Oh No! Spider Mites?

[SmokingWings]

About smoking some mites, man if that wood kill ya,, all that Commercial Mexican I use to smoke in the 70's,, I'd be dead.. But if it's bugs that bugs ya,, there is bud washing that will help with 'some' of that........ Mites suck......

GL

Oh, ya, that mountain side Mexican, properly and slow dried in the sun and then slow cured for however long it took to get from the Mexican village to the dealer down the street. Most likely we would not have to worry about dead mites or mite feces since the Paraquat sprayed on the field probably killed off all those critters.

 

[Vegan4life]

Yea you got the easy mites,,, two spotted and not hemp mites.... They are motherfuckers...... 50 hemp mites could ride on the back of a spider mite.....

To me,,, 6 weeks is abit late. All these products say up to day of harvest.. Mainly for veggies. I myself never spray after 2 weeks in. The green cleaner does dissipate after afew weeks,,, but if you have mites bad? it'll take a spray regiment of three rounds to kill the bastards....

If you can,, you can buy some time with a garden hose on spray and aim for the leaf bottoms... Pressure wash them sob's and you can knock the population down a bit.. But you better have some dry air after or molds will set in. A dehumidifier and a fan.

About smoking some mites, man if that wood kill ya,, all that Commercial Mexican I use to smoke in the 70's,, I'd be dead.. But if it's bugs that bugs ya,, there is bud washing that will help with 'some' of that........ Mites suck......

GL

Yup I smoked kilos of that Mexican dirt weed $10 lids in the 70’s when I was a kid

 

[Vegan4life]

The red thing is probably a Clover Mite. I have found one or two when I first put my clones outside or on a more mature plant but they disappear within days. Since I let the common, ordinary spiders exist in the back yard and on my outdoor plants the red things are gone real quick. The big common spider probably invited them over for dinner is what I figure.

With the regular two spotted spider mites (the web builders) I like to maintain a regular preventative spraying every two weeks or so after the problem seems to be gone.

Now I am faced with a war against what looks like a problem with Broad Mites and Powdery Mildew. The PM seems to be under (almost) control in the vegetation closet which is where the Broad Mite problem is. Another week and the PM should be gone and it will be a full on press against those mites.

Are you saying pics I posted are probably clover mites?

 

[bluter]

sorta looks like a two spotted to me. the sides are darker. it does look darker all over to me than any i found before though.

so far haven't had to battle them in flower. i have neem and iso at the ready all the time though. i also use a no pest strip for the duration of the battle, in limited exposures.

i grow mostly in the winter months now to help keep predator populations down, but i still get them.

 

[Dankman_420]

It's a spider mite. Just a mature one. Sneaky little bastard's.
I shut down my whole garden last spring over a russet mite infestation. I wasn't even thinking about trying to battle them. Even threw away the tent they were in. You have to have a USB microscope to see those. As Woody said 50 could ride on the back of one spider mite

 

[greenjeans]

i have never read that sulphur burnin does anything for mites,,

I was actually after the aphids - so I built a burner - but then saw that it should NOT be used during flowering so I shut it down quickly. I will probably have to give it another go in the spring. I may do a couple of tries before I put any plants in the greenhouse just to try to start clean.

How to Make Sulfur Spray for Pesticide

Make a sulfur spray for plants by mixing sulfur and water in the amounts indicated on the...

homeguides.sfgate.com

 

[Vegan4life]

Anyone try a ozone generator for mites or pests?

 

[bluter]

they used to be used for odor. get all kinds of weird stuff from them.

 

[Weaselcracker]

I had one for smell for. couple years but never had mites at that time.

I’ve also read that temporary high concentrations of CO2 will kill the mites and I think (if I read it and remember right) -also the eggs. That sounded like a good way to go.
I tried hard to get a CO2 tank here at the time but the only company that has it here won’t sell to common mortals, only certain companies. For some stupid reason.

 

[Regrowth]

I'm still battling these bastards, they sure are persistent. I read somewhere that if you can keep your temperatures above 30c you can kill them off that way. They'll likely still survive in the shadows or some crevice though and you'll want to consider a wash at the end of your cycle. I'm interested in knowing which terpenes piss them off so I can plan better.

 

[Weaselcracker]

The mature red ones can go dormant forever. Which is why shutting my grow down, bleaching it all, repainting, and letting it sit unheated to freeze for a couple months in winter - didn’t work. Tried that twice.
I’m suspicious about that over 30° thing because they seemed to love heat.

