Quick spider mite question

[anthonyblunt]

I've just discovered I have spider mites. My plants are about two weeks from harvesting – one plant will probably be ready in a week.

Is there any point in doing anything at this late stage?

Thanks for any help

 

[Guest]

Two weeks! Thats close. How bad is the infection?

 

[Guest]

I have no personal mite experience

I have no personal mite experience

This will help:Ohio State University Extension Fact Sheet
Horticulture and Crop Science
2021 Coffey Rd., Columbus, Ohio 43210-1086
Spider Mites And Their Control
HYG-2012-92
David J. Shetlar

Spider mites are not insects but are more closely related to spiders. These arachnids have four pairs of legs, no antennae and a single, oval body region. Most spider mites have the ability to produce a fine silk webbing. Spider mites are very tiny, being less than 1/50 inch (0.4mm) long when adults.

Southern Red Mite
Female, Male, Larva

Many species of spider mites can be found in Ohio landscapes. The twospotted spider mite, Tetranychus urticae (Koch), and spruce spider mite, Oligonychus ununguis (Jacobi), are the most common pests. Other species with fewer host plants include: European red mite, Panonychus ulmi (Koch), found on apple trees; honeylocust spider mite, Platytetranychus multidigitali (Ewing); southern red mite, Oligonychus ilicis (McGregor), on a variety of plants; boxwood spider mite, Eurytetranychus buxi (Garman); and the oak mite, Oligonychus bicolor (Banks).
Types of Damage

Spider mites have tiny mouthparts modified for piercing individual plant cells and removing the contents. This results in tiny yellow or white speckles. When many of these feeding spots occur near each other, the foliage takes on a yellow or bronzed cast. Once the foliage of a plant becomes bronzed, it often drops prematurely.

Heavily infested plants may be discolored, stunted or even killed. Web producing spider mites may coat the foliage with the fine silk which collects dust and looks dirty.
Life Cycles and Habits

Spider mite species seem to be warm weather or cool weather active pests. The twospotted, European red, honeylocust, and oak spider mites do best in dry, hot summer weather. The spruce and southern red spider mites do best in cool spring and fall weather.

All spider mites go through the same stages of development. Adult females usually lay eggs on their host plants. The eggs hatch in days to weeks into the first stage, called a larva. Larvae are round bodied and have only three pairs of legs. The larvae feed for a few days, seek a sheltered spot to rest and then molt into the first nymphal stage. The first nymph now has four pairs of legs. The first nymphs feed a few days, rest and molt into the second nymph. The second nymphs feed, rest and molt into the adult stage. The males are usually the size of the second nymph and have pointed abdomens. The females have rounded abdomens and are the largest mites present.

Most spider mites spend the winter in the egg stage but the twospotted spider mite overwinters as adult females resting in protected places.
Twospotted Spider Mite

The twospotted spider mite is an example of a 'warm season' mite. This pest has been reported from over 180 host plants including field crops, ornamental plants, house plants and weeds.

The females overwinter in the soil or on host plants. The females become active in April and May when they seek out the undersides of leaves on suitable hosts. Each female may lay over 100 eggs. A single generation may require as much as 20 to as few as five days, depending on the temperature. These mites prefer hot, dry weather and often do not reach damaging populations in cool, rainy periods.

In the summer, the adults and nymphs are white with two greenish spots. However, overwintering females usually turn reddish-orange and can be mistaken for other mite species.
Spruce Spider Mite

The spruce spider mite is a common 'cool season' mite. This pest can be found on all types of conifers from spruces and pines to junipers and arborvitae.

This mite spends the winter in the egg stage attached to host plants. The eggs hatch in March to April and the mites can complete development in 3 to 4 weeks. If summer temperatures are constantly over 90 F, this mite becomes dormant and lays resting eggs. These eggs and adults resume activity in the fall when cooler temperatures return.

Conifers often react slowly to the feeding of this mite. Yellowing and bronzing of the needles may not become apparent until the heat of the summer, even though the damage may have occurred the previous fall and spring.
Control Strategies

Early detection of spider mites, before damage is noticed, is important. The tiny spider mites can be detected by taking a piece of white paper or cardboard and striking some plant foliage on it. The mites can be seen walking slowly on the paper. If 10 or more mites per sample are common, controls may be needed.

Option 1: Cultural Control - Syringing Since rainy weather seems to knock off spider mites, using a forceful jet of water from a hose (syringing) can perform the same task. A regular syringing can keep spider mites under control on most ornamental plants in the landscape. This technique also helps conserve natural predators.

Option 2: Cultural Control - Quarantine and Inspection The twospotted spider mite is often introduced on infested bedding and house plants. When purchasing new plants, carefully inspect the lower leaf surface for any signs of mite activity. New house plants should be quarantined from other plants until you are sure that no mites are present.

Option 3: Biological Control - Predators There are numerous insects (lacewings and lady beetles) that prey on spider mites. However, the most commonly sold predators are other types of mites. Predatory mites (usually Phytoseiulus spp., Amblyseius spp. or Metaseiulus spp.) can be purchased and released onto infested plants. Be sure to check listings to determine which species is appropriate. Some species are host specific and each predator works better under different weather conditions. If predators are used, do not apply pesticides that will kill them.

