Looking to validate this claim to "cure" spider mites.

[Qwertywill]

Good morning, This is second hand information, but I would like your say on this.

So I finally met with a guy who has been growing legally for many years now. I know I cannot take it at face value until I physically see it happen and the end effects. He has many grows that turned out fine, he has said he had to use this method a few times!

Have any of you tried this?

His claim:
2 things needed:
1) pH water to 11
2) pH water to 3

Directions: Spray the hell out of your plants with the pH'ed water of 3, then immediately spray the hell out of it with pH of 9.
He claims that the 3 will kill the spider mites on contact, along with the eggs. While the 9 will neutralize the 3.

Has anyone tried this?

I guess he has used it multiple times without hurting his plants. There is 1 thing I am concerned with using this method. If you miss a drop of water, it will hurt the plant with either the high or low pH level.

The huge plus to this would be 2 portions, Money and can be done organically.


Thoughts?

[Potted]

I can see no reasons not to try this,as it’s a spray that can b washed off right away. I can’t see it hurting the grow at all.
could b the answer for lots of peeps problems if it works? Lol

[Qwertywill]

That's what I am thinking, It's just a matter of seeing if it does work or not.... Anyone have spider mite issues want to test it out? Just prior to spraying their babies with chemicals? Let us know!

[kingfish]

I don't mess with Spider mites. Use this.

[Qwertywill]

I don't mess with Spider mites. Use this.

Unfortunately that is not available in my area :P

[NAKEDGARDENER]

A little confused here Will. You mention a ph of 11 initially but then only mention a ph of 9 which ‘nuetralizes’ So which one is it? 11 certainly wouldn’t neutralize would it?

[Qwertywill]

My bad, I think he said 9, but it could have been 11 as well >< The idea is to neutralize the acidity. What 9fingerleafs is talking about.

[NAKEDGARDENER]

Yeh I get it Will thanks. Let’s see if anyone has tried it or is prepared to try it. If it works it certainly would be fantastic, and by just using household products such as distilled white vinegar for acid and bicarbonate for the base would be ideal but I wondered just if that amount of base needed to raise from acid to alchaline wou,d leave a residue .

[Qwertywill]

I would be worried about getting it right as well. I wouldn't want to have a plant damaged from a home remedy as well..... Residue is a whole other issue!

[9fingerleafs]

sounds possible but its oversimplified, theres no such thing as "pure water" with ph 3 or 11, its simply an acid solution and an alkaline solution. what are you going to use to get your water to ph 3?(acid) and what you gonna use to make ph 11?(base) basically need an acid and a base beforehand. you are applying acid directly to the plant so you need to know what acid you are using to know how much base to use; very few things can drop waters ph to 3 but lets say you use ph down (phosphoric acid and citric acid) you going to need huge amounts to get to 3 and then gotta calculate the reaction with your base, lets say ph up (Potassium hydroxide), to get a idea of the mol ratio you need in your solution. then just convert to ppms to know how much to use.

its easier to use vinegar and water with baking soda if you ask me. i use water and alcohol to get rid of them, you should experiment to find what works for you

[9fingerleafs]

i dont know if this helps but is the only way i could get my head around ph

[Qwertywill]

sounds possible but its oversimplified, theres no such thing as "pure water" with ph 3 or 11, its simply an acid solution and an alkaline solution. what are you going to use to get your water to ph 3?(acid) and what you gonna use to make ph 11?(base) basically need an acid and a base beforehand. you are applying acid directly to the plant so you need to know what acid you are using to know how much base to use; very few things can drop waters ph to 3 but lets say you use ph down (phosphoric acid and citric acid) you going to need huge amounts to get to 3 and then gotta calculate the reaction with your base, lets say ph up (Potassium hydroxide), to get a idea of the mol ratio you need in your solution. then just convert to ppms to know how much to use.

its easier to use vinegar and water with baking soda if you ask me. i use water and alcohol to get rid of them, you should experiment to find what works for you

You are right, i'm just relaying the info I was provided. I mean if vinegar and baking soda would work. I would use that.

Once I start growing if I get them, I will try it. But I wont introduce them just due to the chaos they produce

I don't know enough about it to really say too much other than pass it on! I haven't seen anything like this posted, so figured it would be worth a try?

[9fingerleafs]

yeah its definitely a different approach just to consider ph, foliar feeding usually has very high levels of nutrients and ph does not affect absorption so they tend to be around ph 5 so maybe its a good choice for prevention just keeping the ph on the leaves too low for mites (:

[Qwertywill]

My thoughts exactly. I will talk to him more about it next time I see him! See where he found out about it! Try to find the source!