Spider Mighty

[Guest]

<sigh> I've got spider mites. This assumption (I'm not a bug guy) is based on having small black, moving dots on the undersides of leaves. If left to do as they will, the dots will make a very small "web".

Day 38 of flower w/ 4 skunk #1. DWC w/ hydroton. Nutes, temps, odor, all is good. Bud production seems right on schedule. If this were the winter, I'd be feeling very good about pulling 14 or so ozs.

General health of the plant is good. I spray the plants (esp the underside of the leaves) down w/ water (out of a mister bottle) in an extreme manner thrice daily. This seems to knock them back pretty good (so far as total number of dots).

I KNOW that continually spraying with water works for tomatos as a control method...but this outdoors where I can really go to town w/ a hose on an almost hourly basis. The mites don't entirely disappear, but they don't overtly stress the plant and the tomatoes taste just fine.

The plants truly do seem infested from the standpoint that the mites would truly "take the fuck over" if left unchecked.

I'm very afraid of harvesting early. I've never done that before and don't really know how affected the quality of the smoke would be. At this point in the game, I'm generally certain the bugs have not affected the buds themselves (of course other than causing stress in general and causing slight humidity increases due to the constant foliar spraying).

All that said, I'm thinking that insects on a plant will eventually end up in my bong and make for some harsh smoke. Almost makes me want to cry.

I'm looking opinions:
does anyone have an idea of the effect that a spider mite infestation will have on the finished buds?

would anyone be able to weigh in on an organic (I use chemical nutes...but I can't see putting an oil or pesticide on the plants themselves...paranoia of further quality degradation as well as fear of toxic...) method of control that may be more effective than H20?

assuming that the population can be controlled, the plant can sustain normal/healthy growth...would it be best to let the buds mature?

or...should I count myself lucky to have made it this far and chop?

appreciate your guys' time and look forward to some feedback!

p.s.
I do have a camera...but I can't take a pic of these little dots, they're too small for my talents.

 

[baccas125]

neem oil helps. Try to lower the temp in your flower room, they hate cool dry weather. You may want to consider pulling your plants early.

 

[sproutco]

I think I would keep spraying with water and don't harvest early.

 

[Mr. Nevermind]

Hot shot no pest strips. They asre odorless, you dont have to spray anyhting on your plants and they kill em. I have been fighting the good fight with the mites since march. I got no pest strips 2 weeks ago and no more mites. Home depot has them for $5-$6 . they last 4 months. Hope that helps






Nevermind

 

[Guest]

you guys are awesome, thank you very much.

Nevermind,
this strip idea, I'm picturing these things would hang from the ceiling (or something similar), vertically, in among the canopy? and the mites would crawl off of the plants on onto these strips...where they'd stick and die (like a good mite should). sound right?

just trying to picture the technique...

 

[Mr. Nevermind]

you guys are awesome, thank you very much.

Nevermind,
this strip idea, I'm picturing these things would hang from the ceiling (or something similar), vertically, in among the canopy? and the mites would crawl off of the plants on onto these strips...where they'd stick and die (like a good mite should). sound right?

just trying to picture the technique...

No they arent like fly paper. THey are 6 inches tall and are housed in plastic. The active ingrediant is inside the placstic housing. They dont crawl onto strips and die, they just die where they are. I had to clean the bottom of cab due to dead gnats piling up. They have a plactic piece you can attach to hang them or you an stand them up, they have a base.







Nevermind

 

[sproutco]

Take the plants in the bathroom and use the shower to rinse both sides of the leaves. Use the neem and pest strips like already suggested as well. I like safer soap.

 

[MTF-Sandman]

neem oil helps. Try to lower the temp in your flower room, they hate cool dry weather. You may want to consider pulling your plants early.

I think you mean they hate cool humid weather :wink:

They thrive in warm dry conditions...

 

[Verite]

Im with baccus, once they have colonized and gone to webcity theres nothing that will get the webbing off the buds. Doesnt matter when you harvest it then, all of it will taste like webcrap.

Besides that, any spraying/showering is only going to F up the buds anyways. If you got a small contained area you might give the pest strips a go but if you got alot of mites they are just going to move away from the pest strips and colonize where they can.

 

[vavwl]

I just recently found out I had spider mites on my plants. I caught it really early fortunetly. I went out and got some of those pest strips with Dichlorvos in it. As was mentioned home depot sells them. Dichlorvos is a neurotoxin for nearly all bugs, and fish. So keep your fish far away from the pest strip. It kills the mites where they are.

I placed mine under the plants that I found the mites on. I did this when the lights went off, I also turned off the exaust to raise the humidity. The entire box smelled of this stuff in no time. I havn't been able to find a mite since.

 

[Guest]

my friend the no pest strips.. when lights go out..when lights come on take out..problem solved...a couple times over a weerk or two.i have tried all different things and have yet to find anything to compare...in actuality all you have to do is raise the humidity to the point they cant breeth anymore....but no pest is the fastest and ultimate fix.

 

[vta]

No Pest Stips are the shit! I had a bad infestation so I hung one of those bad boys in the room and never had another problem. Even though they say they last 4 months, remember that most grow areas have air moving all the time so I switch mine out every couple months.

 

[Mr. Nevermind]

No Pest Stips are the shit! I had a bad infestation so I hung one of those bad boys in the room and never had another problem. Even though they say they last 4 months, remember that most grow areas have air moving all the time so I switch mine out every couple months.

I recommend no pest strips to people with no insect problem as well. They are great preventative tools. No reason to wait for infestation to treat them. My battle since march with those fuckers has finally been won thanks to no pest strips . Best $6 you will spend. People starting a grow, espicially in a cab, should deifinatly invest in one as a just in case kind of thing.

I did find a gnat stuck to one today, which i have never seen. So i guess soem insects do fly on it and die, but the majority of them just die where they are









Nevermind

 

[Guest]

well i don't use them unless i have to...it is a chemical...which is leaving vapor residues in your buds....that's why i do it at lights out ventilation off...when lights come on i pull out and turn all ventilation back on...i repeat a couple of times and no more mites
i really think the chemical is bad for us...not only the mites...dicloris or what ever its called

 

[dagnabit]

if you can do it.....


put the plant in a garbage bag and fill eht bag w/CO2 itll kill em.
if you use neem your hairs may wither and die but the bud will still finish.

 

[Guest]

I forgot to thank you guys for the no pest strip tip! It worked like a champ. I got a full harvest and there were no problems.

Wasn't the best weed I've ever had by any means. But, I have temp problems in the summer (TGIFall).

I've removed them for this rotation and haven't seen any evidence of the mites returning (currently through veg and into day 22 of 12/12).

so thanks for the help guys!