Using Spinosad during flower?

[MeltingPOT]

Anyone have experience spraying w/ Spinosad during flowering? I am not a fan of spraying anything on flowers, but seeing as how these are only a few weeks in, I was unsure....Got rid of these damn thrips, and now they are starting to return...I want to take care of them before they go wild...

 

[hieagle420]

no problem what so ever with it,,, you can you it up to 2 days before harvest...also get to let you know you need to drench media also to kill the larve.. Keep It Green and Stay Safe..HE

 

[Guest 18340]

Especially because you're only a few weeks into flowering, yes you can use it. You can also use it late in flowering (i have) but I don't like the idea of dead Thrips stuck all over the sticky.

 

[Mr. Bongjangles]

I know the stuff is technically safe to use based on its active ingredients, but when diluted at the standard amount and sprayed, it definitely has a funny odor, like spoiled chalk or something. That isn't exactly the smell, but it's the best I can come up with right now.

As such, I would personally avoid using it in flower if at all possible.

I would recommend watering with mosquito dunks a few times, and hanging up sticky traps where you can fit them in. The mosquito dunks will stop the reproductive cycle in its tracks, so even if the infestation is pretty bad, you can prolly get away without having to spray anything on the buds.

Another option is a dusting of Diatomaceous Earth on the top of the medium, but I'm kinda 50/50 on that one as it tends to clump up a bit while the medium is still moist on top. Great thread on it over here though - http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=70408

 

[hieagle420]

I know the stuff is technically safe to use based on its active ingredients, but when diluted at the standard amount and sprayed, it definitely has a funny odor, like spoiled chalk or something. That isn't exactly the smell, but it's the best I can come up with right now.

As such, I would personally avoid using it in flower if at all possible.

I would recommend watering with mosquito dunks a few times, and hanging up sticky traps where you can fit them in. The mosquito dunks will stop the reproductive cycle in its tracks, so even if the infestation is pretty bad, you can prolly get away without having to spray anything on the buds.

Another option is a dusting of Diatomaceous Earth on the top of the medium, but I'm kinda 50/50 on that one as it tends to clump up a bit while the medium is still moist on top. Great thread on it over here though - http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=70408

mosquito dunks will not kill thrip larve, i have tryed and didnt do nothing in the way of killing them... i even put 2 in my res and it didnt kill them, but 2ozs of .5% spinosad killed them all off and i havent seen one since.. Keep It Green and Stay Safe..HE

 

[hieagle420]

here the link to what i used.. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=270328319993

Keep It Green and Stay Safe..HE

 

[Mr. Bongjangles]

mosquito dunks will not kill thrip larve, i have tryed and didnt do nothing in the way of killing them... i even put 2 in my res and it didnt kill them, but 2ozs of .5% spinosad killed them all off and i havent seen one since.. Keep It Green and Stay Safe..HE

Sorry they didn't work for you, but they definitely worked for me and everybody that I've ever seen mention trying them.

Here's a nice writeup about thrips specifically..

http://www.4hydroponics.com/FAQthrips.htm

"Our first fix uses "Mosquito Dunks". They're made for standing water situations, and are a bacterial inoculant. They're perfect for eliminating thrips because this particular bacteria eats anything in a larval stage, so by soaking a dunk in water, then using that water to thoroughly water your plants, with just a few applications you can rid yourself of the thrips. "

So yea, you're entitled to your opinion and all, but I strongly disagree with your statement that Mosquito Dunks will not kill thrip larvae.

 

[Blue Dot]

http://www.4hydroponics.com/FAQthrips.htm

"Our first fix uses "Mosquito Dunks". They're made for standing water situations, and are a bacterial inoculant. They're perfect for eliminating thrips because this particular bacteria eats anything in a larval stage, so by soaking a dunk in water, then using that water to thoroughly water your plants, with just a few applications you can rid yourself of the thrips. "

So yea, you're entitled to your opinion and all, but I strongly disagree with your statement that Mosquito Dunks will not kill thrip larvae.

'Um What?

BT is a bacteria but the bacteria works by producing a toxin that is a crystal that when ingested by gnats or mosiquitos causes intestinal disorder and the gnat or moisiquito then cannot feed or absorb nutrients from it's stomach.

The bacteria in bt is so small it doesn't EAT anything, except sugars and water so it's absurd to say that bt EATS larvae.

When insects ingest toxin crystals the alkaline pH of their digestive tract causes the toxin to become activated. It becomes inserted into the insect's gut cell membranes forming a pore resulting in swelling, cell lysis and eventually killing the insect.

B. thurigiensis-based insecticides are often applied as liquid sprays on crop plants, where the insecticide must be ingested to be effective.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bacillus_thuringiensis

If you meant to say that the thrip larvae eats the bt then that may be true but i don't know how effective the crystal toxin is to a thrip stomach because the toxin is extremely specific to a only a few Orders and Families.

Cry toxins have specific activities against species of the orders Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies), Diptera (flies and mosquitoes), Coleoptera (beetles), hymenoptera (wasps, bees, ants and sawflies) and nematodes.

