Bulb Mites?? WTF!?

[Blue Dog]

Finally figured out what these things are. Bulb mites (Rhizoglyphus echinopus). NOT a beneficial mite.

They have survived Imid, SMS 203, SM 90, safer insecticidal soap, mycotrol, beneficial nematodes, and Cap's Foliar Packs. Am I the only person that has gotten these? I can't seem to find much information on them in relation to indoor gardening. Some sources say they attack damaged roots and are often found in conjunction with root aphids in grape vines. Their population exploded after I discovered I had Root Aphids (the RAs have been kept at bay thus far by Met 52, Botaniguard & now Cap's Foliar Packs, thank you Cap). Research & experience tell me they are incredibly difficult to eliminate. Hypoaspis aculeifer are a predator mite of the Bulb mite. Does anyone have any experience with these? My girls are looking so sad and would really appreciate any insight on successful eradication of these little demons.

 

[ttystikk]

When I had russet mites, I got Avid- and read the whole booklet cover to cover. Near the end of it, they mentioned that its effectiveness can be extended by the use of a horticultural oil- soooo, I whipped out my bottle of Azamax. Whaddaya know, it's a horti oil!

3ml Avid
60ml Azamax
1 gallon of warm water- to help it emulsify

Spray until wet. It did the russet mites dirty, maybe it can help you.

Do this three times at intervals of two weeks or so, see how it does for you.

Then, post and tell us!

 

[Blue Dog]

When I had russet mites, I got Avid- and read the whole booklet cover to cover. Near the end of it, they mentioned that its effectiveness can be extended by the use of a horticultural oil- soooo, I whipped out my bottle of Azamax. Whaddaya know, it's a horti oil!

3ml Avid
60ml Azamax
1 gallon of warm water- to help it emulsify

Spray until wet. It did the russet mites dirty, maybe it can help you.

Do this three times at intervals of two weeks or so, see how it does for you.

Then, post and tell us!

Thanks for the suggestion. Unlike russet mites, the bulb mite hangs out below the soil and chomps on the roots. Can this recipe be used as a soil drench?

I try to stay organic, but the big guns come out if necessary.

 

[ttystikk]

@Blue Dog Since I was trying to kill buffs that ear my leaves, that's what I concentrated on. I know Azamax is effective as a systemic, but I don't know if Avid works like that or not.

 

[monkeymun]

Mites from hell - unkillable! Hope you get it sorted bro. A friend has used predatory mites before, but only on a small scale with some clones. They worked for him, but unsure how you'd go on a larger scale. Worth a try at least.

 

[Pancho-N-Lefty]

just curious BD what region r u in?
Your symptoms look similar to ones I have had. I thought they were broad mites but your info looks right on as well. I had success with mighty wash and such but also one minor note i have been using caps bennies for over a year now and they have not kept this problem at bay, so again your info peeks my interest.
I just am in the middle of battling RA again after them being introduced by a ...friend.. but im guessing that they stuck around my countermeasures because i still have an issue with these other "mites".
If you maintain a constant barage of countermeasures they seem to knock things back. but i too am interested to see how you get along. I will be adding another tool to the belt with Dr. Bronner's hemp peppermint.

PnL

 

[Camdawg]

I will be adding another tool to the belt with Dr. Bronner's hemp peppermint.

PnL

Hell yeah I got that shit in the shower! Whats the procedure for bug spray and can I use it as a preventative in veg?

 

[Blue Dog]

just curious BD what region r u in?
Your symptoms look similar to ones I have had. I thought they were broad mites but your info looks right on as well. I had success with mighty wash and such but also one minor note i have been using caps bennies for over a year now and they have not kept this problem at bay, so again your info peeks my interest.
I just am in the middle of battling RA again after them being introduced by a ...friend.. but im guessing that they stuck around my countermeasures because i still have an issue with these other "mites".
If you maintain a constant barage of countermeasures they seem to knock things back. but i too am interested to see how you get along. I will be adding another tool to the belt with Dr. Bronner's hemp peppermint.

PnL

I'm in the Pacific Northwest. Since I had RAs in the last cycle, These girls had Met 52 and Botaniguard from the get go, then Cap's Bennies to maintain. These are definitely keeping the RA population down, but these mites are everywhere, feeding on the rot left behind by the RAs, I assume. But they also seem to go for the the healthy roots once they are out of rotten ones. They love the fresh potato slices I put out. I believe a lot of people have made the same incorrect assumption I did, that they were RAs in an earlier phase of life.

The symptoms are photosensitivity (I had to keep the lights way higher than I normally would, and they STILL seem to suffer from minor light burn), Crinkling of the leaves, and an odd, twisting growth pattern, intraveinal yellowing, phantom deficiencies, and the leaves turn brown around the tips and edges, turning papery thin. The roots never look as healthy as they should, and the stems are thin and will snap without much weight or force.

I would love to know if anything kills the eggs. Citric Acid? H2O2? I've read that predatory mites eat the eggs, but I'm not sure if I could get the 3:1 predator to pray ratio that is recommended. I am considering taking clones and starting over with a multitude of preventatives and predatory mites, but I would like to know that I'm covering all of my bases with cleaning methods and preventatives. Have you heard of using sulphur powder and/or diatomaceous earth in the soil to control pests?

