Favorite Pesticide?

ptk2k

ptk2k

Well-Known Member
Hello all, I'm on my 3rd (successful) grow & feel kind of stupid I haven't set up a pesticide regiment yet. especially because I had a crop that I vegged for 12 weeks only to have mites take over. it was horrible, I tried no pest strips, habanero spray, soap water. nothing seemed to work. so I figure preventative measures are the way to go. I've heard a lot about a citric acid mix being good. what do you use?

-- also, are there any sprays to prevent WPM? I had a couple leaves show signs of it, but it turned out to be from a bad batch of soil. I did the milk spray and it seized to spread. I don't really want to continue spraying my plants with milk though hahaha seems kind of weird.

please let me know! peace love & happy growing! :blunt:
 
Azamax/Azatrol
 
Neem oil
Monterey insecticide/miticide with Spinosad
Pyretherin sprays
Rosemary Oil
Insecticidal soap

Azamax is way too expensive and is just a neem derivative anyway. Azamax is about 60 bucks for a 4 oz bottle. Einstein oil is 20 for 4oz and has the same chemical in it. I have never really heard anyone say either works better but I am guessing Azamax has a higher concentration of the same chemical, so if money is not an issue you might wanna just try thst first but otherwise I'd suggest neem.
 
I was in a hurry with my reply, but here is "the rest of the story".

All pests are not created equal - especially mites. If you are unfortunate enough to have the two spotted variety, they are almost impossible to eradicate. They evolve fast enough to survive damn near anything. I was told the best way to get rid of them is to throw away all my plants, pots, equipment and clothes, then move to a new building as far away as possible.

As good as Azamax is, I don't believe there is any one solution to getting rid of mites. You need to take a holistic IPM approach: Develop a plan with various miticides that use different methods to kill them. Azamax and neem are growth regulators/antifeedants. That is one approach. Physical removal with high pressure water is another. Personally, I won't use systemics and hate to spray anything in mid to late bloom. Predatory insects can also put a dent in them. Once you have a plan with what you will use, put together a schedule so you can repeat treatments at recommended intervals and rotate through the different approaches. Unfortunately each approach can somewhat undermine another (eg. Azamax kills lady bugs, water removes Azamax, etc.)

Azamax is my favorite tool, but it alone didn't provide a "cure". It is just one tool in my arsenal. Keep everything clean. Defoliate so when you do spray, you get everything. When my grow room is not full, I have one of those nasty no pest strips hanging that kills damn near everything. I wash down everything with a bleach solution. Cull less healthy plants, if you have that luxury since they are more apt to let mites thrive. Whatever you use, it will probably appear to have worked. But they will be back...I still end up with mites.

BTW, Azamax is good as a soil drench, too. It is effective against mites, thrips, aphids, root aphids, and much more.

:goodluck:
 
Major PITA said:
I was in a hurry with my reply, but here is "the rest of the story".

All pests are not created equal - especially mites. If you are unfortunate enough to have the two spotted variety, they are almost impossible to eradicate. They evolve fast enough to survive damn near anything. I was told the best way to get rid of them is to throw away all my plants, pots, equipment and clothes, then move to a new building as far away as possible.

As good as Azamax is, I don't believe there is any one solution to getting rid of mites. You need to take a holistic IPM approach: Develop a plan with various miticides that use different methods to kill them. Azamax and neem are growth regulators/antifeedants. That is one approach. Physical removal with high pressure water is another. Personally, I won't use systemics and hate to spray anything in mid to late bloom. Predatory insects can also put a dent in them. Once you have a plan with what you will use, put together a schedule so you can repeat treatments at recommended intervals and rotate through the different approaches. Unfortunately each approach can somewhat undermine another (eg. Azamax kills lady bugs, water removes Azamax, etc.)

Azamax is my favorite tool, but it alone didn't provide a "cure". It is just one tool in my arsenal. Keep everything clean. Defoliate so when you do spray, you get everything. When my grow room is not full, I have one of those nasty no pest strips hanging that kills damn near everything. I wash down everything with a bleach solution. Cull less healthy plants, if you have that luxury since they are more apt to let mites thrive. Whatever you use, it will probably appear to have worked. But they will be back...I still end up with mites.

BTW, Azamax is good as a soil drench, too. It is effective against mites, thrips, aphids, root aphids, and much more.

:goodluck:
Click to expand...

Mites are like herpes, you have them for life and even when you don't see them, they're still there.

Remember when you enter someone else's garden you're entering every garden they've ever been with :p

Seriously though a lot can be done by cleanliness and preventing cross contamination (and a lot can be undone by not doing so) from out door plants. Using air filters can help but they're more likely to be on your clothes and in your hair. I always take a shower and hang out in the grow room nude, yeah maybe that's a little extreme but I have considered a hazmat suit lol

Don't forget about plants nearby. I have a little bush outside my window I treat too so they don't just vain a foothold there and then crawl in through the window.

I have not tried one of those pest strips but hear a lot about them.

Oh, neem can be used as a soil drench too, Weaslecracker pointed that out to me.
 
The only thing I have found in my area is called Vita Garden Insect Disease Control. The ingredients are Malathion 1.23gr/lit @ 83.7% and the rest is Aromas and dilutents. It says to apply once a week. I would agree because every time I try to go longer it doesn't work and I find a mite or some flying insect in my plants. Says it has beneficials to eliminate and prevent more than 75 plagues, probably just epsom salt in it. I bought the stuff at a store similar to walfart.
 
A sponsor of the site has a few different options for spider mites and I believe they make some stuff for WPM as well.

