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SPIDER MITES !!! HELP please

R

ripple

New member
Hi folks
well now a nasty surprise in the room - bloody spider mites !
i have sprayed liberally with Kiwicare Organic Spraying oil last night and put Diatomaceous earth on the soil .. just sprinkled as I wasn't sure how much of it to use ...
Can anyone give me a better idea of how much to use please ?

I have ordered the Azamax from overseas as for some reason it's not available here is NZ.

I read on GWE
Bleach solution (1 tablespoon of bleach to 1 gallon of 95°F, pH balanced, water in a spray bottle or mister) – make sure to clean all surfaces of your room, and bleach them too if possible.

Alcohol and Water mixed together (9 parts water to 1 part alcohol) will also kill the bugs on contact and shouldn’t hurt the plant. You will want to use a spray bottle or mister.

I have isopropyl alcohol and good bleach ... BUT do i spray alcohol at mix of 100ml to 900ml water on and under the plants ?

I was thinking the bleach solution would be for the room itself and everything else except he plants .... or do people spray plants with the bleach solution also

today is the big clean out and 2nd part of eradication.
There were webs on the leaves ...so pretty bad :(
In vege stage so not as bad as flowering

I have read that neem oil can burn plants

thanks to anyone who can clarify my questions on bleach, alcohol and diatomaceous earth usage
 
Hey ​
ripple
I'm a huge DE fan. Sprinkling on the top is ineffective. There are too many nooks and crannies under little soil pieces where bugs can do their thing. It also washes away with watering. If you're already growing, scrape some soil off the top and mix DE until you can see it in the soil. Don't turn your soil gray. I imagine your soil is moist which will make seeing the DE in the soil. It's not tricky if you give it a shot. In the future, mix DE in with dry soil. It doesn't wash out and will cover all your drainage holes.​

Having said that, I don't think spider mites do their thing in the soil.​
 
thanks for that info ...
we are planning a grow in coir prof mix + next time around .. less trouble than soil .

do you have any comments on bleach and alcohol ?
 
Technical grade cold pressed Orange Oil. 2 oz,/60ml per gal/4l, add a few drops dish soap as surfactant. Foliar and or drench. Completely organic (d-limonene) it dissolves the little bastards exoskelteon. But remember this ripple, the mites are there because your plant(s) aren't up taking water effectively for whatever reason. Over watering, ph, nutes, heat stress, bad soil etc. etc. Good luck, I'm gonna say it, mate.
 
You can use that mix or go as high as 50/50 without harm to the plants. It only kills the live ones not the eggs, spray under side then top side , soil everything.
 
I battled them for 5 months off and on...they are right little bastards and it got personal towards the end, even dreamt about `em. Neem oil sprayed weekly as a preventative management treatment nowadays just in case, alcohol and water is effective, SM90 (I believe that`s the name) is okay, insecticide soap-okay, Bug Ultra pretty damn effective but Mighty Wash kills em outright as well as the eggs if memory serves. Stuff`s red coloured though so looks like a slasher movie but fast, effective and total...reckon I only used it twice and they were gone and I had em in both tents...absolute pain mate, my thoughts are with you. They do adjust after the 2nd or 3rd application of a treatment as well
 
I didn't want to add chemicals of any kind to the plant that got mites (one 3 foot Wedding cake) so I hauled it out to the garage and used warm water in a pressurized (pump-up) garden sprayer and sprayed the plant from the underside upwards. After tieing up some branches that got water logged (it was about 9 weeks into the grow) I used D.Earth (food grade) and sprinkled a layer on the floor of the grow space and a layer on the top surface of the soil in the plant container. I repeated the D. Earth in the container after each watering. I also cranked up my fan...spider mites have a difficult time laying eggs when the leaves are moving so having a fan blowing on the plants is a must. I did not see any more mites after that and the solution was purely organic!!

To hopefully avoid them in the future, I only grow 3 plants indoors at a time so that I can focus on their care. Spider mites can be caught early if you inspect your plants regularly. Obviously the fewer plants the more care each one gets. One guy on this forum tried to grow 10 plants in only two 5 gallon pots and we all know where that will end up....more plants means way more care
 
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cannatom Yes mate, I was not appreciative as to their destructive nature and didn`t take any precautions, use to leave cuttings/ seedlings growing on window sills, waltzed into the tent room after gardening outside, etc....just never thought about it really, had my mind focussed on trying to learn how to grow. Actually, surprised I dodged the bullet for so long considering. Hit me in my 3rd season and that was a tough ride but you have to give em grudging respect, they`re like the SAS or Navy Seals of the mite world, tough fuckers...it gets personal after a while. Nothing worse than looking through a loupe and there`s one waving back at you as his mates scupper around...sends shudders just remembering that. Now, I`d just shut down, take the hit and blitz everything clean then wait a bit...it`s a slog but you can beat em if that`s not an option....cleanliness and good practices is where it`s at but once you`ve had mites you never forget.
 
I usually alternate between Capt. Jacks and Safers Soap. I usually kill them all with 2 treatments. But sometimes it takes 3. They're not called "The Borg" for nothing.
 
Get fresh lavender flower put about a 1/4 cup in one of those 20oz coke bottles. Let it soak for 48hrs then dilute it a bit like a cup to 1 gallon of water then spray your leafs on top and under. I would do that once a week but if it’s getting bad maybe doit more times per week. I use it as a prevention but the people I got it from claim it kills spider mites and it also melts the eggs. It’s the Camphor in lavender that does it there are other natural plants (mints) that have those properties like rosemary. They recommend you learn the life cycle of the mites so you can spray accordingly and that way you can eliminate the egg larvae cycle. Let me know how that works out for you? It’s a great option while you wait for your order and a lot cheaper I’m sure. Another thing Neem cake foliage spray once a week in veg will prevent pests.
 
Also I only do this in vegetation my rule is if there is anything during flower then Grow Over I just get rid of the plant. The key is to build up your plants (SAR) so when it goes into flowering it has build up a healthy immune system that will fight off any pests or diseases during its flowering period. Good way to start is spray aloe Vera once a week from birth all the way to the switch to 12/12.
 
Have u tried Pure Kapow. It's discontinued but still available on line. Try it if u can. I had bad mites and gnats in soil. Boom all gone with Kapow then nail plants 1x a wk in veg and haven't had a prob since.
 
Yeah, I have a complicated relationship with growing but good Genes are very forgiving and unbelievably rewarding. Been running Tres Sister for almost 5 yrs. Tasty tasty old school potency. It's Chem Sis x Tresdawg bred by JJNYC/TopDawg. Basically it's a very tasty Chemdog extravaganza with a tinge of Afghani.
 
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