORKS!! I've not had a single critter problem indoors since I started using them .... whiteflys cannot TOLERATE it and die off quickly!

There is one "caveat" however; it is NOT recommended for use in a "common" area where humans and pets may be present... Not a prob in my light tight flwr room.

Good product... lasts 4 months !!! ...about 7 or 8 bux at wally world or home defunct! :D

[freg-g-sanford]

However... cured turned me onto an easier than easy way to control the lil fkers..

Raid has a "No Pest Strip" now that is an "aromatic" .... kind of like a Glade room scent thingy.... it WORKS!! I've not had a single critter problem indoors since I started using them .... whiteflys cannot TOLERATE it and die off quickly!

There is one "caveat" however; it is NOT recommended for use in a "common" area where humans and pets may be present... Not a prob in my light tight flwr room.

Good product... lasts 4 months !!! ...about 7 or 8 bux at wally world or home defunct! :D

I agree. I just had a ton of mites and added a Hot Shots! strip and it wiped them out in a few days. No sign of them left. 6.00/homedepot

[c-ray]

the only problem is that plants breathe in the aromatics, if you hang strips in the room full cycle the plants will absorb it

[Elohim is plural]

^^^
...word...
EIP

[fred-g-sanford]

the only problem is that plants breathe in the aromatics, if you hang strips in the room full cycle the plants will absorb it

So would it be safe to use for a few days to wipe out an infestation and then remove the strips and replace with lady bugs after a day or so?

[Carpet Muncher]

^^probably the best way to go.. given his mites aren't immune. i would seal them up and re-treat every day for 5 days. (eggs hatch in 3-5 days, and NPS don't affect eggs.)