 

[SmokingWings]

Are you saying pics I posted are probably clover mites?

No, the Clover Mites are what @nivek was talking about back in msg #19 (near bottom of page one of this thread). At least that is what I think he has in his garden. They definitely are a red color and they are large. They can easily be seen without a microscope or having to enlarge a photo. Once you see one yourself you will realize just how red it is and how much larger than common Spider Mites or Two Spot Mites.

Since last week I had to look up more info on Broad Mites and several articles mention that the Two Spotted Mites sometimes have 4 spots, two on each side real close together, and that makes them look like the entire side is one spot.

I have had the common Spider Mite and it took awhile to get them under control. What took so long was realizing that I had to do the recommended hard core full on assault with the spraying schedule I found many long time growers recommend instead of just figuring I could do a spraying once a week.

 

[Weaselcracker]

Those little clover mites are common outdoors here. After being around them all my life, I found out last summer that they sometimes bite. I was sitting on a beach and felt the tiniest prickle and looked down and saw I was being attacked by a mite I managed to defeat it though (in case you were wondering).

 

[Van Stank]

Ok, I'll share what has worked for me with spider mites. I have had them on multiple occasions and this is my new routine if and when I get them. First thing I do is sulfur burns. This is for assistance against two main things....potential PM, and mites (specifically hemp russet mites and spider mites).

The science behind the sulfur burn is that when you heat up the sulfur to the melting point (not burning point) the sulfur particles become microscopic and essentially coat the surfaces and underside of the leaves and stems and cause the pH of the leaves to be uninhabitable for mold spores or mites. I do weekly burns in my veg tents and for the first two weeks of flower. You can go later if need but if you focus on keeping your veg plants clean....things will work out after a harvest (assuming you keep a clean grow room....which lets be honest, most of us don't, we see it in the pics).

The second thing I do is use SNS-209 as a full systemic treatment. I chose this for one reason....in all my research into battling hemp russet mites (which I had last year), the only successes I found were greenhouse growers that did sulfur burns and did a systemic treatment with SNS-209. Based on that being the only thing that growers said worked, I started with those two. And I was clean within a month or so. I have kept doing both since then.

For spider mites.....its easy to see when you have them. Those little white spots are your first clue. If you see those, you have a lot more than you think.

Step 1. Remove any foliage with the spots or any other signs of damage. This will get rid of the eggs they laid as well as the mature adults munching on your girls.

Step 2. Get a bright flashlight. Take the plant to a semi dark area and start shining the light on the underside of your leaves. Any adult spider mites will show as a small black dot from the flashlight. Either pluck that leaf off (probably eggs on there too) or at least wipe the undersides of the leaf with your finger or wet paper towel. Doesn't take much to kill them but leaving them on your plant if you see it is pretty silly. Get rid of it.

Step 3. Get a sprayer, a garden spray is best and even if you don't like spraying with products, spray the shit outta the underside of your leaves every couple days with just water. If you did step 1 and step 2 (time consuming I know....I run 20+ plants at any given time but if you want to get rid of them you need to get rid of the source leaves) then spraying isn't difficult

If you decide you want to use something in your sprays, then I have a few recommendations. All of these recommendations are things I have done or do regularly. WARNING!!! IF you do sulfur burns like I do, don't spray with anything that is oil based (like Neem). Oils and Sulfur don't mix well at all and your plants will be angry.

These are the things that I spray with..and I generally will spray with a rinse the following day. The rinse should just be water or water and silica. The silica will act like a coat of wax against pest pressure, making it harder for them to get back to eating your girls. Also don't spray with the same thing on back to back sprays.

1. Captain Jacks Dead Bug followed at recommended ratio (remember to rinse the following day with water and silica
2. Safer Insect Soap (at recommended ratio if you buy the concentrated stuff which is the cheaper way to go....though the stuff they sell in spray bottles sprays really well.....ALSO, rinse with water and silica the following day)
3. water and ISO alcohol at a 9:1 ratio. I Know someone commented that they ruined their crops, I have sprayed in flower with no ill effects but I don't spray in flower because I focus on my veg plants being clean.
4. Water and Hydrogen Peroxide at 4:1

Give your plants a good looking over from different angles, and once a week perform Step 1, and Step 2 before doing step 3. If you stay on it....and if you remove leaves with damage (pests and eggs are always there too) any time you see them, and you spray with just water and silica (invest in a good sprayer and keep it clean), and if you keep your grow room/area clean, you should be pest free within a month. Clean your tents with vinegar/water mix, wiping down the walls, poles, floors, ceiling, cords, all of it. I Know it sucks but battling pests for months on months fucking sucks worse.

