Got bugs! Now what do I do?

[BigBlonde]

I notices little white spots on the leaves of one of my plants, so I put a fan leaf under the microscope. It was then that I saw little green bugs that look somewhat like spiders. I suspect they're spider mites. You can see one big one and a few smaller ones in the video.

What should I do?

 

[GNick55]

I notices little white spots on the leaves of one of my plants, so I put a fan leaf under the microscope. It was then that I saw little green bugs that look somewhat like spiders. I suspect they're spider mites. You can see one big one and a few smaller ones in the video.

What should I do?

View attachment 1279437

i’m not a insect guy but i think your right,
are you veg or flower?
how are the plants?
indoor or outdoor?
someone who knows bugs will chime in and help out..

 

[ritoMox]

I notices little white spots on the leaves of one of my plants, so I put a fan leaf under the microscope. It was then that I saw little green bugs that look somewhat like spiders. I suspect they're spider mites. You can see one big one and a few smaller ones in the video.

What should I do?

View attachment 1279437

Two-spotted spider mites: How to identify and treat them in your marijuana grow​

Two-spotted spider mites: How to identify and treat them in your marijuana grow

Cannabis producers can stay ahead of two-spotted spider mites with solid scouting, preventive release of predatory mites and target sprays.

mjbizdaily.com

 

[BigBlonde]

i’m not a insect guy but i think your right,
are you veg or flower?
how are the plants?
indoor or outdoor?
someone who knows bugs will chime in and help out..

It's an indoor grow. The crop is 27 days past the flip. The two plants have been healthy. One plant has a lot of mites and the other just a few.

Once we saw we had bugs, we started doing research. So we know a lot more today than we did yesterday. I wasn't expecting another learning experience with this grow, but here we are.

Today, we're removing the plants from the tent and will cut away as many infested leaves as we can. Then we'll spray the plants with hydrogen peroxide solution. While the plants are out of the tent, we'll spray that, too. We ordered diatomaceous earth that is supposed to arrive Saturday. We also ordered two pressure sprayers.

The weather here has been hot and dry and so has the inside of the tent. So conditions are good for spider mites. I'm trying to raise the humidity in the tent and keep the plants cool. I've also increased the air flow around and between the plants. I also added a pan of water to the tent to help raise the humidity. We don't have a humidifier.

So, today a project begins.

 

[BigBlonde]

We spent a lot of time battling the spider mites. I think we won this battle, but I'm sure the war is not yet won. We took off maybe 50% of each plant and bagged and trashed the clippings. Then I sprayed with the plants, the top of the soil and the inside of the tent with hydrogen peroxide solution. Afterward, I watered and fed them well. We also bagged our clothes so they could go straight to the washing machine. I'm sure the trimming will stress the plants. We'll just hope they'll be okay. They look pretty good.

 

[GNick55]

i always have around a gallon of 29% h2o2 to use for many things..
good to have at hand when needed..
i use it to clean stuff, kill mildew, germinate seeds.. etc..

 

[BigBlonde]

i always have around a gallon of 29% h2o2 to use for many things..
good to have at hand when needed..
i use it to clean stuff, kill mildew, germinate seeds.. etc..

It's good stuff to have on hand. I bought some 3% without a specific purpose. Now I'm glad I did.

I mixed the 3% H2O2 solution in a 1:1 ratio with tap water and sprayed the plants and tent with it yesterday. Today, 24 hours later, I cut off a leaf and put it under the microscope. There were still spider mites crawling on the leaf. There might have been fewer smaller mites, though. So, I sprayed the plants again. I also took the leaf I cut and sprayed it. I'll check it again in a few hours to see if the spray had an effect.

I understand a 9:1 water to alcohol solution is supposed to kill the pests, so I might try that, too. Maybe alternating solutions will help.

The diatomaceous earth is supposed to arrive tomorrow. We'll use that as soon as it arrives.

 

[GNick55]

It's good stuff to have on hand. I bought some 3% without a specific purpose. Now I'm glad I did.

I mixed the 3% H2O2 solution in a 1:1 ratio with tap water and sprayed the plants and tent with it yesterday. Today, 24 hours later, I cut off a leaf and put it under the microscope. There were still spider mites crawling on the leaf. There might have been fewer smaller mites, though. So, I sprayed the plants again. I also took the leaf I cut and sprayed it. I'll check it again in a few hours to see if the spray had an effect.

I understand a 9:1 water to alcohol solution is supposed to kill the pests, so I might try that, too. Maybe alternating solutions will help.

The diatomaceous earth is supposed to arrive tomorrow. We'll use that as soon as it arrives.

3% just spray at that strength don’t add any water that’s why buy a stronger strength to mix to a strength needed for whatever your using it for.. tech grade is kinda better than food grade as it has a longer shelf life and the effect will last a bit longer when used..

