Bud damage after Spider Mite treatment

[grouchyoldman]

I tried a suggested treatment for spider mites using a spray of 50/50 alcohol and water. A few hours after I saw severe damage to small leaves & buds. Pretty sure it isn’t bud rot cause it happened so soon after spraying.

I'm not sure what to do next, White Widow is a week or so away from harvest. Anyone seen this before? Any suggestions?

Before & after pics.

Before Spraying:



Two hours after spraying...

[Rwise]

Inside grow? Looks like burns from moisture on the leaves with the lights on, at the close distance the drops of water magnifies/concentrates the light in a small spot.

[grouchyoldman]

Inside grow? Looks like burns from moisture on the leaves with the lights on, at the close distance the drops of water magnifies/concentrates the light in a small spot.

Thanks Rwise, that's a likely reason for the damage. It does look more like a burn up close. I'm a little skeptical tho because my lighting is entirely CFL (10 bulbs @ 40 watts each), and I moved them up and out of the way before spraying. I also inspected the plant two hours after spraying and didn't see any visible droplets. I wonder if the 91% isopropyl alcohol was too harsh on tender buds? All the white pistils turned red & shriveled up after the spraying.

Interestingly, I harvested and trimmed one of the most severely damaged buds and it looks surprisingly good. The trichomes are cloudy and in some cases turning brown, almost as though the spraying accelerated bud development. I reckoned it was a week or so out from harvest before spraying.

In any event, I would recommend extreme caution to anyone considering the 50/50 alcohol/water spray technique for spider mite control. My poor White Widow went from a beautiful gal to a tattered wreck overnight! I would probably have been better off to stop after the original Permethrin application.

Just to wrap this topic up, below is the background info from my original post.

Regards,

-Grouchy

==========Background========
I'm about two weeks away from a nice White Widow harvest and the dreaded Spider Mites are attacking! The infestation is still minor but they can ramp up fast. Looking for advice on safe treatment options.

I'd estimate a dozen or so fan leaves showed yellow Spidey spots a week ago, and I verified mites and their eggs using a magnifier.

Grow room temp and humidity are under control and fans are moving the air around a bit. There's a single WW female ending week 7 flowering, 12/12. The plant is growing in rich compost, and otherwise very healthy, lots of foliage, thickening buds. Water-only flushing in progress.

I have already applied two fairly heavy treatments of Permethrin using a fogger. Using the magnifier afterwards I can see dead spideys and black dead-looking eggs. *gross out*

So, should I just ignore this for the next two weeks then nuke the grow room after harvest? Or continue treating with Perm? Or treat with another agent like Spinosad.

I'm concerned about dumping anything on my budding buds, but Perm supposedly goes inert after a fews days. Same with Spino.

Lookin for some experienced advice here.

[Rwise]

I use 91% ISO 50/50 with water on mine (ok, a bit hard to find at the moment), this could also be leftover damage from the bugs.
Interesting observation that it may have ripened the plant faster.

[grouchyoldman]

Rwise, it would really cap this thread off if you'd detail how you apply the alcohol/water spray.

How do you do it? What type Lights are you using? Dry time with lights out? Strains you've used this spray on? Have you actually sprayed near-harvest buds? What did I do different???

I used a hand mister and only applied 4 ounces total. 91% isopropyl, measured two ounces each alcohol & water. I moved the lights away for at least two hours before/ after spraying. The smell was gone and I didn't notice any droplets (though I'm sure they must have been there. I'm using pretty low power CFL bulbs, though I keep them just a few inches away from my buds.

I'm completely confident that the damage I saw wasn't insect related and definitely not bud rot.

I agree that the "overnight ripening" was surprising. I'll update this after my Test Bud has dried & cured.

Let's flesh this out for future reference and the benefit of others.

-Grouchy

[Rwise]

Sprayed and then the sun came out, burned the leaves (now dried out) also the spots are from a feeding

[CaptainWiese91]

I sprayed my plants every night before lights got turned off, the last 4 days for thrips.
and my mixture is 60 alcohol and 40 water. And mine does not look like yours.

[Rwise]

Thats what happens when the sun come out in full burn, and water still on 'em.