spider mites and maybe even fungus gnats!

[darrinjefferson]

well....i had hoped i would never have to visit the cannabis infirmary....but i guess it just kinda happens.
i just realized tonight that my 5 ladies which are on flower day 13 have spider mites, and upon more observation maybe even fungus gnats. i almost cried, i couldnt believe i let it happen. only thing was...i didnt know the signs. i thought that the little spots on the leaf were nothing since it was only on 1 plant. then i looked and i saw the mites....and the something else, bigger than a mite. it had wings and such. thus i thought fungus gnat. because mites dont grow wings...right???
heres some pics.... i couldnt zoom in well but if you do it on the last photo...theres a bug with wings.






i now see the spots all over my ladies......im kinda scared for em....
so tonight i am going to spray them down real good with a dishsoap and water mixture. tomorrow i wil be able to buy some good neem oil, no pest strips and maybe another product...will have to see what they got.
i will also be doing a very good cleaning of my cab tomorrow night.

any comments or help would be very much appreciated.

thanks alot

late

 

[Sinfuldreams]

Well now you know

Well now you know

I didn't know I had em untill well into flower. Learned to spot em quick these days.

Yeap Neem Oil now will help be sure to Rinse the neem off after it dries a while, other wise that can do aa number on your plants too... Geez how do I know that?

Best of Luck

Sin

 

[darrinjefferson]

thanks alot sinful! i appreciate it. how many times did you spray them a day? i have heard 3 times a day.

also why do people say to use no pest strips for spider mites?

i will get one or two anyways because there is something flying in the cab...altho i killed most of em.
anything special need to be done with the strips?


thanks for your help

late

 

[Rosy Cheeks]

well....i had hoped i would never have to visit the cannabis infirmary....but i guess it just kinda happens.

Bro, you mean to say that you've grown all those beatiful plants in your gallery and you've never had a problem worth talking over in the Cannabis infirmiry?
In that case, could you give me the number to your guardian angel? I think I've got another client for him.

You're right, spider mites don't have wings, but have you made positive identification of both spider mites and fungus gnats? I'm sorry but I can't do that from the pics you posted. The damage looks like spider mites, that little black thing with things sticking out could be any kind of fly.
Fungus gnats are quite small, with long legs. It's not the gnats themselves you have to worry about, but their larvae. They live in the soil (medium) and feed on anything organic, including the finer root hairs. Run some nutrient solution through the pots, if there run-off have small, wriggling larvae in them, it's fungus gnats.

As to the spider mites, the story didn't say if you're in flower or not. If not, then you should do this properly and thoroughly, in order to get rid of the problem once and for all. Dicofol, Avid or Forbid 4F are all professional, chemical miticides, and basically the only thing that helps permanently. That said, you only need to miss one little spot (on the plants) for you to have your garden repopulated with mites a month or two later, so it's really up to you how efficient the treatment will be. Drench those plants in miticide!

I have never used no pest-strips, they can't be bought in Europe, but have only heard good things about them. I've heard growers swear that all the mites disappeared after a few days with no pest-strips, but then again I've heard growers swear they got rid of all mites with neem oil too, and from my own experience I know that just isn't possible, not with such a die hard creature as the spider mite.
You should also care for good ventilation if the pest strips are close to living quarters, because the insecticide vapors they give off contain 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.

 

[pyrojohnhippy]

check this. here are your options. all those spray bottle plant safe bullshit, neem oil which i think makes your plants permanently smell like shit, gnatrol i don't think can ever really be leached out of the soil...and also smells and makes your crop smell like shit, a sulfer burner which works pretty well against pests, or constant spray down when the lights are off with water/lemon/cyan pepper mixture to keep those little f'ers from forming nests. also vermiculite or perlite or something breathable layered over the soil to keep the gnats from completing their miserable little life cycle. yellow sticky traps work good too. just know that you have to deal with it, and not sit on it or it will get out of hand and rape you blind. and when/if you get it under control and things get back to normal. clean the shit out of your room and make sure all incoming and outgoing vents have bioscreening. there are plenty of options you just have to look real hard ;P it helps GL

because a healthy plant is a happy plant

 

[Guest]

I swear by neem, and I disagree about it needing to be washed off. Maybe watered down more and sprayed on might be the go.
But Neem is more of a preventative than a cure.

