SPIDER MITE CONTROL AND PHOTOPERIOD

[Sam_Skunkman]

Tetranychus urticae, The two spotted spider mite is a common problem with Cannabis.
An often used control is Phytoseiulus persimilis (predatory mite) which I use.
It is commonly known that the two spotted spider mites prefer higher temperatures with lower humidity, while the controls prefer and reproduce better at lower temperatures and higher humidity.
I recently did an experiment with 4 small identical HK clones in my window, they had gotten mites from my wife's misc house plants in the same window, so I bought 1000 Phytoseiulus persimilis and dosed all 4 HK plants equally in Oct. After a few weeks 2 of the plants were all cleared up while the other two still had problems. The only difference was the two cleared up ones were under lights each night to keep them veg, the other two were under natural short photoperiod, and flowering and the Phytoseiulus persimilis while not going into full diapause do stop hunting for the most part.
Lesson, use Phytoseiulus persimilis in veg cycle because they are not very effective under short hours used for flowering.
And use predators that are not negatively effected by short photo periods during flowering.
Like most below:
Feltiella acarisuga (Therodiplosis persicae) A cecidomyiid gall midge.
Stethorus species Three species of tiny ladybeetles (S. punctillum, S. punctum, S. picipes)
Macrolophus pygmaeus (predatory bug)
Dicyphus hesperus is an omnivorous generalist predator that can help control mites.
Orius insidiosus, also called the minute pirate bug, a generalist predator, Orius feeds on many pest species, such as mites, aphids and moth eggs for food.
-SamS

 

[Douglas.Curtis]

Thank you for sharing this.

 

[Sam_Skunkman]

BUMP predator info added.
-SamS

 

[Ringodoggie]

I am currently battling spider mites for the first time in over a decade. Forgot just how persistent this little buggers are. LOL

For reasons not gone into here and now, I can't spray. So, I am trying predator mites.

Along with photoperiod considerations as above, humidity seems to play a role in the effectiveness of predator mites. Most predators seem like a higher humidity (especially for breeding) than what you'll typically find in a flowering room. At least in my room. I just bought another humidifier to bring it up to about 50%. I don't like it any higher in my flower room. Veg room is OK to about 60% (so I have read) but my rooms are both usually closer to 40% most of the year.

Anyway, in my search I am testing a "Special Blend" of mites I picked up on eBay. The mites arrived with a nice little information sheet that I'll post below. It seemed informative so I just thought I would share it.

 

[Mikell]

Always scope predator orders. It's been awhile but I frequently ran in to dead or weak batches.

 

[Andyo]

phytoselius persimilis and humidity

phytoselius persimilis and humidity

The reason for humidity ideally 75/80% is so their eggs dont dry out
Also add more phytoselius at 2 week intervals it helps with life cycles.

I cleared a massive spider mite problem under 24 x 1000w divided into 4 x 6 1000w rooms
Using ultrasonic misting and air movment
Phytoselius where very obviously still active the first 4 weeks of 12 hrs

I dropped humidity to 60% at 28 days into 12 hrs and kept it at that to finish .A

 

[Ringodoggie]

I would be terrified to have my flower room at 80% RH. LOL

Another thing I read was that they have difficulty breading in high wind conditions. If that's true, I turned up all the oscillating fans to high. LOL

 

[Ringodoggie]

Always scope predator orders. It's been awhile but I frequently ran in to dead or weak batches.

I scoped this one through the plastic container when I first got it and didn't see anything at all. However, when I dumped them into the envelope to spread them, they scurried about like like cockroaches when the lights come on.

I did, however, send the following email to the seller....

Dear 'ebay seller name withheld',

I am in receipt of the 1000 predator mites that I purchased from you. Thank you for the quick shipping.

Upon receiving the package, I counted all the mites and there were only 986 mites. I wouldn't complain but I went back and counted them a second time and came up with exactly the same number.

Please ship the remaining 14 mites as soon as possible.

Thank you for your prompt reply.

I have not heard back from them yet.

 

[Mikell]

Still waiting to hear back from the boys at CERN about my meatloaf based mathematics.


Nah these were DOA. Got a bit of movement a few days later when a couple eggs hatched. Moved on to another supplier.

 

[Andyo]

phytocelius in vermiculite

phytocelius in vermiculite

Still waiting to hear back from the boys at CERN about my meatloaf based mathematics.


Nah these were DOA. Got a bit of movement a few days later when a couple eggs hatched. Moved on to another supplier.

I recieved 2000 every 2 weeks 5 lots in all, in 50 ml tubes of vermiculite and they where very lively all in 8 legged nymph stage.
P. persimilis eggs hatch in 5 days, and although the larval stage does not feed, the subsequent nymphs and adults feed on all stages of prey. Total time from egg to adult ranges from 25.2 days at 15°C (59°F) to 5.0 days at 30°C (86°F).A

 

[Zeez]

With two different suppliers I received weak, dead or nonexistent predatory mites. As expensive as they are, the reorders were timed by any indications of recurring TSPs. Attempts were also made to sustain the predators with an augmented diet of lily pollen. The predators worked flawlessly for a while but the supply inconsistency caused the effort to fail. Additionally, the corn cob media they are delivered in will make a mess of your buds. Attempts to re introduce more mites while flowering is likely to cause problems with corn cob getting into your buds.

Needless to say, the predators were a bust.