Thrips (Order Thysanoptera)

so maybe you are correct because ususally a toxin will work against anything in a particular Order.

There is clear evidence from laboratory settings that Bt toxins can affect non-target organisms. Usually, but not always, affected organisms are closely related to intended targets.

I just find it strange that the manufactueres of bt would miss something as simple as this and not include thrips on the lable.

BTW, spinosad definately has a unique smell IMO.

I liken it to a fuel (petroleum distillate)/insecticide smell.

Small factoid: spinosad is broken down by UV light.

Photodissociation, photolysis, or photodecomposition is a chemical reaction in which a chemical compound is broken down by photons. It is defined as the interaction of one or more photons with one target molecule.

Photodissociation is not limited to visible light. Any photon with sufficient energy can affect the chemical bonds of a chemical compound. Since a photon's energy is inversely proportional to its wavelength, electromagnetic waves with the energy of visible light or higher, such as ultraviolet light, x-rays and gamma rays are usually involved in such reactions.

 

[hieagle420]

Sorry they didn't work for you, but they definitely worked for me and everybody that I've ever seen mention trying them.

Here's a nice writeup about thrips specifically..

http://www.4hydroponics.com/FAQthrips.htm

"Our first fix uses "Mosquito Dunks". They're made for standing water situations, and are a bacterial inoculant. They're perfect for eliminating thrips because this particular bacteria eats anything in a larval stage, so by soaking a dunk in water, then using that water to thoroughly water your plants, with just a few applications you can rid yourself of the thrips. "

So yea, you're entitled to your opinion and all, but I strongly disagree with your statement that Mosquito Dunks will not kill thrip larvae.

you sure you didnt have Fungus Gnat or white flies.. Keep It Green and Stay Safe..HE

 

[MeltingPOT]

Wow! thanks for all the feedback guys/gals...lots of good information from a lot of well respected growers.

I have had great luck with Spinosad and thrips, never have used dunks or anything else on them....I have had nothing but GREAT experiences with the Spinosad...The plants in question are just now beginning to really flower (week 2), so I went ahead and sprayed them...Being that the thrips are just showing, I hope this is an end all...Sprayed leaves, nodes and medium...wish me luck....and thanks!

 

[ddrew]

I am in the process of dealing with a pretty bad, established thrip infestation, hit everything with Mont G spray, all visible thrips dead.
However 4 days later they are just starting to come back in the form of babies, so I need to get them in the soil as well.
The plan now is in a few days to fog the hell out of all plants(W/spinosad), spray surface of soil will Mont G spray, and water with Mosquito dunks, hopefully this will knock them back for a few months.

 

[MeltingPOT]

Damn, you must have an infestation...Spinosad drenching leaves and soil has always got em for em.

 

[accessndx]

I've used Spinosad up to 4 weeks flowering. Beyond that threshold it just seemed strange to use...can't say it would be good or bad...but I suspect it would be better to use the stuff toward the first half of the process...and less inclined to do it later while stuff is really getting juicy. Always best to go with biological predators at that point and wait it out....keep the controls tight....and spray when you can. Of course this shouldn't stop you from working on the infestation on the moms, veggies or clones.......can give 'em a healthy wallop without fear.

 

[ddrew]

Yes it was bad, the thing was I didn't know what I was looking at, I thought the little silverish spots on the leaves were a nute thing and when I could see the thrips(I wasn't looking for them at first, so I was missing them) I thought they were baby fungus gnats and would end up on a sticky trap. It wasn't till later when I was reading about thrips that I realized it was them causing the leaf damage, and then when I checked close I could see them EVERYWHERE, and the extent of there damage, I figure they have been around for almost a year unchecked, biggest growing blunder yet. But at least I know now and am taking steps to correct it. I can't help but wonder how much yield these bastards have screwed me out of over the last year.

 

[MeltingPOT]

Definately good advice Ax. The mamas and clones are thrip free already, thoroughly doused...I figured the same with how far into flowering to spray, at 2-3 weeks, I don't think the smoke will be affected any...Thanks hombre...

Drew, I know that story to well...the first time I ever got thrips, I thought it was a feeding issue....The silver streaks on the leaves are a dead giveaway that it's thrips 4 sure....Hope it works itself out for ya bro..

 

[ddrew]

Drew, I know that story to well...the first time I ever got thrips, I thought it was a feeding issue....The silver streaks on the leaves are a dead giveaway that it's thrips 4 sure....Hope it works itself out for ya bro..

Ah you know, live and learn, now I know what they are and how to stop them.
Thanks for the positive thoughts, I think I have them on the run now.

 

[Rainsmoke]

Soil

Soil



Hello everyone new here...
First time growing. I have a plant that looks great to me. I noticed this on the soil. What is it? Is it normal?

 

[Noonin NorCal]

[URL=https://www.icmag.com/ic/picture.php?albumid=73764&pictureid=1758775&thumb=1]View Image[/url]

Hello everyone new here...
First time growing. I have a plant that looks great to me. I noticed this on the soil. What is it? Is it normal?

looks like some kind of mold to me