help just found spider mite damage on plants

[bill52uk]

OMG I knew somethign was going wrong a few days ago but did not know what. I just read a great article on here about pest with great photos of them and the damage they do and sure enough when you look with the naked eye or with the microscope it IS spider mite damage. SCREAM.......Is there any way I can cure this cheaply or expensively ????? I heard a soap solution sprayed on can kill some bugs but I know this is not that simple . not ALL the plants seem to have it yet but its the ones in flower that have it mostly.Do these little bastards live in the grow itself or JUST on the plants ? I thought about a good clean up but maybe that is too late now. Will I have to destroy these plants now ???? Hope not !!! I nhave picked off the worst leaves so far but need to take action fast now....PLEASE HELP someone , anyone , everyone ....lol

Best Wishes

bill

 

[Alkhemist]

are your plants still in vegetative stage? if so then you can apply a miticide to your plants without any fear of damaging the flower, i dont know what products you have available in england but you should consult your local grow store to find a good miticide, most good grow stores will stock good miticides and pesticides so i would recommend that. i have personally used a yates miticide as a preventative in the past and some present large scale grows in early stages to aid in the prevention of infestation, then i move onto predators mites. for my larger grows i just dont risk infestation of pests and always run with a pest control schedule.
the ones we have here in new zealand- domestically available, are Amblyseius cucumeris(especially great for thrips BUT DO attack and consume two spotted mite.. also good for preventative measures and approx 10NZD for 10,000 mites), Phytoseiulus persimilis(particularly good for two spotted mite and other mites of the tetranychidae family of mites and approx 35NZD for 1000) and Orius vicinus which is great for a wider variety of pests including thrips, aphids, whiteflies mites(inc. two spotted mites), psylids and the eggs of a few larger insects too, approx 50NZD per 1000 adult mites. ive also used "hypermite. tm" in the past for soil applications and soil born pests such as fungus gnats, sciarid flies etc. approx 15NZD per 10,000 mites
predator mites can be far cheaper to purchase directly from research labs that offer their products for small growers and domestic uses(as opposed to some grow stores that offer predator mites for sale or order, for e.g. our local grow store sells them for 90NZD per 1000, but i can get them for 35 per 1000inc. postage directly from the labs!) and i would definitely recommend searching for a local predator mite centre or horticulturalist research centre that specializes in this type of research/product. if in doubt you could try to contact a local pip fruit or stone fruit grower/orchardist who might be able to point you in the right direction.
ive used soap based sprays in the past but they are more for aphids and such pests.. they soften the body and eventually kill the aphid, also onion and garlic based sprays are good to use as the sulphur is a natural insecticide. a tsp of dishwashing liquid in a 750-1litre spray bottle can work on some pests too but generally, if you have a spidermite infestation i would go with a strong miticide(one you can use on fruit/vegetables etc) immediately if not a predator mite to clean them up completely.

i hope you can get them under control asap Bill! i certainly know how you are feeling!! i still remember one of my first commercial rooms decimated by spider mites after 1 hot day! got home from work after a 40 degree celcius day and 80 plants were completely riddled with the little *expletives*!! every flower was *expletive* and dripping with spidermite webs like goo from the tips of every leaf- pure devastation! i feel for you and wish you all the best with culling them from your plants completely!!

regards

 

[JJ Bones]

I highly recommend SNS-217 for spider-mites. I just sprayed tonight with it as a matter of fact. It is an awesome product, proven to work.

Also I recommend both you guys consider splitting up your sentences when possible. When you jumble your words together in (what looks like) long sentences, people typically won't want to read them, because it seems like a lot to digest.

However, when you split them up, and create spaces it makes one feel that they are able to quickly read through the content. Just a friendly suggestion, something I've found over years of forum usage and internet writings.

 

[bill52uk]

Thanks for that reply Alkemist very well explained. Yes the ones infected so far are in full flower(4) !!! the ones i have in veg ( 8) are so far clean and I am now keeping them well separated because someone else said that spider mites cannot fly.

As I said I have looked at the infected leaves under the microscope and they are almost see thru in places with dark spots amongst them. But not seen any actual spider mites or anything else living but you can plainly see the damage. In the meantime I have ordered a spider mite bcontrol spray for £12.00 off ebay and it is completely organic and supposedly works and is harmless so I hope that gets here saoon.

I do like the idea of the predator mites you mentioned. Here in England we have a bug called a ladybird which is red with black spots on its back its has wings and flies and apparently it loves spider mites. So I`d love to get some of them and throw them into the grow where they can feast till they get bloated...lol...I`ll have to go out in the fields with my net after lunch....lol...hunting ladybirds.

 

[bill52uk]

Thanks JJ Bones and I take your point about the jumbling-up of words and long sentences .

 

[Alkhemist]

I highly recommend SNS-217 for spider-mites. I just sprayed tonight with it as a matter of fact. It is an awesome product, proven to work.

Also I recommend both you guys consider splitting up your sentences when possible. When you jumble your words together in (what looks like) long sentences, people typically won't want to read them, because it seems like a lot to digest.

