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best way to get rid of spider mites

Mikell

Dipshit Know-Nothing
ICMag Donor
Veteran
You.

Either on your self, bringing in contaminated pots/plants/soil or by the company you keep re: pets.

Nature abhores a vacuum, which many grow rooms are. As well, what is a pest to us is a factor in genetic selection in the natural order. The weak die and their genes with them.

Add to that artificial selection indoors focuses on cannabinoids, terpenes, yield, etc, and here we are today.
 

Kozmo

Active member
Veteran
so no one has an answer as far as the high temps? I do t have anything going in the room and just cranked it up to 90 degrees. Just wanted to clear things out before putting in my cover crop seeds(been a while/a little rusty). I'll end up doing my regular neem treatment and all but I thought I remembered doing that after my room clean so... I did maybe even 110 degrees. I could get it pretty hot just don't want to cook my worms. There watered good and temps wont be that high for to long.

Much respect
 
so no one has an answer as far as the high temps? I do t have anything going in the room and just cranked it up to 90 degrees. Just wanted to clear things out before putting in my cover crop seeds(been a while/a little rusty). I'll end up doing my regular neem treatment and all but I thought I remembered doing that after my room clean so... I did maybe even 110 degrees. I could get it pretty hot just don't want to cook my worms. There watered good and temps wont be that high for to long.

Much respect
Will stress mites but won't eliminate them
 

Douglas.Curtis

Autistic Diplomat in Training
so no one has an answer as far as the high temps?
I've heard that above 83F, the breeding speed is so fierce it's not worth it to try controlling them. I've also heard temps high enough to interrupt the mites is damaging to the cannabis.

Drop the temps and humidity during treatment weeks. Get it done *Before* flower.
 

OregonBorn

Active member
Re: Mites and temps?

SPIDER MITES LOVE HEAT! 90º F. just gets them warmed up. I have seen spider mites completely defoliate rose bushes in Sandy Eggo in 2 days in 100º F. heat. Most mites increase activity with warmer temps. For spider mites, development from egg to adult takes about 14 days at 70º F, or less than a week at 86º F.

So heat is not going to help. Neither is freezing. I had spider mites here this spring in my GHs and they survived the lows this winter of 10º F. So I sprayed the empty GHs with Talstar. A 100% contact spray for bugs and mites.
 

OregonBorn

Active member
Noobie question here.

How do spider mites get in contact with your indoor garden in the first place?

Your cat, your dog, your kids, your tools (pruners, loppers, gloves), the wind, your shoes, your clothes, and other bugs like flies, bees, beetles, moths, etc. Also any plants or pots or soil that you bring in there. Mainly new plants. Need to quarantine any new plants, and I spray any and all new plants and my garden tools that have been outside with Neem oil or Talstar before using inside.

If you look on YouTube at commercial rowing facilities, you will see that they tend to wear protective garments to keep any bugs from coming off your clothes and onto the plants. It also keeps internal transference down.
 

OregonBorn

Active member
Your mileage may vary. Conditions can keep it around (even outside, especially with root drenches for aza products) for MUCH longer than the mfg's 'testing' will show. Ask the growers who've had their product rejected after testing...

Personally, azadirachtin products are a solid "No F'ing Way," in my garden. This includes unrefined neem oil and neem seed meal. Totally and completely ruins the cannabis for those of us who are allergic to azadirachtin. :tiphat:

Well, if you are allergic that is one thing. But most of us are not. If you are allergic to azadirachtin you can still use refined Neem 70% which has had the azadirachtin removed. Most sprays that are called Neem that are sold here in the US are refined and have had the azadirachtin removed in a distillation process. Only if you buy pure Neem oil will it have azadirachtin in it. However, azadirachtin is a very effective miticide on top of the effects of the neem oil. A two in one spray. Oregon has the highest testing standards of any state so far for weed, and they allow both Neem and azadirachtin in sprays on 'the allowed list'.

Also having had a pesticide application 'Shedule Q' license in California at one time in the 80s, I would say that most 3rd party testing shows that manufacturers are typically over cautious when it comes to applications and degradation of sprays, not the other way around. These miticides are not systemic sprays and if you spray the fan leaves early and trim them off they are a non-issue. Avid and Neem are both naturally derived products. They typically break down in ultraviolet light and in soil fairly fast. Like in a matter of days. Also once they are dry they are dry non-toxic and safe to touch by you, kids and pets.
 
Spidermites thrive in high heat. Our greenhouse got to hot one year and even with predatormites the spidermites really damged our crop. Web's in colas bad. The predatormites actually thrive in a less humid cooler climate. Spidermites go crazy in the heat. Turn those temps down!!!!!
 

Douglas.Curtis

Autistic Diplomat in Training
Well, if you are allergic that is one thing. But most of us are not.
Actually, I've run into a rather large percentage of people who are only slightly allergic... causing them to believe their issues are from something else altogether.

A mild allergic reaction usually translates to nausea in the mornings, mild back pain, higher levels of occasional digestion issues and increased pain from sites on the body with skeletal injuries/problems. It's very subtle, yet I've run into a significant number of people suffering from it.

It's only the highly allergic ones, like myself, who get the full blown CHS effects. The rest of you just suffer without understanding.

