big spider mites issue - mineral oil during flower?

[Cali]

I watch a grower on YouTube and when he gets infested with spider mites he feeds his plant sulfur I believe? Look it up he claims that the bugs don’t like the taste and leave the plants alone after they chew on them and get the taste. I have never tried it and I wouldn’t spray anything on buds specially oils. Like others have said do some research on beneficial bugs like what else’s they will feed on after the pest are gone. Put a nectar feed around your plants it will attract beneficials and keep them around.

[LosSerpent]

i found a bio pesticide made from thyme and one made from Pyrethrum

also found one made from Common Nettle... also stumbled up-on a bunch of other made from similar natural plant extracts, which one is gonna be most effective for mites?

also later in the year i'm gonna have a caterpillar as usual during the fall. so keep that in mind

[DeadlyFruit]

Pyrethrum may be natural and it says it is useful on mites but it is also toxic to some things you probably don’t want to kill - mainly honeybees but it can also be toxic to mammals at higher doses. It is supposed to be pretty effective and it is less toxic than many other insecticides so I’m not saying don’t ever use it but just be cautious. If you decide to use it is suggested you use liquids over powders, spray just after dark and avoid letting it get on the flowers of flowering plants. Bees bed down for the night so they will get a lessened exposure that way. I like my insecticidal soap (a 3 in 1 with soaps and sulphur for bugs and mold) for most things but it is not as good for established mite problems. Neem is technically all natural depending on the formulation and I think it is useful for mites although as with most of this stuff you want to be careful using it once you get into the bloom cycle.

To your original question about using these things in bloom - if you are going to I would suggest something that isn’t oil based, something that will break down over time and has the least toxicity to humans. You said you wash your buds, which is good and should take away most residues but I question whether something oil based will break down into something inert (or at all) and whether you can wash easily wash it off in a standard bud wash situation.

If you try any interesting new insecticides let us know how they did.

[Rwise]

I would not use any of that stuff on my flowers.

[LosSerpent]

I would not use any of that stuff on my flowers.

rather smoke spider mites?

[PLreef]

There's more than one way to get rid of spider mites. There's farmers with 1000s of acres of produce that get infested with spider mites and don't use a drop of chemicals to eradicate mites.

[Rwise]

These things you mention are not needed to control any bug, learn how to use mother nature and grow on with no chemicals on your buds.

[LosSerpent]

Rwise natural remedies are ok for people who have a lot of time on their hands, you have to spray every other day with natural remedies, mineral oil: you spray it once a week and it obliterates mites.... and i mean, it's mineral oil. i don't see it doing any harm to health or plants if buds are washer properly after...


after 4 days of research, i was considering all kind of things, but now, i think i'll stick to mineral oil. less hassle, cheap af.


i'd love to see you try to control pests on my plants with natural remedies. most people who are so pro- natural stuff never grow outside their grow room, things outdoors are much different, especially depending on the area of the world you live in.

i don't spray my garden with anything because i don't have the time, every single tree, bush and plant has some kind of pest on it, which would jump right over to the weed...


besides mineral oil is a true and tested method, all other methods that are "natural" i wasn't able to find a lot of evidence they actually work, and i'm not about to risk my crop....

main thing i was worried with mineral oil is dissolving trichomes and impacting bud taste, however: neem oil can be sprayed during flower, and it doesn't dissolve trichomes... so same goes for mineral oil.

about impacting taste, here is the deal: what would impact taste more, spraying mineral oil once a week

or having to spray it with neem oil/ Rosemary oil etc every other day.... it will taint the taste more....

[Rwise]

No neem oil should never be used on flowers it is not safe. Many folks are allergic to it, safe enuf in veg, be safe.
Have you found a study on smoking mineral oil? If so I would like to see it. Spinosad might be safe, but there are no studies on it either, so dont use it on flowers either. (and spray it at dusk so the bees are going to bed)
I cant find rosemary oil local, and some folks have problems with it also, it does kill the eggs, I would think it leaves a taste behind as well.
As I said before I use ISO (rubbing alcohol) and water (50/50), it leaves behind nothing but water, true it needs to be done every 3 days for 3 treatments, but no taste what so ever is left behind. Some folks use everclear as it is food safe, but also costly.
Ladybugs and Praying mantis have taken care of my problems with these bugs, but its not the fastest.
Bottom line is its your plants and your life choice.