 

[BigBlonde]

3% just spray at that strength don’t add any water that’s why buy a stronger strength to mix to a strength needed for whatever your using it for.. tech grade is kinda better than food grade as it has a longer shelf life and the effect will last a bit longer when used..

Thanks @GNick55!

I made a stronger mixture and tested it. It seems to have worked. I didn't see any mites moving around. I'll keep testing and spraying. I read that a female can lay 16 to 20 eggs per day and that the eggs can survive as long as four weeks, so I'll have to keep working this for a while. I'm glad it wasn't worse.

 

[dire wolf]

Hey Bigblonde ,i dont want to be the bearer of bad news ,,,,, but mites are a nightmare and a formidable opponent , i dont think hydrogen peroxide is gonna cut it ,i like to hit em with neem oil then go nuclear as i get more frustrated ,thats only if the plants are worth the energy ,in other cases ill just trash the grow and super clean up

 

[Moshmen]

Thanks @GNick55!

I made a stronger mixture and tested it. It seems to have worked. I didn't see any mites moving around. I'll keep testing and spraying. I read that a female can lay 16 to 20 eggs per day and that the eggs can survive as long as four weeks, so I'll have to keep working this for a while. I'm glad it wasn't worse.

Treat 4/5 days in a row to get eggs and young ins - hard to get rid of completely until you can clean a sterilize everything ! Focus on control of population that’s my opinion - otherwise DW is correct

Neem
Azamax
Lost coast therapy
Jacks dead bug
Ect .;
Spinosad of any kind will help

 

[BigBlonde]

Hey Bigblonde ,i dont want to be the bearer of bad news ,,,,, but mites are a nightmare and a formidable opponent , i dont think hydrogen peroxide is gonna cut it ,i like to hit em with neem oil then go nuclear as i get more frustrated ,thats only if the plants are worth the energy ,in other cases ill just trash the grow and super clean up

Thanks. I'm seeing that bad news everywhere I look. We cut off a lot of the plants. The hydrogen peroxide is working. I'm checking for them using a microscope. We're also using diatomaceous earth. My plan is to keep spraying and testing. So far, I think we are at least out ahead in this one.

 

[BigBlonde]

Treat 4/5 days in a row to get eggs and young ins - hard to get rid of completely until you can clean a sterilize everything ! Focus on control of population that’s my opinion - otherwise DW is correct

Neem
Azamax
Lost coast therapy
Jacks dead bug
Ect .;
Spinosad of any kind will help

Thanks. I've read about some of those. Azamax seems popular. We'll keep working on this.

We're in the fifth week since the flip, so hopefully we'll make it a few more weeks. I think we'll be able to keep them under control till we harvest and can clean and sterilize everything.

 

[BigBlonde]

We have more bug problems. We're not sure what these are (in the picture). Today is the first time we've seen them. They may be a different variety of spider mites. They seem to be eating larger holes in the plant's leaves. At this point, we're thinking of trashing the grow. The sooner we sterilize, the sooner we can begin a new grow. This is very disappointing for us, though. Any tips on how to sterilize the tent would be appreciated.

 

[BigBlonde]

Here are some more pictures. These bugs are eating whole sections of leaves. In the pictures, the scissors cut is at the bottom of the picture and the bug damage is at the top. Both the tops and bottoms of leaves are shown. Sadly, these pictures are from the plant that didn't seem to be infected by spider mites. I noticed this type of leaf damage for the first time today.

It seems we've lost our whole crop. I can't think of a better thing to do than bag these plants and put them in the garbage and start sterilizing. The plants are five weeks into flowering and the trichomes are still mostly clear.

 

[ritoMox]

I'd just put them outside away from the house and see what they will do.

 

[BigBlonde]

I'd just put them outside away from the house and see what they will do.

We're talking it over. Another plan is to spray them well, put bags over them, chop them and hang them upside down while keeping them inside the bags. We don't want to spread the critters or their eggs to other areas of the house. Once the tent is empty, we'll be able to sterilize it so we can begin our next grow.

 

[Anthem]

Hope it works out for you

 

[ritoMox]

We're talking it over. Another plan is to spray them well, put bags over them, chop them and hang them upside down while keeping them inside the bags. We don't want to spread the critters or their eggs to other areas of the house. Once the tent is empty, we'll be able to sterilize it so we can begin our next grow.

I suspect those critters have already found their way throughout your house.

 

[Anthem]

I use green cleaner and a fog master jr. Best setup there is and have gotten rid of my pests when the pump sprayer wouldn’t. Highly recommend this combo

I had spider mites my last grow and thrips on a few. This handled them. And you can use it up until harvest.

Now I just use it weekly at a low dose and no issues. I use it up until week 6-7 of flower. The fog master jr also makes it so you save whatever you’re using. It’s very efficient. I’d go through way more using a lump sprayer and it didn’t work even 1/2 as good

Be careful with spraying Green Cleaner that far into flower. I believe they say on the instructions you can do it but it will effect the taste of the finished bud