Mites! Eep

[businessfunk]

Okay, so... first grow, everything is going well, plants are nice and vegged after nearly 6 weeks. But. all of a sudden, the leaves got kind of spotty, not necessarily bad looking, but spots of yellow and a "dry" look to the leaves. So I was spraying thyem today and I saw a mite of some kind...anything I can spray this with to save my crop?

Thanks for the advice on a newb issue, peace guys.

businessfunk

 

[Guest]

I would guess most people would say NEEM oil is the best product, remember the mites eat the underside of the leaf and the damage shows through at the top.

I spray the underside first,then the upper half , and leave the plants out of the box,then while the grow box is empty,I spray it too.

In bad causes, Ive dipped the plants in a bucket of neem mix, but this is just for ,bucket size plants :smile:


you said you saw the mites.....but ifthe yellowing is a large spot ,it may be from spraying the plants under a hid bulb thats to close .

Mite damage is usually a light green area on the topside,that looks like tiny specks or nicks from below.

 

[Rosy Cheeks]

Once you have a mite infestation, the mites will stay low profile in veg while the plant is growing, and as bloom sets in they will proliferate, to the point that - if the conditions are right (low humidity, high temps, low resistance strain, sick or abused plants) and they're not fought - they can kill the plants in the last weeks. The longer your strain needs to finish, the worse it is.
Neem oil is a good thing for plants that are already in bloom. The active ingredient is Azadirachtin, a nerve toxin that attacks the mite nervous system and prevents them from reproducing. Rather than a final solution, it's a population regulator. It doesn't kill them all, then again mites do not develop a resistance against it (which is the case with most other insecticides). Neem is also anti-fungical, so you get a protection against bud rot as well. It is a plant toxine and therefore biodegradable. It degrades rather quickly though, within a week or two, so regular applications is needed. Neem oil is sometimes reported as harmless to mammals and humans (such as in Wikipedia). This is not true, although its toxicity is very low, so stop using it a week or two before harvest.

Pyrethrum is made from the finely powdered flowers of a species of daisy. The word pyrethrum is the name for the crude flower dust itself, and the term pyrethrins refers to the insecticidal compounds that are extracted from pyrethrum. It is a contact insecticide and must be applied directly to the insect to be effective. It rapidly paralyzes pests, but may not kill them. Pyrethrum and pyrethrins are often formulated with another insecticide to ensure that paralyzed insects do not recover and once again become pests.
Because the pyrethrum toxicity in mammals and humans is very low, it can be applied to food crops close to harvest. The downside is that it is also toxic to beneficial insects, such as various mite predators.

Insecticidal soaps and oils damage the protective coat of soft-bodied insects causing them to dehydrate. They have a number of advantages for controlling insects. They're virtually non-toxic to mammals and humans, and they control a wide range of common soft-bodied pests including aphids, mealybugs, thrips, whiteflies, mites, and scales. It is difficult for pests to develop resistance to oils and soaps.
Both soaps and oils can cause damage to plants if applied when plants are water stressed, temperatures are above 32º (90 F), or high humidity prevents rapid drying. Since soaps and oils work on contact, an effective application must coat both the upper and lower leaf surfaces as well as stems for best results. Repeated applications through flower will be necessary.

There are other biological "safe" insecticides on the market as well. Garlic and Nicotine is also said to repel mites, and the other day a grower told me he used peppers to control mites (although this pepper spray has the capacity to burn the leaves). Another home made mite fighter is the mite eradicator, There's a thread about it here:
http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=18473

Natural predators is another way to fight the mites. Ladybugs and predator mites (they eat other mites) control well the mite population in greenhouses and less well in growrooms, but they can still save your crop and the advantage is that you don't need to applicate anything on your plants that will end up on your buds.

A very good way to control mites in early veg is simply to hose your plants with cold water. Rain and humidity is a big enemy to mites, it's what controls them in nature. If your plants are in pots, put a plastig bag around the pot. Hold them downwards and blast the underside of the leaves (where the mites reside) with a hose or a showerhead. If it wasn't for the buds, you could control mites easily this way all though flower. But after a few weeks when the the flowers put on weight, it will get problematic with snapping branches etc, and soaking the buds with water will increase the risk for bud rot, so stop hosing 3-4 weeks into flower.

In order to get rid of mites permanently though, you will have to go chemical IMO.
When the grow is over, close down your flowerroom, reduce the number of plants and foliage in your vegroom to a minimum, treat the plants with a professional miticide such as Dicofol or Avid. These are products many growers prefer not to use, but as a final solution I have not come across anything else that does the job right, and if well executed, one single treatment could be enough.

 

[GMT]

Lots of things that you can try, and a search will help lots, look up mite eradicator. Its a good thread. Personally for the time and agro it will save, I say take cuts, root and veg them in a sealed high humidity environment. The mites will hate it. Low temp will fuck them up too. While they are vegging/rooting, clean everything and start over. Get better airflow sorted for the grow room for your next round.

 

[Guest]

I tried a ton of things,predator mites,neem,pyrethrum bombs etc,take my advice and get a 5 dollar no pest strip either hot shot or spectracide,I just got rid of my mite problem in 48 hours using NPS.I'll never try anything else again,its cheap and it absolutely works.

 

[Rosy Cheeks]

The no pest strips seems to be an efficient way of reducing the spider mite population. No spraying, just hang it in there and let the vapors do the job.

Although, the no pest strips should only be used if the growroom is not attached to a home or living quarters. The insecticide vapors contains chemical compounds (generally Dichlorvos [DDVP] and other related compounds) that attack the central nervous system in humans, and with improper ventilation or if for instance the growroom extraction is recycled indoors, levels can exceed health safety standards. Dichlorvos is concidered cancerogenous and a health risk to unborn fetuses and children, and high doses of Dichlorvos causes headaches, nausea and abdominal cramps.
You should also know that even if there is no contact between the pest strip and the plants, plants do absorb volatile (air born) compounds through the stomata, so these products do end up inside the plant anyway, even if the doses are small.

There are "biological" alternatives to the pest strip, where the active ingredient often is lemongrass, but they are way less efficient than their chemical counterparts.

 

[Guest]

I've used it in the house several times bro,my flower room is an 8 by 8 bedroom I dont hang out in there when I hang one thats for sure.And I try not to brethe the air if I have to go in,I'mj sure its not good for you.Probably not nearly as harmful as other things we are exposed to every day.Its a judgement call for most,but if you want instant results,I'm talking about 48 hours or so these things are the very best.When I get mites I catch it immediately thats important,and the NPS doesnt reduce the mite population or I wouldnt use it,it totally gets rid of the mite propblem 100% every single time I've used one.48 hours normally does it although there may be viable eggs thats why I remove it after 48 hours,check for live miters and never find any period,and put it back in for 24 hours a day or two after I remove it for good measure.I normally get the brick red european red spider mite not the two-spotter but I'm sure it would work on the two-spotter as well.

 

[Guest]

The best thing to do when using NPS is to shut off dehumidifier if using one and turn temps down as low as possible,you want it cold and humid.I havent had a mite problem in veg since I started using a cool mist humidifier they hate that shit blowin their evil little fuckfaces