[LosSerpent]

No neem oil should never be used on flowers it is not safe. Many folks are allergic to it, safe enuf in veg, be safe.
Have you found a study on smoking mineral oil? If so I would like to see it. Spinosad might be safe, but there are no studies on it either, so dont use it on flowers either. (and spray it at dusk so the bees are going to bed)
I cant find rosemary oil local, and some folks have problems with it also, it does kill the eggs, I would think it leaves a taste behind as well.
As I said before I use ISO (rubbing alcohol) and water (50/50), it leaves behind nothing but water, true it needs to be done every 3 days for 3 treatments, but no taste what so ever is left behind. Some folks use everclear as it is food safe, but also costly.
Ladybugs and Praying mantis have taken care of my problems with these bugs, but its not the fastest.
Bottom line is its your plants and your life choice.

50/50 water alcohol will 100% damage trichomes IMO every 3 day's i think it would wash off quite a bit of trichomes

about mineral oil, didn't find studies about smoking it, but the halflife of min oil is 20 day's, and even if there is some revenue after that baking soda is a de-greaser so it should take care of it.

did a bit of research on spinosad, but it doesn't seem to be very effective against spider mites from what i've found, from all the googling i did, there are very few products that seem to be very effective agains mites that can be used in flower sadly.

[Rwise]

The only damage I have heard of is when the leaves have severe damage it may kill those leaves. The mix can go as little as 1 part ISO to 8 parts water. I use the 50/50 so more evaporates from the plant, or less left behind.

[Going2fast]

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Bonide-Captain-Jack-s-32-fl-oz-Natural-Garden-Insect-Killer/50226255

[LosSerpent]

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Bonide-Capt...iller/50226255

not very effective on spider mites, look it up

[Going2fast]

No you look it up

[Rwise]

You'll find out why some call them the borg.

[Cali]

Sshhhiitt if I had to spray my buds with all those things you are mentioning I might as well go buy dispensary weed. Thing is you probably have a weak unhealthy plant and no matter what you do the pests know it and won’t let it go. Maybe if pests are that bad of an issue look hard for pest resistant strains and make sure you build up your plants SAR. Sounds like there is a huge imbalance of nature’s bugs in your garden. Like I said I would start creating habitats for beneficial bugs. Also to prevent a lot of the issues like caterpillar I build an outdoor screen tent made of pvc that way I don’t have to worry about them getting in there. Also I catch and release beneficials in there like praying mantis lady bugs green lacewings I mean if there is bad ones there has to be good ones or your problem is bigger than spider mites. Camphor in lavender destroys the spider mites.

[LosSerpent]

No you look it up

("Spinosad is not effective at controlling mites at normal use rates . . , although at high rates or in combination with some adjuvants it has miticidal activity . . ."

Tests reported a "negative result" for two spotted spider mites. So, the population of the pest must have increased after spraying.

When I worked at a greenhouse years ago, we were pretty much in agreement that hosing off rose bushes with a strong stream of water was probably more effective against the red spider than the pesticide we sprayed on after the plants dried. It still seems likely to me when I try to keep the dang pests off dahlias!

I have never noticed much of a problem with tomatoes & mites. They move into the beans late in the season and can do a good job of keeping those plants from producing a 2nd crop.



Here is a link that might be useful: Cornell's fact sheet )


stop giving people advice if you don't know what you're talking about.

[LosSerpent]

Sshhhiitt if I had to spray my buds with all those things you are mentioning I might as well go buy dispensary weed. Thing is you probably have a weak unhealthy plant and no matter what you do the pests know it and won’t let it go. Maybe if pests are that bad of an issue look hard for pest resistant strains and make sure you build up your plants SAR. Sounds like there is a huge imbalance of nature’s bugs in your garden. Like I said I would start creating habitats for beneficial bugs. Also to prevent a lot of the issues like caterpillar I build an outdoor screen tent made of pvc that way I don’t have to worry about them getting in there. Also I catch and release beneficials in there like praying mantis lady bugs green lacewings I mean if there is bad ones there has to be good ones or your problem is bigger than spider mites. Camphor in lavender destroys the spider mites.

plant is very healthy, will yield 400grams plus as usual. so no.

lady buds are useless if you live in a area full of pests like here.

prevention is also useless and time-wasting.

it's simple, you put weed next to 100s of plants full of pests, they're gonna carry over to the weed.


anyway's gonna go back to use mineral oil....