Option 4: Chemical Control - "Soft Pesticides" Most spider mites can be controlled with insecticidal oils and soaps. The oils, both horticultural oil and dormant oil, can be used. Horticultural oils can be used on perennial and woody ornamentals during the summer at the 1 to 2 percent rate. Higher rates of horticultural oil (3 to 4 percent) or dormant oil are useful for killing mite eggs and dormant adults in the fall and spring. The insecticidal soaps are useful in the warm season. Remember that mites are very tiny and soaps and oils work by contact only. Therefore, thorough coverage of the plant is necessary for good control.

Option 5: Chemical Control - Miticides Spider mites are usually not killed by regular insecticides, so be sure to check the pesticide label to see if "miticide" is present. Pesticides claiming "for mite suppression" are usually weak miticides and will not perform well. There are few products available to the homeowner. Dicofol (=Kelthane) is registered for over-the-counter use but is difficult to find. Acephate (=Orthene), dimethoate (=Cygon), chlorpyrifos (=Dursban), diazinon, disulfoton (=Di-syston), and malathion have over-the-counter product labels but are considered weak miticides.

Avermectin (=Avid), bifenthrin (=Talstar), dienochlor (=Pentac), fenbutatin-oxide (=Vendex), fluvalinate (=Mavrik), oxamyl (=Vydate), oxydemeton-methyl (Metasystox-R), oxythioquinox (Morestan), and propargite (=Omite) are restricted use pesticides available only to licensed applicators.

 

[Guest]

Now obviously not so many suggestions in this article will be helpfull for somthing you will be smoking in a couple weeks.But we live and learn.

 

[Guest]

no-pest strips..12 hrs in the dark period with ventilation off...3 days later repeat...when lights come on take the no pest strips out and turn on ventilation..they will eliminate your mite problem in 24 hrs...12 hrs one day 12 hrs 3 days after the first time...if you choose not to use the no pest strip...when the plant is dead the mites will leave the web wont though....mites also hate humidity as they breath through there ecoskeleton....when used properly no pest is the fastest...i dont like using late in flower but i would if i had an infestation...this is another reason why i inspect my plants every day multiple times per day...peace

 

[Guest]

Would it harm your plants to keep them at 90 degrees untill harvest? The article claims the mites go dormant at 90 degrees.

 

[anthonyblunt]

I’ll try the strips tonight and see how they work. Thanks for the help!

The infection is pretty bad, lots of speckled leaves

 

[Deft]

Is it safe to smoke spider mites? I had one bud that had spider mites show up in the cure, didnt see them one day then they were there the next. put it out in the sun for a few hours and then in the microwave for like 20 seconds as I thought that would kill them and it did. There werent that many but they were gross as fuck, looked like my trichomes got up and were walking around lol. So yea they never got to an infestation state since I caught it within a day of them showing up, there isnt much of a webing on it either.

 

[Bozo]

They pop when you smoke em
I was gonna mention no pest strips also and like unicorn said turn your fans completely off during lights off .

 

[anthonyblunt]

Anyone know the European equivalent of No Pest strips?

 

[Rosy Cheeks]

Is it safe to smoke spider mites?

It's no worse than snacking on a roasted bug.

Of the miticides mentioned in the post I've tried a few, and I'm right now using the latest generation of miticides, Bayer's Forbid F4, a miticide that uses spiromesifen as active ingredient. It's a substance that inhibits fat synthesis in the mites. Eggs, larvae and adults simply dry up and die.

You should know that Dicofol (which I've also used) is an organochlorine acaricide (a chemical that kills mites) that is structurally similar to DDT. It actually contains traces of DDT. Garden supplies likes to sell this stuff without telling the customers what it is (they wouldn't sell any if they did), so be careful to read the fineprint on your miticide.

I don't think there's an equivalent to No Pest strips in Europe, I've looked and haven't found any, but I could be wrong.

And you should check out this thread:
http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=18473

 

[anthonyblunt]

Thanks for all the help

 

[daddy fingaz]

Unless its proper bad u shud be fine i recon 2 weeks from harvest, when u chop just hang the whole plant upside down and theyl crawl to the bottom of the stalk away from ya buds !! anyway best of luck and dont forget to sterilise everything after !!!

 

[shovelhead]

There was a thread in this section about spraying your plants with a mixture of baking soda,vinegar,lemon juice and soap that worked very well on my spider mite infestation. After spraying solution and waiting 15 minutes I took the plants into the kitchen sink and rinsed them with the sink sprayer. Worked well,my plants were in veg,but as long as they dry out I don't see why it wouldn't work in flower. And you're rinsing the little bastards out.

 

[Verite]

Drop the temps, who ever told you mites go dormant at 90f never had mites. The mites that do damage love it hot and dry. If the bud can handle it I would mist a bunch with just water.

At this point you will taste anything you try to kill the mites with in the final product. The most you want to accomplish at this point is to keep the webbing down to a minimum so you dont taste that either. I just took a batch of webbed up crap I had and did a alcohol quick wash on it, tasted a lot better since I didnt spray the plant with anything.

 

[Guest]

90f is good for mites they like warm.
make your place cold, they hate that. more humidity is good against them too.
i actualy am in your situation. i have 1 later this week getting chopped. 1 maybe earlyu next week and another 6 in 4 week. i bought LADYBUGS.
there awsome. i watched them eat thoes little fuckers for about an hour today!
they will crawl around and eat them all.
but it takes time.
you might want to just pull off all the heavily infested leafs and wipe the rest down with a wet rag, the bottoms more then the tops.

 

[Guest]

no pest strip..if necessary water cure