Sierra Natural Science
Natural Pesticides | Sierra Natural Science


Sent from my iPhone using 420 Magazine Mobile App
 
DeanB said:
The only thing I have found in my area is called Vita Garden Insect Disease Control. The ingredients are Malathion 1.23gr/lit @ 83.7% and the rest is Aromas and dilutents. It says to apply once a week. I would agree because every time I try to go longer it doesn't work and I find a mite or some flying insect in my plants. Says it has beneficials to eliminate and prevent more than 75 plagues, probably just epsom salt in it. I bought the stuff at a store similar to walfart.
Click to expand...

Personally, I won't use Malathion on a crop I'm going to consume...ever.

UltraDan said:
A sponsor of the site has a few different options for spider mites and I believe they make some stuff for WPM as well.

Sierra Natural Science
Natural Pesticides | Sierra Natural Science
Click to expand...

I don't want to speak negatively of sponsors and SNS has some great stuff, but I used SNS 217 and it didn't seem to do anything against my mites. I'll be the first to admit I have cross contamination problems. My wife has a ton of plants and we have a veggie garden. In the end, it's on me. I'm too lazy to change clothes and shower every time I visit my girls.

The most effective (and cheapest) safe solution for PM is Potassium Bicarbonate (NOT sodium bicarbonate). Check it out.
 
DeanB said:
I've been looking for some Rosemary oil here and no luck yet. I know I can find it, just gotta find the right people who know where to get it from. For now while in veg, it's all I have. I take my plants in at night and want to eventually leave them out for good. Does Rosemary oil work?
Click to expand...

IIRC, it is one of the primary ingredients in SNS217. It does not work for me, but I may have bred superbugs.
You might see if you can find Captain Jack's Dead Bug Brew. It appeared to be effective when I used it.
 
Major PITA said:
Personally, I won't use Malathion on a crop I'm going to consume...ever.



I don't want to speak negatively of sponsors and SNS has some great stuff, but I used SNS 217 and it didn't seem to do anything against my mites. I'll be the first to admit I have cross contamination problems. My wife has a ton of plants and we have a veggie garden. In the end, it's on me. I'm too lazy to change clothes and shower every time I visit my girls.

The most effective (and cheapest) safe solution for PM is Potassium Bicarbonate (NOT sodium bicarbonate). Check it out.
Click to expand...

I've never had to deal with bugs **knock on wood** so my knowledge is far inferior to yours.

I've heard mixed things about SNS, so I'm not sure.

@ptk2k - I have some SNS 217 just sitting on my shelf. If you want to give it a try, pm me and I'll send it to you


Sent from my iPhone using 420 Magazine Mobile App
 
UltraDan said:
@ptk2k - I have some SNS 217 just sitting on my shelf. If you want to give it a try, pm me and I'll send it to you
Click to expand...

No wonder you are "Ultra"Dan! :bravo:
 
I took a break and went out to defol. the re-veg i have going. And sure enough a spider comes repelling down out of the trees. I squished em in mid descent. Hahaha too slow! So I get back at it and here comes a white fly the size of a spotted owl right at my face! I have no idea where it went. Lol. But yeah I definitely needed to defol. and I'm way far from done.
 
Actually spiders are goodly. They kill pests that attack our plants but don't hurt our crop. At least whiteflies are slow to do damage and are easier to spot and deal with. I get them too outdoors. If I grow broccoli, or anything else in the cabbage family, OMG! I can count on 'em.
 
Neem is my favorite insecticide. It works amazing every time and bugs cannot go immune.

If you are past week 4 or 3 in flower then you shouldnt use neem. At that point if your buds arnt too big mitey wash works ok and pyrthirin works good too.
 
My favorite is the one I never have to use :)

Now, all dreaming aside lol.. my questions would be

What's the expected budget?

Some of this pre-made stuff is somewhat pricey. In many cases you can make a home remedy that is very close to some products. The initial spending is about equal, but you can make a heck of a lot more of it.

Do you prefer organic or true pesticide? Most are organic but there are a few that are not.

That brings out the question for what stage of growth?

Jeeze, smoke a bowl of Pitbull at lunch and now I want to Acme the livin' shi*t out of everything. :rofl:

OK pre-mades in order of least expensive up.. roughly lol

Rosemary Extract
Neem Extract
Pyrethrins
Azamax
Green Cleaner
SNS product group
Floramite

All these products work, but there are a lot of variables. I suggest build an arsenal. Grab what you can when you can and be extra careful when it comes to people selling on Ebay and Amazon. The first question for them is "Is this a sealed product?" Of course that's right after you find out from the manufacturer. :winkyface:

:Namaste:
 
One product that is effective, a fairly reasonable price, and is usually available locally is Monterey Rose and Flower. It is organic, safe "right up until harvest", is about $15 for 16 oz and makes 16 gallons of spray. It uses neem and pyrethrins. Always try to buy the concentrate - not the RTU (ready to use). RTU versions are typically about double the price for what you get. They also make a Garden Insect Spray which uses Spinosad. It costs about the same but makes half as much. Both are toxic to bees, if it matters.
 
Major PITA said:
One product that is effective, a fairly reasonable price, and is usually available locally is Monterey Rose and Flower. It is organic, safe "right up until harvest", is about $15 for 16 oz and makes 16 gallons of spray. It uses neem and pyrethrins. Always try to buy the concentrate - not the RTU (ready to use). RTU versions are typically about double the price for what you get. They also make a Garden Insect Spray which uses Spinosad. It costs about the same but makes half as much. Both are toxic to bees, if it matters.
Click to expand...

Spinosad is about the only thing that works on Russet mites from what I have heard.
 

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