Spider Mites for dumbos question

[theclearspot]

I think I have spider mites in the greenhouse. Small white specks on the leaves, ive spotted a couple of largish spiders and seen some tiny ones, few dark spots on leaves aswell. some of the plants are unhealthy wilting etc.
Anyway i bought some Floramite, there are no instructions in English, so just wanted to know how to apply it? Its a 4ml bottle, presume you spray it on - do you spray on top of the leaves or/and under the leaves (what a task!) and on stems etc? Thanks for any tips...hope I dont lose these plants oh and yes they are very near flowering I would guess and day now....
The Clearspot

 

[Mikell]

It is translaminar. Spray thoroughly but not excessively.

Read this.

Label

If you have the little brown bottle (or any type of repackaging) dosage may vary. Wear appropriate PPE.

Mix thoroughly. 7-10 days for effective control. I would advise treating with a contact insecticide prior.

A positive identification is the first step.

Post a picture or image search to see the damage they cause to compare.

Confirm diagnosis and only then apply the appropriate treatment.

As it sounds more like thrips.

 

[Team Microbe]

First you'll want to positively identify the pest with a loupe of at least 25x magnification.

It sounds like spider mites from what you're describing, are you in flower or veg right now?

Mikell has experience with spider mites as well so maybe we can help ya knock these things out

 

[rykus]

Mm mm flora mite... Thrips leave a bigger white spot and look like little alligators or something... Longer and seem to move faster.

Mites leave many small white dots in clusters with a light webbing on the underside of the leaf.

I'd use flora mite with a wetting compound like transporter or saturator... But it works by making the mites borderline retarded and unable to pro create.... If you'd like to avoid this wear the proper spray equipment and mask rated for these chemicals...

After I'd suggest wintergreen or neem oil or something to stop them coming back.

Of all the bad sprays I found flora mite to be one of the least effective, and have poor shelf life... Forbid and avid still worked better on mites for me.

Thrips I avoid all the really toxic stuff and just walk through with a pyrytherin (sp?) spray like dr doom every 2-3 days for a week r so...

 

[Mikell]

First you'll want to positively identify the pest with a loupe of at least 25x magnification.

It sounds like spider mites from what you're describing, are you in flower or veg right now?

Mikell has experience with spider mites as well so maybe we can help ya knock these things out

I grow cannabis, so yes, I have experience with spider mites.

 

[Team Microbe]

I grow cannabis, so yes, I have experience with spider mites.

 

[Chimera]

Florimite is actually a contact spray despite the popular, yet incorrect, belief that is has translaminar action.

The spray must contact the pest to kill it.

"Floramite
This miticide, manufactured by Chemtura Corp., contains the active ingredient bifenazate. It is labeled for control of twospotted spider mite, Pacific mite, strawberry mite, European red mite, citrus red mite, clover mite, Southern red mite, spruce spider mite, bamboo mite and Lewis mite. Floramite is not active on broad, rust or flat mite. It has contact activity only, so thorough coverage of all plant parts is essential. It is active on all mite life stages, including eggs.

Floramite works quickly and may provide up to 28 days of residual activity. The label rate is 4-8 fl.oz. per 100 gals. Floramite has a mode of action involving the blockage or closure of GABA-activated chloride channels in the peripheral nervous system."

http://www.gpnmag.com/article/mite-b-gone-understanding-miticides/

They key to killing mite populations is repeated rotational sprays with products with different modes of action. Ei rotate Avid -> Florimite -> Forbid.

Rinse and repeat, do NOT spray these chemicals in flower!!

 

[Chimera]

I should have written that you need to pH the water to 5.5 to 6.5 for floramite to be effective. This is really, really important.

 

[Mikell]

Thanks for catching that Chimera, I must admit I was repeating what I was told.

If he is curious how to lose against mites for 12 monthes (at the height of which you declared mites to be impossible to eradicate, and implied those of us who don't live with mites were full of it) and only to win by applying "organic" ivermectin, I'm sure you can chime in to share your experience.

