Spider Mites (Help!)

[Skunkmasterflex]

Spider mite killer.....iv had these fuckers 4 dozen times. Where I live its pretty much a valley and they are all over plants even outside. I had to go as far as to treat my whole yard....my neighbors on both sides of me as well.

Here is what's up.....

A product called conserve sc. It's expensive but the only thing iv cam across that works crazy magic and is harmless to the plants. Whenever I kick off the lights and spray, when I turn lights back on they are all crazy bright green and have actually grown. Iv used mighty wash, azamax and pretty much everything listed by others in this thread. Most of those products work decent but the mites become resistant to those products.

If your spot is anything like mine....as far as size of grow and location, this would be the only thing to make sure you deal with them completely .....

Conserve sc @ 3 ml per gallon with a tsp of coco wet. Spray the entire plant down Drenched. Front side of leaves and back side and the stalks and tops of the soil. I even spray the walls and outside the buckets. Use gloves and long sleeve clothes and pants. Come people get irratated skin when they come into contact with it. Repeat this process every 14 days.

In between treatments with the conserve sc use neem oil at the rate of 2ml per gallon with a tsp of coco wet. Apply neem every 3 days.

After 30 days of this cycle I'm usually completely mite free. I have learned the trick is to spray once a month with the conserve as a prevention. That's where iv made my mistakes....that and leaving town and hoping my assistant stays on the spraying cycle....which never happens lol...

The conserve you can use in bloom. I don't spray the flowers and I stop using it 3 weeks before harvest to ensure any residue is evaporated. The neem I stop spraying 4-5 weeks before harvest as iv found it doesn't leave the plant as fast as the conserve.

Just wanted to share my endless mite battle story and technique with yall. Hope it might help a few of you guys.

Good luck with the battle. Won't be the last time you see them. Mites are the Fuckin devil....but iv never had aphids so those may be worse. Figured crossed to never see those fuckers lol.

Hope everyone is having a great day ~smf~

 

[thehappygardener]

Floramite! LOL If your using floramite then no need to use anything else. It works....just dont try having kids anytime soon unless you like two headed babies!!!

If you harvest with mites then hang your plant up-side down, turn down the temp very low, hang your plant just under a light source for a couple of days, the mites will crawl to the top of the plant to reach the light source. They are trying to reach the light to stay warm. You can literaly smash them with your hand at that point.

 

[ethnoman]

You ever tried predatory mites? Good for small outbreaks, probably prohibitively expensive on any large scale unfortunately.

 

[caregiverken]

a couple weeks ago I sprayed Floramite sc in my mother room.
It did not smell nasty at all...smelled kinda like flowers :)

No sign of any mites...yet

Maybe I should spray some neem, just for the heck of it? Leaf polish? o_O

 

[Green machine]

instead of using poisonous products that are harmful to the smoker and the environment, i tried this stuff called mighty bomb, distributed by hydrofarm. it works great and its organic. its very strong, but you can just add a little extra water if needed and its good ta go! i also used a neem powder for a root drench that i fed right into the res... in 3-4 feedings the mites were gone.

 

[monkeymun]

instead of using poisonous products that are harmful to the smoker and the environment, i tried this stuff called mighty bomb, distributed by hydrofarm. it works great and its organic. its very strong, but you can just add a little extra water if needed and its good ta go! i also used a neem powder for a root drench that i fed right into the res... in 3-4 feedings the mites were gone.

What's in this Mighty Bomb? Just because it's 'organic' doesn't make it safe.

 

[Green machine]

it seems to be organic essential oils like several organic products out there accept its more concentrated for less money, it doesn't leave a thick residue like mighty wash. and neem powder shuts down the reproductive organs in those little bastards so they cant reproduce. kinda the same way spinosad shuts down there nervous system. the problem with spinosad is that it kills a lot of beneficial things like bees and fish...I've been doin this for over 8 years and I've had mites several times..... its all about breaking the life cycle. spray to kill them and neem powder for anything that you may have missed.

 

[Green machine]

i personally liked the effect of mighty wash, but didn't enjoy the thick ass residue that it left on everything in my room. especially the way it starts to discolor the edges of all my plants and turn them yellow... i started using this stuff called mighty bomb. its as effective as mighty wash but no residue. along with my topical spraying i use a neem powder as a root drench. it shuts down the reproductive organs in those little pricks!!!

 

[caregiverken]

Hey guys, I used Floramite sc on my mother room about 3 weeks ago...worked great
no more mites :)
Do I need to spray it again even if I see no signs of mites?

 

[Capulator]

Hey guys, I used Floramite sc on my mother room about 3 weeks ago...worked great
no more mites :)
Do I need to spray it again even if I see no signs of mites?

no.

YOu dont want to make too many applications of the same thing. Use another pesticide.

 

[caregiverken]

no.

YOu dont want to make too many applications of the same thing. Use another pesticide.

Thanks Cap. :)

I dont see any signs of mites returning...But the room is not sealed.
So i know they will come back
I have lavender oil and peppermint oil, and neem of course

Should I spray those as a Preventive?.
besides sealing the room , what else can I do to keep them from coming back?

 

[Seamaiden]

Manage yourself as the primary vector, that's what you can do.

Also, IIRC, Floramite recommends two treatments, something like a week to ten days apart, then rotation.

The lavender, peppermint, and Neem can all be considered treatments. As can JMS Stylet oil, the isopropyl alcohol Tx that I've reco'd for others, and you can add other plant essential oils to that mix like coriander, clove, citronella, rosemary, and thyme.

Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme... I used to love that song.

