Can you use CO2 to kill Bugs

[SoCaler]

Hey All
I read somewhere about someone using co2 to kill Mites.
Has anyone else heard or know about this?
If so what ppm would it take and how much can the plants take.

Thanks for any help.

 

[G-Dog]

Bugs hibernate when there is little or no oxygen. They can migrate around a space to where there is better oxygen and survive much much longer than a mammal. Their oxygen needs are much less than a mammal, just by pure size alone. In order to kill mites with CO2 you would have to have extremely high levels of CO2 for lengthy periods. There are better and cheaper ways to achieve this. It is possible to kill the bugs this way, just not practical.

 

[JJ Bones]

G-Dog has a valid point. IMO CO2 is good to use if you do not have immediate or quick reach to a store where you can get a pesticide or lady bugs, etc. CO2 isn't a method to totally destroy your mite problem, however it is a method useful for slowing them down, thus giving you some extra time to get ahead of them so to speak.

5,000 PPM for 30-90 minutes. Plants cannot overdose on CO2.

 

[SoCaler]

If it at least slows them down, that will help. My main concerned is late in flower, I see a few fungus gnats or something flying around now and then but I wont use anything even wet let alone toxic on them for fear of mold.
Thanks for your input!

 

[akasa]

If it at least slows them down, that will help. My main concerned is late in flower, I see a few fungus gnats or something flying around now and then but I wont use anything even wet let alone toxic on them for fear of mold.
Thanks for your input!

Also remember that CO2 levels high enough to kill bugs are certainly high enough to kill you, so do be careful if you are flooding a (grow)room with CO2.

 

[JJ Bones]

For gnats get some sticky traps. Or try SNS-203

 

[G-Dog]

Also remember that CO2 levels high enough to kill bugs are certainly high enough to kill you, so do be careful if you are flooding a (grow)room with CO2.

Akasa is correct. And in fact bugs will live well in concentrations of CO2 that will kill you.

When I was in the US Navy we would play with CO2 fire extinguishers as pranks. We would spray a CO2 Fire Extinguisher into another sailor. It would just take their breath away momentarily. Well, one time a fellow did that to another sailor that was climbing up a ladder. The sailor lost his breath, went back and bumped his head on a steel hatch opening and fell down about 8 feet. He was seriously hurt and the sailor that did the spraying got into legal trouble.

Off topic I know, but CO2 Displaces Oxygen. That is why it is such a good fire fighting agent.

 

[Marley15]

Grab a NPS (No Pest Strip) from Home Depot, they work great.



Marley

 

[SoCaler]

Thanks all for responding, I'm growing in a tent that's sealed very well.
So safety shouldn't be a problem.