Want to keep playing, Jay?

 

[theclearspot]

I should have written that you need to pH the water to 5.5 to 6.5 for floramite to be effective. This is really, really important.

aha. Interesting I didnt know that.Will have to test the ph of the water. Thanks

 

[theclearspot]

It is translaminar. Spray thoroughly but not excessively.

Read this.

Label

If you have the little brown bottle (or any type of repackaging) dosage may vary. Wear appropriate PPE.

Mix thoroughly. 7-10 days for effective control. I would advise treating with a contact insecticide prior.

A positive identification is the first step.

Post a picture or image search to see the damage they cause to compare.

Confirm diagnosis and only then apply the appropriate treatment.

As it sounds more like thrips.

Yes I got the microscope out and its deffo those little mites with 2 spots. caught an adult one was huge on top of one of the plants. i also saw (which is disturbing) something about 1cm long looked like a thrip but is that too big for thrips?
also how often to spray ( as someone said I should interspray with something else like neem oil)?
thanks all...

 

[theclearspot]

Also should you spray on tops and bottoms of leaves, ive basically sprayed the tops and bits of the bottoms. how often to spray?cheers..

 

[Chimera]

Unless you have created mega thrips, it's likely a misdiagnosis.

Definitely spray the bottom side of the leaves, that's where the mites do their evil deeds. It makes spraying that much more difficult, part of the hard lesson to learn about these evil little pricks! You have to go through it to truly understand their destructive and persistent ways... So spray hard now of face doom in a few weeks. For next time, preventative is the key. Welcome to the battle. Learn from experience now or fight them again in the future.

FYI- those two spots are essentially the waste cavities of the mites, what you are seeing is them full of shit. I take those spots as a personal insult - nobody eats for free! Death to all interlopers.


.

 

[Granger2]

Go to the Spider Mite Sticky in this forum. Read up. It is entirely possible to rid yourself of SM's organically. Check my posts. I speak from experience. Good luck. -granger

 

[Mikell]

Granger speaks the truth.

I dabble on the dark side.

 

[PoweredByLove]

i've never used this product you're asking about, but you're going to have to spray the undersides of all the leaves, or somehow dunk the whole thing to get all the mites. you can also remove whole leaves that are infested. prolly faster action with or without...in conjunction with the spray. leaves grow back and they're gonna fall off anyway cuz the spidermites are sucking em dry. if it's a bunch. just pull the leaf. i just glanced up and saw grangers post. yes you can kill spidermites with shit around your house and it's super effective. garlic, peppermint, capsaicin, rosemary, lavender, orange, lemon... all kinds of aromatic essential oils available to you that will kill pretty much most of the bugs either alone or in some combination. i use olive/neem/sunflower...once even castor oils mixed with soap to emulsify, some essential oils if i have any whatever you have just add a few drops and mix it in, chop up some garlic, some hot ass peppers. mix it with a couple gallons of water and let it brew a few days, the longer the better, strain and spray. it'll kill all the stuff and leave your leaves looking nice and shiny. i also spray fish emulsion sometimes.

check out brownguy420 on youtube that guy is a master of organic and IPM. outdoor plants all looking lovely like they inside a hermetically sealed clean room.

i don't spray everyday so please no looking to my albums as an indictment of me not knowing what i'm telling you as solid tested advice. i'm a lazy mofo i'm like water, path of least resistance. i grow on as little effort as i need to to pull out quality. i'm not outside everyday spraying. i save that for when i see potential issues ahead. but when shit works it works. and you can kill spidermites by spraying em down with hotsauce-garlic-oilwater.

 

[Limeygreen]

Make sure you buffer your water before adding floramite, don't add floramite then try to buffer the solution, it could cause the chemical to not respond as well. The reason pH is so important is for the half life of the chemical, at a pH of 7 the half life is only about an hour or two but at 5.5 the halflife is roughly 2 days, drastically different results with pH adjusted water.