2 weeks left

[biscuit]

hello there.
i good friend of mine suggested this site to me as the one i was using had gotten..well, for lack of a better term too "small" minded. that being said i figured i would come here and if i could pick your brains!
im two weeks from harvesting my og kushes. in the beginning the cuts came with a little pm that was treated with safer sulfur spray and seriously effected plants were ditched. my room had been used before(as have most places in these parts) so i went all out and created a sealed environment, panda film covering all surfaces and duct tape sealing the edges and staple holes. plenty of air going out, and good circulation. i would have to say that im lacking some intake as my zippered door cover implodes when zipped. ive been releasing ladybugs because their cheap and i thought i would be adding a line of prevention.
well last night i found some spider mites, no webbing but some white speckles and sure enough eggs...lady bugs werent doing their job!
so here lies my question.
ive never dealt with an infestation two weeks from harvest, but i dont wanna look through my microscope and see mite shit either.

is it safe to set off a pyrethrin bomb?
if i can i figure ill do that and then release a thousand ladybugs to maintain for the next ten days...

thanks in advance guys!
biscuit

 

[mello]

I would definitely not bomb or spray anything this late in the game as it will then be present in your final product. There's some debate as to how harmful pyrethrin is after combustion, but at the very least the flavor will be spoiled.
It sounds like the infestation is not too bad. You could probably keep them abated by manually removing them. I would simply pull any leaves that are highly contaminated. I've heard of people vacuuming mites off their buds which may be worth a shot.

To avoid this problem the next round, make sure your starts are clean. If you're getting them from an outside source, give them some form of preventative treatment even if you don't notice any pests. I've had great success with Azatrol, applied 3 times with 3 day intervals. After that, make sure you only enter your grow area with clean clothes and shoes. If you can abide by those rules, you shouldn't ever run into mite issues again.

Good luck man. Again, please don't bomb.

 

[WalterWhiteFire]

Mighty wash dude!

 

[ttystikk]

Vacuuming the mites is a good idea, if tedious. There are better predators for spidermites than ladybugs. Sounds like you got the room too dry. Worse, Newton's law still applies; you want air going OUT, you need to have some coming IN. A sealed room is nothing going in or out, which also means supplemental CO2, a firm grasp on cooling, etc.

Don't use any chemistry you don't want to smoke. That includes azamax, neem oil, einstein oil, pyrethrins, nothing- it's just too close to harvest. If you must, you can use something like 'liquid ladybug' and spot treat affected areas.

Bump the humidity just a little; the more humid it is, the more it will slow down the spidermites. Next time, get spidermite predators, as ladybugs don't do much for them.

 

[jimbooo]

Predatory mites are an effective control for spider mites. The usually take care of the problem pretty quickly.

 

[outwest]

I've used both mighty wash and predator mites. Both are very effective. 2 weeks out I hate to spray anything. Predator mites could be the ticket. Good luck.

outwest

 

[kushtrees]

I wouldnt spray them with anything, with only 2 weeks I vote just remove infected leaves and/ or vacuum them off if possible. I doubt they will spread too much in two weeks, mites also like hot dry environments so dropping your temps and raising ur RH will slow down the spread

 

[WalterWhiteFire]

Mighty Wash is only high frequency H2O safe till harvest...

 

[chromedoggy]

I've used both mighty wash and predator mites. Both are very effective. 2 weeks out I hate to spray anything. Predator mites could be the ticket. Good luck.

outwest

Can you tell me anything about using predator mites successfully? I have a horrible infestation, and I ordered 40,000 N. Fallacis, to the tune of $550, and I don't even see any of the good bugs anymore, I am so overrun with the borg since I stopped spraying. I was told to give the predators a week to establish, it's been 5 days, and my partner is going to shit a brick when she sees what the room looks like tomorrow...

 

[outwest]

It varies on situation and level of infestation. To expect magic overnight with serious infestation is unrealistic. IME they are best used as 'cleanup' after a thorough disinfection with your choice of pesticide. I prefer a combination of things. You have to be careful though as you don't want the pesticides to kill the predator mites.

As far as the specific breed you chose, I really don't know.

outwest

 

[chromedoggy]

Thanks! I chose this species because apparently they eat pollen as well as mites, so they are less likely to leave or starve if the spider mites are controlled.

I did spray pyganic before introducing them, but the spider mites came back in a few days.

what species did you use? was it effective? have you had re-infestations? have you used the predators repetitively?

 

[cctt]

Mighty Wash is only high frequency H2O safe till harvest...

Mighty Wash is an unlabeled, unknown product. "Frequency water" is some pseudoscientific nonsense they use to keep you from asking what's really in it. Someday we'll find out, but until then I'd be extremely hesitant to use it anywhere near harvest time.

 

[chromedoggy]

There are very differing opinions on Mighty wash...I am really curious about this stuff.

 

[mastacheeser]

The mighty wash says safe til harvest but def has a smell to it and will leave a smell.
I really think its the same as azamax. Just diluted and marked way up.

For the mites drop temps, raise humidity, and take off all the infected leaves