 

[larebowm]

CONTROL
It is very important to avoid rough handling of bulbs to prevent injury that might afford an entry point for fungi and bulb mites. Bulb mites cannot withstand drought and dry bulbs in storage are usually not attacked (unless mites are already deep inside tissue). Bulb mites are very tolerant of a number of synthetic pesticides apparently due to active oxidases, esterases, and transferases that detoxify such chemicals. Flooding gladiolus corms for 5 days gave 96.1 percent mortality; 14 days gave 100 percent mortality. A predaceous mite, Cosmolaelaps claviger, feeds readily on R. echinopus and other soil organisms. R. robinihas an alarm pheromone, citral, which although not toxic to the mites, was definitely repellent. These mites left bulbs treated with citral at 100 ppm, and a mixture of citral and a miticide gave significantly better control of R. robini than the miticide by itself. Evidently the alarm pheromone made the mites more active and increased their contact with the pesticide. Soaking bulbs in a miticide before planting has been shown to prevent bulb mite injury. Steam sterilization and methyl bromide at low concentrations eliminated the mites from soil. For specific chemicals and control methods see your county Extension Agent or consult your state's management guide for ornamental plant pests.

 

[larebowm]

does anyone know if predatory nematodes would eat these little f*******

 

[oscar169]

Hit them Mother Fuckers with a round of Forbid, then wait about a week, hit them with Floramite, Then 3 days later spray Mighty Wash, then wait see what if anything is moving, If so then spray AVID, sounds fucked up, But if you want to save your mother plants, start hitting them use 3-5 different things, one after another, don't use the same shit back to back, all it takes is just 1 Mite to make it through and you re spray the same shit again, in the mean time the new super mite is laying super mite eggs, keep rotating your sprays....;):mask:

Ps this would be to save your mother plants/Strains, not the plant that you have in VEG

 

[WynterRye]

Oscar has got it right. You have to rotate and hit with different MOA's. Ever 4 days is best with and mites or thrips. They will make 300k ever 3 days at 94 degrees. The best drenches are Marathon, Kontos, Pylon (if it is all out war). Pylon is not for the faint of heart. at 400 $ a pint. You might try drenching with X-3 or Zerotal they with act as a desiccant.

 

[neverbreak]

does anyone know if predatory nematodes would eat these little f*******

good question bro, i'd be interested in knowin that too. have ya used nematodes for other pests before?

neverbreak

 

[larebowm]

yeah they like gnats just fine. but there only good for in the soil..

 

[larebowm]

I had to dump some predatory nematodes in my worm compost bin do to a gnat infestation. they wiped them out i think they eat the eggs and larvae so it stops production.

 

[Black Lab]

The guy at my local hydro store recommended nematodes for control of RA and fungus gnats in soil. His supplier told him nematodes would keep for 3 months in the fridge. I spoke with a supplier who advised me to order and use within the week. I suspect people who buy nematodes that have been sitting around too long will not have any success. The nematodes were ineffective but that's because they were dead to begin with.
Before you chop and start over, order some hetero and steiner type nematodes. One type lies in wait for whatevr comes in contact with it, the other type of nematode is a search and destroy. Bugs don't develop immunity to bugs that eat them.
Also, order neem seed meal/cake online and top dress with it or make a tea. The plants love neem meal and bugs hate it. It seems much more effective than neem oil (and without the oil). Neem meal stinks and is hard for me to be around for long. The smell dies down after a week or two. Neem meal should not harm your beneficials or predatory nematodes.
I know you are dealing with a different type of bug than I was but I think it might be worth a try before chopping and starting over.

 

[Black Lab]

Thanks for the suggestion. Unlike russet mites, the bulb mite hangs out below the soil and chomps on the roots. Can this recipe be used as a soil drench?

I try to stay organic, but the big guns come out if necessary.

Don't drench because the little f'rs will hide under the root crown where it stays dry and repopulate within days. Soak your containers right up to the main stalk for 10 to 20 minutes with whatever you decide to use. Maybe use some tanglefoot around the main stalk to stop their escape. Cap's bennies might help once population of mites is down. Don't use chemicals. They were a lie to begin with and still are nothing but planetary poisons.

 

[Black Lab]

I'm in the Pacific Northwest. Since I had RAs in the last cycle, These girls had Met 52 and Botaniguard from the get go, then Cap's Bennies to maintain. These are definitely keeping the RA population down, but these mites are everywhere, feeding on the rot left behind by the RAs, I assume. But they also seem to go for the the healthy roots once they are out of rotten ones. They love the fresh potato slices I put out. I believe a lot of people have made the same incorrect assumption I did, that they were RAs in an earlier phase of life.

The symptoms are photosensitivity (I had to keep the lights way higher than I normally would, and they STILL seem to suffer from minor light burn), Crinkling of the leaves, and an odd, twisting growth pattern, intraveinal yellowing, phantom deficiencies, and the leaves turn brown around the tips and edges, turning papery thin. The roots never look as healthy as they should, and the stems are thin and will snap without much weight or force.

I would love to know if anything kills the eggs. Citric Acid? H2O2? I've read that predatory mites eat the eggs, but I'm not sure if I could get the 3:1 predator to pray ratio that is recommended. I am considering taking clones and starting over with a multitude of preventatives and predatory mites, but I would like to know that I'm covering all of my bases with cleaning methods and preventatives. Have you heard of using sulphur powder and/or diatomaceous earth in the soil to control pests?

I tried diatomaceuos earth. It turned to mushy goo when watered and did not seem to make any difference. I highly recommend Neem Cake or Neem Meal mixed into soil or top dress. Potent stuff bugs no like. I have only found it online.

 

[Thoth]

I find DE ineffective. It supposedly works while dry, but that's never the case in moist soil.

 

[Buddygreens]

I'm pretty sure I have these critters. They seem to cause a general lack of vigor.

Oddly enough I'm also in the PNW.

I've had success treating with Acephate, but it just suppress' the population not eliminates.