 

[Ringodoggie]

So true. I just got a batch today and scoped it. In a batch of (supposedly) 1000, I saw less than 10 mites.

This time I actually complained to the seller. LOL

This batch was all persimilis and that bright red is pretty easy to see. I did see some pink "clusters" that might be eggs. Are the eggs kind of wrapped in silk and stuck to the medium?

How disappointing life is. My $100 Bonavita coffee pot died today after only 6 months. Last week my Kitchen Aid mixer smoked itself to death on my counter. Getting tired of buying shit that isn't what it's supposed to be. Especially top of the line shit. /rant

 

[Andyo]

bright red versus orange

bright red versus orange

So true. I just got a batch today and scoped it. In a batch of (supposedly) 1000, I saw less than 10 mites.

This time I actually complained to the seller. LOL

This batch was all persimilis and that bright red is pretty easy to see. I did see some pink "clusters" that might be eggs. Are the eggs kind of wrapped in silk and stuck to the medium?

How disappointing life is. My $100 Bonavita coffee pot died today after only 6 months. Last week my Kitchen Aid mixer smoked itself to death on my counter. Getting tired of buying shit that isn't what it's supposed to be. Especially top of the line shit. /rant

note. phytoselius are bright red when too cold they are orange when warmer and therefore more active
also at warmer temps ie 30c they hatch from eggs in 5 days
at colder temperatures they can take up to 25 days
They also have a larval stage and 2 nymph stages
As i have pointed out in my earlier post
attention to detail is important for success.

 

[Zeez]

I find they come in threes. You should be rolling good now.

So true. I just got a batch today and scoped it. In a batch of (supposedly) 1000, I saw less than 10 mites.

This time I actually complained to the seller. LOL

This batch was all persimilis and that bright red is pretty easy to see. I did see some pink "clusters" that might be eggs. Are the eggs kind of wrapped in silk and stuck to the medium?

How disappointing life is. My $100 Bonavita coffee pot died today after only 6 months. Last week my Kitchen Aid mixer smoked itself to death on my counter. Getting tired of buying shit that isn't what it's supposed to be. Especially top of the line shit. /rant

 

[Sam_Skunkman]

With two different suppliers I received weak, dead or nonexistent predatory mites. As expensive as they are, the reorders were timed by any indications of recurring TSPs. Attempts were also made to sustain the predators with an augmented diet of lily pollen. The predators worked flawlessly for a while but the supply inconsistency caused the effort to fail. Additionally, the corn cob media they are delivered in will make a mess of your buds. Attempts to re introduce more mites while flowering is likely to cause problems with corn cob getting into your buds.

Needless to say, the predators were a bust.

Predators can be applied with little hanging trays on each plant that the bugs will crawl out of to the plants.
-SamS

 

[Ringodoggie]

The "corn cob" stuff is vermiculite. Just FYI

Also, I use paper envelopes to distribute the mites. Just dump a couple tablespoons in the envelope and place it in the "V" of the plant branches. The mites crawl out rather quickly to get to the food.

I was really pissed yesterday. Sorry about ranting. I am trying to quit smoking.

However, this seller did piss me off. When I sent her an email complaining about the count of mites her reply was....

Sorry about that. I did send you a 2000 count I don't carry 1000. I also sent you a fallacis which is a better mite that controls a wider variety of pests and withstands a wider range of temp. But the problem with these boys is that they are a transparent color no where near the orange color that the persimilis is please take a closer look if there is still a problem let me know and i will ship again. they take the color of what they eat.

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WTF.... who is she to decide what I want and what is "better" for me. Suppose I were doing a controlled experiment and she fucked me up with a wrong variable. So, they said they would ship out the persimilis on Wednesday. I did buy another batch of the "blend" from the other seller. They are closer and it usually arrives in a couple days. Hopefully by Monday.

When you have bugs, timing becomes critical.
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[troutman]

This predator is better than Phytoseiulus persimilis.

Neoseiulus Fallacis(Amblyseius ) (Predator)

Latin name: Amblyseius fallacis

One of the Best Overall Mite Predators Small (0.5 mm) tan to light orange coloured, pear shaped mites that feeds on various mites including two-spotted spider, European red, spruce spider, southern red, bamboo mites. Fallacis can survive in area of low spider mite populations by feeding on small arthropods and pollen. Fallacis require relative humidities over 50% to survive; humidity can be increased by misting plants and wetting walkways. SHIPPED: Adults in bottle with vermiculite or mixed population in plastic tray on bean leaves. OPTIMUM CONDITIONS: 9-32C (48-85F); 50% humidity. RELEASE RATES: 1-5 Fallacis per m. sq (10 ft. sq.). SPECIAL NOTES: Best predator mite for outdoor release.

Here's a video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9yCaSI9lmA

 

[Ringodoggie]

Wanna see something gross.....

Skip to about 3:30 in the video. Is that big black one a 2-spotted? Or, is it one of my predator mites. He sure didn't eat that baby 2-spotted he ran into about halfway through the video.

This little cheapo USB cam makes a pretty nice video. When I get my fresh batch of predators this week, I film a battle scene. LMAO (I hope).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvDnvbAQMvY&feature=youtu.be

 

[gladysvjubb]

No pest strips. Take care of all the little boogers.

 

[Douglas.Curtis]

No pest strips. Take care of all the little boogers.

In Veg only. Cannabis is a hyper/dynamic accumulator and the Hot-Shot no-pest strips are toxic to mammals as well as mites.