Got spider mites. What I've done and what to do next.

[coolslayer]

Works for me.....

 

[LoveGrowingIt]

Yesterday, I saw some spider mite signs. When I cut off the leaf, I found several eggs. I killed those, but it means I've only controlled them. I haven't killed them off completely. Darn it!

Check out that AgroMagen GrowSafe Bio-pesticide on Amazon. It's amazing stuff. Works VERY well, organic/OMRI listed. One or two sprays will take care of your spider mites for good.

The new sprayer and AgroMagen GrowSafe were delivered, but we had guests for the weekend, so I was going to spray today. Then I read the label that says to spray with the lights off. That means I wait till tonight. I decided to mix at 90 ml per gallon, which is the high end of their moderate protocol. It says to do that every three days for two weeks, then change to the preventative protocol.

I didn't realize that it's supposed to be used within six months of opening the container. I bought a liter which is a lot more than I'll need.

 

[coolslayer]

Good luck, Farmer!

 

[LoveGrowingIt]

Good luck, Farmer!

Thanks! I'll take good luck any day.

I clipped a few more leaves and found spider mites on only one of them. Some of the leaves were damaged, but there was no sign of mites. The alcohol must've worked on those. I know these mites adapt, so it's time to use something else. At least I was able to at least keep them under control for a while.

 

[erbansk]

Yesterday, I saw some spider mite signs. When I cut off the leaf, I found several eggs. I killed those, but it means I've only controlled them. I haven't killed them off completely. Darn it!


The new sprayer and AgroMagen GrowSafe were delivered, but we had guests for the weekend, so I was going to spray today. Then I read the label that says to spray with the lights off. That means I wait till tonight. I decided to mix at 90 ml per gallon, which is the high end of their moderate protocol. It says to do that every three days for two weeks, then change to the preventative protocol.

I didn't realize that it's supposed to be used within six months of opening the container. I bought a liter which is a lot more than I'll need.

And you are not going to!!

Trash'em

 

[coolslayer]

You might want to research Spinosad based sprays

 

[LoveGrowingIt]

I sprayed the plants in both tents with AgroMagen GrowSafe after the lights were off last night. This morning, all the plants look good, so they tolerated the spray well. I didn't see any new signs of spider mites. I like the new sprayer, too. I'll follow the GrowSafe protocol till harvest. Then I'll give the tents and lung room a good cleaning. I'll do that before I start any new plants.

Trash'em

Nope! I'm not going to do that. I only have three plants in two tents, so I'm able to monitor them closely. Two are mid flower and the third is in veg and a few weeks away from being flipped.

You might want to research Spinosad based sprays

I have some Spinosad. My wife doesn't want me to use it. I might anyway, though, if nothing else I've tried works.

I've done some reading about spider mites and the main problem is that they can evolve and adapt. So, it's important to use different methods. It's also important to keep fighting them even when it looks like they're all dead, because their eggs are hard to kill. So far, I've fought them several ways. I used H2O2, alcohol, insecticidal soap and now GrowSafe. I've cut out and destroyed affected parts of the plants. I've changed the temperature and humidity, and redirected the fans inside the tents. Now, I think I'm winning the war, but it's good to know there still are other things I can do. Spinosad is one of them. Another is predator mites.

One thing that still worries me is the possibility of eggs lurking in hard to clean places in the lung room. Another thing is the original vector. I know where they came from. That's outside where the violets were growing. The violets were dead, but when I cleaned up the dead plants, I must have carried some of them into the grow room. (Yes. I know that was dumb.) That area is still a problem. I sprayed GrowSafe on the plants in the area. I don't know if spider mites can live on the local plants. They're not common here, but spiders generally like this time of year.

 

[Deadstill]

I didn't realize that it's supposed to be used within six months of opening the container. I bought a liter which is a lot more than I'll need.

It does say that on the bottle, but if you keep it in a cool dry place and keep the bottle closed tight, it will last much much longer than that. I've had bottles of this stuff sit around for a year and it still works just fine!

Also like I said it only takes a couple good sprays to get it under control, you won't really need to spray till harvest, but you can if you want.