However, when you split them up, and create spaces it makes one feel that they are able to quickly read through the content. Just a friendly suggestion, something I've found over years of forum usage and internet writings.

thanks for the suggestion JJ!! *takes a look back* yeah i definitely feel ya there! lOL as you can see i TRIED to use paragraphs but i def need to split them well and truly into specifically related areas of the topic.

thanks again dude

 

[Alkhemist]

Thanks for that reply Alkemist very well explained. Yes the ones infected so far are in full flower(4) !!! the ones i have in veg ( 8) are so far clean and I am now keeping them well separated because someone else said that spider mites cannot fly.

As I said I have looked at the infected leaves under the microscope and they are almost see thru in places with dark spots amongst them. But not seen any actual spider mites or anything else living but you can plainly see the damage. In the meantime I have ordered a spider mite bcontrol spray for £12.00 off ebay and it is completely organic and supposedly works and is harmless so I hope that gets here saoon.

I do like the idea of the predator mites you mentioned. Here in England we have a bug called a ladybird which is red with black spots on its back its has wings and flies and apparently it loves spider mites. So I`d love to get some of them and throw them into the grow where they can feast till they get bloated...lol...I`ll have to go out in the fields with my net after lunch....lol...hunting ladybirds.

yeah, spider mites tend to become more pronounced when humidity and temperature are high, they thrive in that environment, do what ever you can to make them as uncomfortable as you can, something ive also tried in the past with success is adapting your grow space to include "companion gardening" where you can fit another plant into your room(if you have the room) where the bugs and pests will go onto them instead of your ladies.

ive looked at ladybirds myself Bill but found my only prob with them was merely getting enough of them here, if you can purchase them in bulk that would be a GREAT option! and i dont know you are probably fitter than i am, the sound of running around fields with a butterfly net chasing ladybirds... sounds exhausting LOL i could also risk ruining my masculine reputation hahaha

yes, spidermites make weblike, 'drips' that hang off leaves and flowers.. is their main way of moving from one plant to another... its a terrible stage to see them get to, where they are infesting your plants by the thousands! :[[ also having a few fans in your grow room can aid them in moving onto other plants, and having your plants in close proximity to each other obviously contributes to their spread too.

what i have done in the past with flowering plants that have become infected is to spray small amounts of a stronger miticide onto my fingers(wearing latex gloves) and rub the leaves, especially the undersides, individually, this may sound cumbersome but when you see spidermites eating your beautiful flowering ladies alive you tend to do what you can to eradicate them from your space! ;] and it def helps keep them at bay and not SOO cumbersome when you only have to tend to a few plants... lowering your room temp can help as well as introducing a dehumidifier to bring your humidity down.. anything to create an uncomfortable environment for them..

you have done well to separate them Bill, similar to companion gardening, they will inhabit the already infected plants primarily and your other plants may infact be spidermite free (fingers crossed), my last spidermite infestation (about 1 year ago) was due to one of my cuttings coming from an outdoors mother plant, silly me didnt take that into consideration before introducing her to my grow room at that time.. after 2 weks i had 3x 7foot flowering plants absolutely riddled with the buggers! BUT, because i simply created a space between them and my other plants... brought temp and humidity right down for a week and slowly moved them out of range my other plants remained fine! i was fascinated by this, that the other plants didnt become infested... and 3 grows since, not one spidermite to be seen... BUT i do admit after i seperated the infected plants i ordered in 4000 predators to clean up.

ah well... wishing you all the best with your ladies! and hope you get spidermites out once and for all!

regards

 

[Luckystick]

I just had a problem with spider mites last week. Sierra Natural Science 217 is what I used. Worked perfectly. And the spray doesn't smell bad either. I also bought a bag of ladybugs. Store them in the fridge and let a few go each night near your plants.

 

[bill52uk]

Hi Alkamist thanks for all that info , great. Actually I heard they like it hot and dry so was told to have high humidity for 4 days and they would go but can`t really raise the humidity and keep it there for 4 days.
Since I panicked yesterday I am now not so sure they are spider mites doing the damage. I picked some more leaves off just now but have
yet to see them under a microscop or their webs , just bits of leaf eaten so they look almost see thru. Could it be something else ? So far I have sprayed them with soap solution and picked off affected leaves but I have ordered an orgaNIC sprayt as weel which should be here ina coupla days.

regards

bill

p.s. learn by mistakes anyway and learn how to get round them is best way.

p.p.s. I have two plants which are at day 60 of flowering this very day. I ewxamined their trichones with a micropscop , all over the buds and leaves , and they are now cloudy with one or two amber ones . So I guess I should chop these two today. Whgat time of day is best ? anyone know ?

 

[bill52uk]

Any idea how to get shot of little green caterpillars which are now eating my plants ?

 

[JJ Bones]

I would say SNS-209 would be good for them chewing up your leaves. It creates a barrier on the leaves which causes the caterpillars to move on or starve to death.

I would spray one week 209 and one week 217, alternating as it will be a good remedy plus slightly changed up so bugs cannot get used to one or the other.