Recognising progress against spider mites?

[FlyingHedgehog]

Hello friends,
Unfortunately my plants have fallen victim to an infestation of spider mites. Luckily I recognised it quite early and started a treatment of neem oil, spinosad and acaricide (one at a time with a week in between). Obviously I know that the white spots on my leaves (the only mite-sign, no webs or drying-out leaves yet) will not recover that quickly even if the pest is gone, so is there any way to recognise if I‘m making any progress against them? I’ve heard ‚if it doesn’t get worse, it’s good’ but I’m a bit sceptical. How do I know I got rid of them for good?
Thanks for any reply, I‘d appreciate hearing about your experiences!

Grow details:
Growing white widow plants in soil with LEDs
Late vegetative stage at 16 weeks
Nutrients: Flora Tripart plus magnesium

[Farmbuck]

Don't use neem oil during flowering, did that on my buds and I almost end up at the hospital. A lot of my grower friends here will agreed.

[FlyingHedgehog]

Got it, i’ve read this before. Thankfully I’m still at vegetative and don’t plan to switch until the pest is well and truly over! Thx for the reply

[dilvish]

If you inspect the fan leaves closely on the underside and make sure you don't see any mites, eggs or webs then they are gone. keep a fan gently blowing on the plants...spider mites don't like the breeze. they also don't like lots of water (just humidity). spraying the plant with a garden sprayer filled with warm water can deter the little bastards as well.

[FlyingHedgehog]

Great! Thanks for the reply, this is quite reassuring. Heard about the breeze and humidity before and am giving my best to effectuate it!

[grouchyoldman]

I had great luck with the "Grow Safe" product. Kills on contact and after several applications, three days apart, they have not reappeared. Nasty little buggers!

Get a loupe magnifier & really inspect your leaves on a regular basis to see how you're doing.

[FlyingHedgehog]

Thanks for the tipp, I have indeed read good reviews about those products but unfortunately they are not available where I live! If nothing else works i’ll consider contacting some friends in amazon-compatible countries

[Rwise]

Dont wait 7 days, you are already re-infested by then (the eggs left hatch and make more eggs), no longer than 3 days. BTW ISO and water are as effective as those sprays you have used, and most likely safer. Neem is known to cause some folks issues, and spinosad is being banned in many places for use on MJ. Rosemary oil is said to explode the eggs, but I dont want that flavor on my weed either.

[FlyingHedgehog]

Hmm I’ve read that acaricide, which I gave first, impedes reproduction and hatching, and than a later treatment of neem and spinosad will kill the remaining ones… also the instructions underline that more often than once a week can be harmful. I think this might be why many people had issues with the product. But thanks for your opinion, I’ll consider my next move! Really dumb question, what is ISO?

[grouchyoldman]

Rwise is the authority on this approach, but I don't think he'll mind this clarification: ISO = Isopropyl alcohol, the 95% version mixed 50/50 with water then sprayed on your plants, top and bottom when your lights are ready to go off. If you do this with the lights on you may have severe light burn on leaves and buds!

[FlyingHedgehog]

Great! Thanks a lot