Better not to use it in the first place or, as you mentioned, use the refined neem oil for your 'oil.' :tiphat:
 
I read two pages and I hope this info is in the next 4 cuz if not, WTF!!! U get spider mites, u get friggin fans on all ur girls and blowing at high speed(not plant damaging speeds but bugs can't get it on speeds) This will prevent the mites from bein able to reproduce from the jump.....got it??? Good, now proceed w any of the recommended treatments and happy growing✌��
 

OregonBorn

Active member
What you are describing sounds more like intolerance than allergy. IMO it is possible that many are getting what you describe as reactions to one of the 25 or so different cannabinoids naturally occurring in the plant. Or a combination effect of one of the cannabinoids and azrhidactrin (or something else in the Neem). Cannabinoids are what human physiology uses to regulate activity and metabolism in the endocrine system. Its subtle. We barely know what the two main Cannabinoids do, those being THC and CBD. Also Neem has many other active ingredients, not just azadirachtin, and many of which like in Cannabis, are not well understood.

Again, azadirachtin breaks down fairly fast, and rapidly under UV light. Otherwise it would be effective for a lot longer than just 10 days (even indoors). That is about as long as I have found it to be effective anyway. Some do not like the smell of Neem, which can be rather potent. It does not bother me though. I have been using Neem rather liberally for some years now. It is also being used extensively in commercial Cannabis production in the US west. I consider it a miracle spray for weed and I swear by it. I have eradicated PM from plants covered in it with Neem. I believe I have also prevented mite infestations by using Neem.

Actually, I've run into a rather large percentage of people who are only slightly allergic... causing them to believe their issues are from something else altogether.

A mild allergic reaction usually translates to nausea in the mornings, mild back pain, higher levels of occasional digestion issues and increased pain from sites on the body with skeletal injuries/problems. It's very subtle, yet I've run into a significant number of people suffering from it.

It's only the highly allergic ones, like myself, who get the full blown CHS effects. The rest of you just suffer without understanding.

Better not to use it in the first place or, as you mentioned, use the refined neem oil for your 'oil.' :tiphat:
 

Redbuddz

Member
I have some uncommon questions about spider mites. Does anyone know how long they can live without vegetation? Do they lay eggs anywhere other then on vegetation?
 

captain planet

Active member
Veteran
Don't know, but take a spray bottle and fill it with ISO alcohol and go to town on spraying everything you can't wash or get rid of. I think it dehydrates them. Def need good ventilation
 

OregonBorn

Active member
I have some uncommon questions about spider mites. Does anyone know how long they can live without vegetation? Do they lay eggs anywhere other then on vegetation?

Good questions. It depends on temperatures, the species of mites, and the stage that they are in. Also fertilized females can go dormant and hibernate for long periods of time when conditions are poor (like during winter months). They generally live anywhere between 1-4 weeks in favorable temps and growing conditions. The eggs typically hatch after 2-4 days, and after that they feed and molt through several stages. Right after hatching the nymphs need to feed immediately, or they will die.

Female mites will lay female eggs if mated, and lay some reserved unfertilized eggs to produce males. If not mated, they will lay only male eggs. They can hibernate through the winter for months in leaf litter and under bark. They also live through the winter in milder climates on winter plants. Spider mites, and particularly the two spotted spider mite can feed on a huge number of plant species. I let my indoor grows die off this winter and I bleached my concrete grow room to kill anything that MIGHT (or mite) becoming an issue. I spray before I see mites, and 3 times after I see them. On surfaces, I use Talstar, a pesticide rated for mites that is 100% effective.
 

OregonBorn

Active member
As for fans and spider mites? That is actually a problem, not a solution. Wind is the main way that spider mites get around and move from plant to plant in the wild. Especially tiny broad mites. They are mere specs of dust that travel far in any wind.
 

packerfan79

Active member
Veteran
I used neem oil, 3 times a week, for 3 weeks haven't had a mite to speak of. In veg only. I wouldn't use any of this stuff in flower. I know a guy who has 3 60 lighters and they are all infected with the borg. I won't buy or smoke there buds. They use forbid all the way up 2 week 6 of flower. Funny thing is they say they can't stop production to eradicate them, because to many people depend on the gardens for money, but they Will give a lame ass rapper 300 pounds to sign an endorsement deal.These clowns are trying to get into recreational here in California, I am going to laugh when all there shit can't pass testing. They are more concerned about getting a rapper to endorse there product. This is why I avoid the commercial bullshit. It doesn't matter how good your shit is if it's full of poison.fucking losers.
 

Douglas.Curtis

Autistic Diplomat in Training
What you are describing sounds more like intolerance than allergy. IMO it is possible that many are getting what you describe as reactions to one of the 25 or so different cannabinoids naturally occurring in the plant.
Nope, it's the aza and I'm pretty sure it's also an allergic reaction of some sort since anti-histamine drugs help alleviate the symptoms. There may be similar problems experienced by people who have some sort of pure cannabis reaction... mine is purely from aza.

Treated causes me no end of problems (tested both soil drenched plants and only sprayed plants). The exact same strains without aza, grown right beside the ones treated with aza, had no such issues.

Already gone over this in multiple threads. :tiphat:

And no, the aza did not 'break down' in my indoor garden, not even after 73 days of flower.
 
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