 

[woodsmaneh]

When you get spider mites you need a knock down killer to do the job right. Most oils work as a determent but do not work that well when you have mites and in most cases will not do the job.. You need a systemic killer that will work on new generations that will follow. I would try Azamax or Avid they will get the job done. I have used Avid for 15 years when needed with no two headed children, maybe it's why I lost my hair, ya that's it it makes your hair fall out, LOL really people. Read the info sheets on the products and you will be informed. Yes there are risks but there are lots in life. Not for everyone but when you just got to kill the bastards ....

 

[Chipper Pig]

I have spider mite thrashing many of my natives, veggies and my much loved outdoor ladies. I have none in my indoor rooms touch wood:) . However i have just brought for the first time 10,000 predator mites-Photoseiulus persimilis. They come in a 500 mL plastic bottle mixed with vermiculite. You need just go around the garden and splinkle them over the affected areas. Daily consumption of an adult Photoseiulus persimilis is about 20 spider mite eggs are larvae , 13 protonymphs or 5 adults. You can found thier eggs 1-3 days after release and see predator nymphs around 5-10 days after release. Let the Bug Wars Begin!

 

[chronicdreams]

there are two levels of spider mite treatment:

preventative. this can be mild. I like neem oil once a week. fluromite at each transplant. CLOSE inspection of any clones introduced. I cannot stress that one enough.

or the " i fucked up in stage one stage"

once they in your room, now its war.

prytheium bomb. two days later, spray with floromite and azamax.
CO2 bonus. for those with a sealed room. get a co tank blast it wide open and leave your room sealed for 4-6 hours. target range of CO2 @10k ppm this should kill any breathing pests in your room. including your cat.

continue this cycle every week for at LEAST 3 weeks after seeing your last mite and then back to preventative measures.

Notes: dont spray budding plants, consider removal of ALL plants and total scrubbing an sterile room. Seems painful, but good healthy plants are sometimes easier to deal with than the battle of the bugs. really depends on the level of infestation.

 

[chronicdreams]

I have spider mite thrashing many of my natives, veggies and my much loved outdoor ladies. I have none in my indoor rooms touch wood:) . However i have just brought for the first time 10,000 predator mites-Photoseiulus persimilis. They come in a 500 mL plastic bottle mixed with vermiculite. You need just go around the garden and splinkle them over the affected areas. Daily consumption of an adult Photoseiulus persimilis is about 20 spider mite eggs are larvae , 13 protonymphs or 5 adults. You can found thier eggs 1-3 days after release and see predator nymphs around 5-10 days after release. Let the Bug Wars Begin!

sorry dude but reality is you have to do a multilevel attack here. see my posting on it, I say do the nuclear bomb of my method first here. predatory mites, nodes, and butterfly all work best as maintenance. A good sign is if they all starve to death on release.

keys to win war: multi prong attack, CONTINUE treatment well past visual ID of being rid of pest. They WILL return. Soon as you think you won the war, they remind you you only won a battle.

WOLVERINES!!!!

 

[pugliese63]

Here's a link that some might find helpful.



I found it to be quite beneficial. Broad and cyclamen mites are now making a dreaded appearance in many gardens. I strongly advise everyone to begin to get familiar with these. Their damage is 100 times worse than your average spider mite. The symptoms appear as a nutrient issue with leaves deforming and burning. On several forums I've seen it diagnosed as TMV. Far from it. Take note of the specific miticides and rotations that are required to deal with this pest. Not all miticides are effective on broad/cylamen mites. Particularly, Floramite is ineffective on them.

For broad and cyclamen mites you have to use a three day spray cycle as well.

I also recommend this product.
http://rosemania.com/shopsite_sc/store/html/product40.html

In all the reading and research I've done its consistently recommended to use an adjuvant aka spreader/sticker when dealing with mites. I like this one because in addition to being a spreader/sticker it also sets the pH. The effectiveness of miticides/insecticides are greatly improved when the pH is between 4.5 and 5.5.


I hope this is of some benefit to those looking to improve their pest control programs or may be in the midst of dealing with a pest problem.

 

[caregiverken]

Will post back with updates as they come--thanks for the all the tips everyone, they are much appreciated.

How goes the Battle?

 

[squiggly]

How goes the Battle?

I won!

Steps I took:

1. Tear down room.

2. Bleach everything (my entire room is coated with poly plastic--glued to walls/floors, so that made this process very easy. I could go in there with a power washer if I wanted.

3. I only had 2 mothers going at the time which were in the affected room (harvest went without a hitch). These were sprayed liberally with a 30% ispropyl alcohol solution twice and allowed to dry before clones were taken.

4. Took clones and hand washed them with dish soap solution--was very careful to work the underside of leaves and in the nooks and crannies near the petiole. This was done under running water for at least 10 mins per clone.

5. Kept the mothers alive but quarantined until clones rooted--then carefully destroyed them being sure not to re-infect.

6. Kept the clones and the entire room above 85% humidity for a week (being sure to watch for mold).

7. Profit.

When I took the clones out I hit them with spinosad as a preventative--turned out to be a good idea as fungus gnats reared their heads (new batch of soil) later that same week. They have since been dealt with by caps bennies/spinosad rotation.

Have new mothers established and have begun taking clones for next run. All is well that ends well!

 

[woodsmaneh]

Wow that's extremism but if it did the job till next time. I was visiting a friend who owns a hydro shop and he's an old bastard who hates everything and most stuff is crap bla bla you have talked to guys like this. Thing is he was crazy over a product he just got in called Mighty Wash from NPK Industries. It kills spider mites dead and cost is reasonable. He took it home and used it on a plant and he said they were all dead in 10 minuets can't believe his eyes. I'm going to order some in for my shops and try it out. It's called frequency altered water and I don't understand it but it works. I did some reading all it did was make me want to laugh but if my buddy says it works, it must. No chemicals 99% water.