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red spider mites
- Thread starter budrezin
- Start date
I upload some more pictures so you can take a look i will go check underneath leaves now as i just found out thats where they like to live, i've got some supreme oil contains 99% mineral oil not sure if i can do a foilage treatment without damaging plants, but will try to poly plastic the whole room and disinfect and contine, but let me know how that treatment works, anyone else on the other hand if you've used mineral oil, or have some product or remede please feel free to drop me a PM! thanks.
Please re-read my posts on MiteRid. Azadirachtin works because it tastes bad to mites and they won't eat the plant. It is classified as an anti-feedant. It does not kill them, they die from not feeding. If they find another edible plant they will eat that and not die. It is not a true systemic (absorbed into plant through roots) but it does travel through the leaf from topside to the underside, apparently. I would spray both sides to ensure complete coverage. There is no such thing as an easy fix.
It is perfectly safe as it is derived from the neem tree. You must apply every 2-3 days for a couple weeks or you will never get rid of the mites. The eggs will hatch and they will be back. 6-7 days is too long in between. If you do not come down hard and heavy on these bastards you will never be rid of them. They are one of the worst pests to get. Do not take them lightly or your plants will be ruined.
TokeD - You can turn your plants on their side (careful with the soil) and spray the undersides easier. Mineral oil will work - sometimes it is called 'summer oil' and it coats the mites and they suffocate. Olive oil or vegetable oil mixed with water for spraying will work too and I would consider safer to consume than mineral oil. Shake bottle vigorously and often to keep the oil in suspension. When the water evaporates, the oil will remain. Insects breathe through little holes on the sides of their bodies and the oil clogs those breathing pores. Do it now before they get any more established. Do not wait with mites. They can also mutate and become resistant to some control methods.
Another option is a dusting of diatomaceous earth on the plants and a layer on the soil surface. DE is ground up fossils of sea creatures called diatoms. The dust dessicates and cuts insect exo-skeletons and kills them/dries them up. It is perfectly safe for humans, just don't breathe the dust, like all organic remedies. Organics usually require two or three techniques in combo to be most effective. Such is the price for avoiding toxic materials...
We are dealing with insects that have been around for millions of years so you have to know that they are damn tough!
It is perfectly safe as it is derived from the neem tree. You must apply every 2-3 days for a couple weeks or you will never get rid of the mites. The eggs will hatch and they will be back. 6-7 days is too long in between. If you do not come down hard and heavy on these bastards you will never be rid of them. They are one of the worst pests to get. Do not take them lightly or your plants will be ruined.
TokeD - You can turn your plants on their side (careful with the soil) and spray the undersides easier. Mineral oil will work - sometimes it is called 'summer oil' and it coats the mites and they suffocate. Olive oil or vegetable oil mixed with water for spraying will work too and I would consider safer to consume than mineral oil. Shake bottle vigorously and often to keep the oil in suspension. When the water evaporates, the oil will remain. Insects breathe through little holes on the sides of their bodies and the oil clogs those breathing pores. Do it now before they get any more established. Do not wait with mites. They can also mutate and become resistant to some control methods.
Another option is a dusting of diatomaceous earth on the plants and a layer on the soil surface. DE is ground up fossils of sea creatures called diatoms. The dust dessicates and cuts insect exo-skeletons and kills them/dries them up. It is perfectly safe for humans, just don't breathe the dust, like all organic remedies. Organics usually require two or three techniques in combo to be most effective. Such is the price for avoiding toxic materials...
We are dealing with insects that have been around for millions of years so you have to know that they are damn tough!
o.k i will tell you the truth , i had a bottle that bought from the hydro store 11 months ago , it is something yhe guy at the store made himself i have no idea whats in it all i know is that when i used it they all died & have not come back for 11 months. my problem is that the guy who owned the store got busted with a few pounds of weed & the store is closed down so if this recent application doesn't work properly then i will be forced to try the mite rid , but thanks for the info ,so you recon check every 2-3 days.
I purchased 100% neem oil and gave them a treatment of 6 TSP per gallon and 1/5 TSP of dish soap then gave them a full foilage spray using a hand pressure tank then gave them a good coating, they looked real droopy but after an hour or 2 they where back to normal, it looks like they look a lot better, i'm going to seal my room off and toss in 1000 preditor mites ill let you know how it goes.
well i decided to seal my room off using poly plastic, black whick was all i've got that is light proof, and did all the walls and floor and now adding a zipper, my question is, when do i release my preditors? in the dark period, and is it okay to release them if i just did a 100% Neem oil treatment a few days ago, tuesday i believe it was. I don't know exactly the species but it's three kinds of preditor mites.
you know i read somewhere that the chinese use water to combat spider mites on their christmas trees. yep i was told to spritz the plant completely with water twice a day for a week & they will go. theory is they don't like humidity & water has a high humidity content i think 100%.
shovelhead
Member
FWIW,my first and only [so far] infestation of spider mites was cured with a mixture of 1/4 baking soda,3/4 cup apple cider vinegar,2 tsp. lemon juice,and 2 drops dish soap. Sprayed plants heavily,let sit for 15 minutes,then put them in the kitchen sink and used the hose sprayer and rinsed thoroughly. I used the left over spray on the walls and flors of my veg closet. This idea came from a thread in this forum in Aug./Sept. I'm too lazy and computer illiterate to find and link it but it's here. Seemed to work well for me,relative noob,and I've been watching closely for any signs of reinfestation,because they really fucked my plants up.
well it has been 4 days & they seem to be dead, but they were only on about 5 plants and only a couple of leaves were severly effected with webs. the problem is, i just finished the last of what i had (mitacide) from this closed down hydro shop.i will have to try this "mite rid" if they come back again.
Hey budrezin, don't rest too easy. If you had webs then your mites were at an advanced stage. Put the MiteRid on now to prevent them from feeding on your plants if they do re-establish. Don't wait.
TokeD, release the hounds...er....predator mites now. The old Neem app won't hurt them as you have to spray it directly on them. It is not a poison that lingers, it affects the insect when it coats them by spraying, dunking, etc.
TokeD, release the hounds...er....predator mites now. The old Neem app won't hurt them as you have to spray it directly on them. It is not a poison that lingers, it affects the insect when it coats them by spraying, dunking, etc.
Cool but remember the MiteRid is not a 'pesticide', in the sense that it is poison or chemical. The azarachin is completely safe. If you wait to see more mites they will re-establish and you will be back to square one.
I can also respect the less is more option but at the very least try to do like ICETOKER and lower temps/raise humidity. If you shut down circulation fans (not ventilation) then the humidity can raise. Watch out for mold if you do this!
All the best!
I can also respect the less is more option but at the very least try to do like ICETOKER and lower temps/raise humidity. If you shut down circulation fans (not ventilation) then the humidity can raise. Watch out for mold if you do this!
All the best!