If you want something to take care of the Spider mites, then you can try an agricultrual shop for something called Vertimec. Its not cheap though.

Another option is predators, they eat the spider mites. you can buy them online.

Fongarid will help with your Fungus gnat problem.

 

[darrinjefferson]

well everyone thank you so much for your help with this terrible problem.
and i am in flower...today is day 14 of 12/12.

so last night i pulled out the ladies and gave them a fairly good trim. i normally do this about this time in flower anyways. i got rid of the leaves that had the worst dammage/eggs or mites on em.
i also sprayed em down with a light dishsoap and water mixture.

havent checked yet today...will probably wait to mess with em for a bit till i get my neem oil.

i guess im gonna look into whatever else the shops got to help fight these buggers.
dont want anything to harsh since i am in flower, but its still early on.

also i dont thinik i have fungus gnats...they are just some other kind of flying bug.
i have eliminated alot of them.

i will update as things progress..


thanks for the help

late

 

[Guest]

Mites become immune to chemicals. Neem is a fair trade-off if you like treating something you're gonna smoke with toxins. The no-pest strips have a toxin warning on the label and some have been pulled from shelves.

2 years ago I had the problem imported on some gifted clones and did some lengthy research on the subject, found this all natural mix recipe and followed directions to the letter. Haven't seen a pest since.

Mite Eradicator.
http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=18473&page=1&pp=15

As with anything, test one plant, don't risk your whole harvest.

 

[baccas125]

Floramite was the best investment i ever made.

 

[GMT]

Hi, just mentioning some things that havent been mentioned yet. I dont disagree with anything said but also reducing the temperature as much as possible will help. Basically the warmer they are the quicker they breed so reducing the temps will lower egg numbers and give you a fighting chance against them. Also, I havent tried it with spider mites yet, but eucalyptus oil (tip from Somoz) not on the plants or in the soil, but just so they can smell it in the grow room seems to be quite an unsexy smell to some pests and also helps to reduce the rate at which they breed. Its not so much killing the mites that is the aim, as by that point they only have a few days left anyway, its interupting their breeding abilities thats the key. Higher humidity is good as they arent keen on that, although it does increase your chances of getting fungus gnats. But they are no where as near as bad as spider mites, given the choice I'll go with gnats everytime. Good Luck. Oh and insulate your vegging chamber from the grow chamber, or at least put some space inbetween them, dont want the next round getting infected.

 

[Guest]

No pest strips work excellant. I keep 2 on hand for spider mite outbreaks. They will definately rid you of your pest problems. Just hang them in front of a fan for a few days, then put them in a ziplock bag for future use.

 

[mtnjohn]

what about fungus gnats?,,,i got em and cant seem to get rid of em...theyre not
bad...just a few but they wont go away...Heeeeelp
mj

 

[GMT]

lol mtnjohn, do the opposite and let the soil dry out a bit before watering. Or you could get some diatomacieous (sp) earth and spread it on top (tank MGJ for that one). Sand may work too.

 

[darrinjefferson]

well thanks again everyone!!! all these comments give me hope that i can beat these pests.

unfortunatly i have limited space and i say that there were some mites on a mother in my veg tub. very minimal..i cut most the damages leaves off, and the mother as well as all other plants in the tub will be getting a spray of neem oil today to help prevent them.

dirtysouth- thanks for the advice on the no pest strips. i wasnt sure hoe to use them with spider mites.

and 1toke- thanks for the link...i am for sure gonna try this as well. perhaps along with the neem oil.

late

 

[orgogliodiprovi]

I have had a few battles with those damn spider mites, mostly from introducing newbies to my garden from other locales...

I must say, that mite eradicator recipe that 1toke posted from OGF is definetly the best thing I have tried yet, I just sprayed it on, waited a few mins then manually wiped off each leaf and rubbed them in my hands gently, then just give em a good wash by sprayin em with a bit of clean water, voila, no more mites... or any leaf living pest for that matter (so far with my experience...)

 

[Guest]

Mites become immune to chemicals. Neem is a fair trade-off if you like treating something you're gonna smoke with toxins.

Thats very true, spider mites have sorta become a superbug. They are very resistant.
But neem mate, is non-toxic you could smoke, eat, or even drink the stuff. its an natural oil from a tree.