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Fu**ing Mites

G

Guest

I got my last clone from a friend of a friend and it had previously had a mite prob.
Two weeks into flowering they came back I got rid of them organicly by hosing them off in the shower every couple of days for a few weeks, but they were gone and I saw no more signs of them. my Mum and other clones were sprayed with a mite spray and were fine also.
After harvest I cleaned and sterilized the area and started veging more clones.
Last night I checked on my girls and found mites again. This time i'm not in flower so I sprayed the little basterds.
My Question is where are they coming from.
I'm growing in an unheated garage in Canada in the winter. It's COLD.
My room is a fridge. humidity has been around 65 to 70% and temps around 18c-64f to 24c-75f. I thought mites liked dry and hot. I have a bag of soil I've been using could they be hibernating in it?
Any thoughts ...through them out.
Thanks Shaggy
 
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S

stevr59

Active member
man i feel for ya i am in north west florida and its cold here as well and all my plants have mites just lost my mouther got 2 female clones left and ones about dead and i cant kill the dam things been spaying with soap tobbaco and red peppers and there still there think this home made spay make's em horny, i got un sex plants growing in fox farm ocean potting soil maybe the mite,s came from it. but i do know i got to kill em soon. the clones i have and not doing any thing got one to root but she not growing much.i am woundeing if i woild be better off killing the plants and get it over with and get some heavey duty posion and spary the hould house down.
 
G

Guest

People have had good luck with "HotShot No Pest Strips". Some people (Me included) feel they are too poisonous but they do kill mites very well.
I'm using a "Safers" product called Trounce and it is "the shit"
 
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G

Guest

Trounce has worked very well with no adverse effects on even quite young clones.
I don't know how well it kills eggs so I spray again in a few days.
 
G

Guest

I used no pest strip when I had mites about a month ago they all died and no longer can be seen. I dunno how poisonous these things are but the fact that there is a wolf spider living in my grow that I discovered a couple nights ago I'd say not very...as the pest strip is still hanging in there right above his lil den he has built.
 
G

Guest

18 ~ 24 C is not that cold and is plenty warm enough to have mite problems (esp as they were established..even if the range was 12 ~ 24C you still could have problems and as soon as the weather warms up they will explode in numbers..

every single one of the alternative mite remedies, poisons or potions are a poor second in performance to using a miticide which is an insecticide specifically produced to kill spider mites. These are strong poisons that should be used with care and with caution (in other words - read the label!) wear a mask and gloves, spray with the wind behind you, mix to the correct ratios...if possible take the plants outside and spray the top and bottom of every leaf so it is coated in the spray.

Most miticides have a substance to make sure the poison sticks to the leaves so the later hatchlings are killed as well....this poison and it's residual staying power is what makes them so effective, but it is what makes miticides dangerous to use later than early flowering...and are best used as a one hit preventative spray in late vegg or at the earliest sign of mites as late as 6 or 7 weeks before harvesting because any sprayed leaves at this stage will be dead and fallen off or discarded at harvest so you won't have to be concerned about poisoning yourself

most alternatives to a miticide are sprays and poisons that most often don't kill the mites and instead drown a few and many are washed off...but there's always a few that remain to continue and breed.

general purpose insect sprays may work to discourage mites from moving onto your plants, but once they are established it's best be specific and use a miticide.

remove all the plants from your grow area, wipe down the area and then give it a miticide spray, the walls, the floor, everywhere (remove all the badly affected leaves first) then spray the plants outside (or indoors with powerfull exhaust ventilation)

if poisons are not you then you can beat mite attacks by spraying the top and bottom of every leaf every day for 10 days with medium strong pressure from a pump-up sprayer filled with plain water........combined with an increase in the relative humidity and lowering of the temps...with vigilence, care and perserverance you can defend against a mite attack with plain ol' H20..return the grow room to normal temps and RH after the mites are gone.

if you are forced to spray plants in early flowering, then try to spray away from the young bud so you don't knock them around too much

the secret to success in beating mites is to catch them early! ....every grower, every day must look at each plant for mites.

happy spider mite killing!
 
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G

Guest

I've never used pest strips, there's no doubt they kill mites......but I would be hesitant about breathing in too much of that shit in a confined area like a cabinet..they obviously give off vapors of poison, does any of this substance attach to the buds?
 
G

Guest

until more is known, it's probably a good idea to remove those pest strips from your grow room 6 or so weeks prior to harvest.
 
G

Guest

There were huge threads on the pro's and cons of no-pest strips on OG.
I can't get them around here.
 
G

Guest

Mites man, I feel for ya, I hate those almost as bad as my mother in law. I am going to give ya my 2 cents worth. I have used Neem oil, Pythelon (sp?) bombs and about a half dozen other Mite killers to no avail. What I did learn is this, Ice water sprayed under the leaves once a day, and lady bugs. Lady bugs will not eat live mites, but they will devour the eggs, You can usually get a bag of a 1000 for a few bucks at the local garden store. I have wiped them out 100% using this method for 2-3 weeks, this may sound like a long time, but really this is 100% organic and it works. There is lots of "cides" on the market, but do you really want that shit even near your plant that will be smoking? It's a personal choice I guess. My two cents are only worth a penny, so there ya go, Peace, Nofind
 
G

Guest

I tried all of the sprays this summer and still had an infestation in my GH. I tried about 8000 ladybugs and they did not do me any good at all. I put spidermite predators in there , but it was already too late.

Growdoc has a lot of info on killing mites and using natural controls. Give him a shout he will help you with your problem.

I say spidermite predators and spidermite destroyers.

Sorry I don't have any links. I ahve had great success in the past with predators.

GCG
 
G

Guest

I am really happy with the "Trounce". it seems to do a great job and is quite mild.
I think im going to wander down to the hydro store on the corner and buy some lady bugs or some of those mites that eat other mites.
 
G

Guest

My original question is still un answered.
Where the hell did they come from. do they hibernate. could they be living in my bag of soil?
My whole grow is in the garage it's below Freezing.
I'm starting to think maybe I didn't completely get rid of them last time
 
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