KEY INFO!!! Don't stop the treatment when you think you are clear. Chances are there are eggs or juveniles somewhere that will come back with a vengeance. So if you don't see pests, keep treating for 2 more weeks. It will pay off. No sense in quitting just before you get to the finish line.

If you don't grow a perpetual like me....you can simply limp your plants into harvest, clean the hell outta everything and hope you got everything, and hopefully start over clean with new seedlings. Thats not an option to me. Pests suck but they are all beatable. It takes vigilance and a structured routine if you want to eradicate them. This routine has beaten spider mites, hemp russet mites and now aphids (which I think are the hardest to deal with personally....cause the sulfur burns don't stop em).

Ladybugs are great against aphids, not so much against spider mites. Predator mites....meh....no real luck using them. A set scheduled IPM Is your best defense, take it for what its worth. The times I have had issues with pests are always when I get lazy. Set a routine and stick to it. Its really only labor intensive the first 2 weeks....then you can kind of reel it back to once a week. Don't forget the rinse, the plants will thank you!! Cheers and good luck. Any follow up questions, please feel free to ask.

 

[Van Stank]

i have never read that sulphur burnin does anything for mites,,

powdery mildew,, now this might just be the ticket,,

santaaaaa,,,,,,,,

Sulfur burns are the shit against mites...more for protection than treatment. Once you start treating your plants in veg with sulfur, it will be tough for them bastards to ever get a foothold (unless you are a dumbass that goes tromping around outside and then goes directly into your grow space.....and there are plenty that do that shit and then bitch about not being about to get rid of pests)

 

[Van Stank]

I was actually after the aphids - so I built a burner - but then saw that it should NOT be used during flowering so I shut it down quickly. I will probably have to give it another go in the spring. I may do a couple of tries before I put any plants in the greenhouse just to try to start clean.

How to Make Sulfur Spray for Pesticide

Make a sulfur spray for plants by mixing sulfur and water in the amounts indicated on the...

homeguides.sfgate.com

The burns didn't do shit against my aphid issue. Veg plants, the best thing is a pressure sprayer and do it outside. Acts like a fire hose and sprays them bastards off. But here is the thing with the aphids....they lay their eggs on the underside of the leaves so we miss most of them with a spray hose. They will stay near where they lay their eggs so thats why the flashlight shown on the underside of the leaves is so effective.

 

[NorCaliwood]

Yup I smoked kilos of that Mexican dirt weed $10 lids in the 70’s when I was a kid

and lids were just that lids.. they didn't wiegh out oz's it was more like a 5 finger bag.. I stoped smoking that mex when it went up to 15 dollars per lid.. But back then you was able to get a nice variety of weed.. 35$ for a oz of lumbo,, or 15$ for a 3 gram stick of Thai. Or 35$ a 7gram stick of buddha stick double dipped in opium.

That is a spider mite. The red might even be a preditory mites? I've never looked into the clover mites myself....... but here's the preditory mites feasting on a spider mite. Spider mites will come in afew different colors depending on the age and stage of life..

mites.jpg

• NorCaliwood
• Dec 14, 2020

GL. prevention is the best way to defeat them. I always do a spray regiment right as I put them into flower.

 

[nivek]

No, the Clover Mites are what @nivek was talking about back in msg #19

from the 'orkin' site

How Serious Are Clover Mites?​

These nuisance pests are not dangerous to humans, as they do not feed on blood like other species of mites. However, clover mites do tend to invade houses in large numbers and may also leave stains if crushed.

 

[nivek]

now,, a fine discussion on bugs

so how can this thread be marked so every bug q can be directed here easily?

instead of having this discussion over and over

and over

and over

 

[Drstickey]

For months I had a major infestation of spider mites. I tried the neem oil and insecticidal soap, both of which were only a temporary cover up.
Then I put one of those hot shot bug strip things in the tent. Problem solved!!
Well, that's all I have to say about that....