 

[LoveGrowingIt]

It does say that on the bottle, but if you keep it in a cool dry place and keep the bottle closed tight, it will last much much longer than that. I've had bottles of this stuff sit around for a year and it still works just fine!

Good to know and thanks for the info. I have it stored in a good place.

Also like I said it only takes a couple good sprays to get it under control, you won't really need to spray till harvest, but you can if you want.

Okay. Sounds good. I think I managed to stay ahead of them, so now I'm mostly watching for signs of activity. I'll spray a few more times at three-day intervals and take it from there.

 

[LoveGrowingIt]

Just an update...

I haven't noticed any new spider mite damage since I used the GrowSafe. I'm feeling optimistic and the plants all look happy. The flowering plants have good-looking sugar leaves, and the buds are growing nicely. This isn't one of my better grows, but I do want to get a harvest. My one vegging plant looks healthy, too, and is starting to grow rapidly. I'll be flipping it soon.

Today is the third day, so I'll spray again when the lights are off. A few more sprays, like @Deadstill says, will probably do it. Thank you, DS, for the help.

 

[Deadstill]

Just an update...

I haven't noticed any new spider mite damage since I used the GrowSafe. I'm feeling optimistic and the plants all look happy. The flowering plants have good-looking sugar leaves, and the buds are growing nicely. This isn't one of my better grows, but I do want to get a harvest. My one vegging plant looks healthy, too, and is starting to grow rapidly. I'll be flipping it soon.

Today is the third day, so I'll spray again when the lights are off. A few more sprays, like @Deadstill says, will probably do it. Thank you, DS, for the help.

I'm glad I could be of service, and to see this product save another grow! Like I said I don't get compensated for pushing this stuff, but I firmly believe in it and have had great experience with it in my own personal use, so I try to tell everyone I can about it! Like here in CO spider mites are everywhere, and I hate to see people struggle with controlling them.

My former friend was killing himself spraying all kinds of harsh chemicals on his buds (including Eagle 20, a HUGE no no for Cannabis) and getting nowhere with controlling spider mites. I never saw a guy struggle so much with them. I brought some of the AgroMagen over and sprayed his plants one time and he went from webs everywhere to hardly a mite in sight with 1 spray. And it's mostly soy bean oil! Who woulda thunk it?

 

[LoveGrowingIt]

AgroMagen GrowSafe could be just what we've needed. I've also known growers really struggled with spider mites. Everyone I've talked with dreads them. My 12-inch-tall plant in veg responded very well after the first spray. I just finished mixing pre-flip nutrients. I think she'll be ready in about a week or two.

 

[LoveGrowingIt]

I sprayed GrowSafe the second time last night after the lights were off.

I checked the veg tent this morning and the only plant in there looks beautiful. There's no sign of new spider mite damage. It's starting to grow rapidly so I'm increasing its light and nutrients. I'm happy this one's going to make it because I've been using it to practice defoliating, pruning and training. I have it on a turntable, so I can easily work with all parts of the plant. I think this one's going to be a good one. I'm so glad it won't be lost to those damn spider mites.

 

[LoveGrowingIt]

After two sprays with GrowSafe, I haven't seen any sign of spider mites. So, I decided not to spray a third time.

The one plant that was defoliated the most died. It just stopped growing and just seemed to give up. The stress must have been too much for it. Out of curiosity, I cut off the buds and am drying them. The other plant was always the healthiest and is still doing well. Now it has more room.

 

[trailblazer79]

If you don't want to use harsh pesticides, something I tried successfully once were predatory mites.

I took the plant out. Disinfected the whole tent and equipment with bleach water. Drenched the plant in water to spray off as much as I could. Then put the plant back and covered it in predatory mites.

It worked well enough to get to the end of the grow and clean everything.

 

[Zatoichi]

Where did they come from?? If from outdoors, not hard to get rid of on small plants. If they came in on clones you bought can be nightmare, since previous generations have been exposed to everything they could find. They hatch in 3 to 5 days around 80F and have to spray bottom of leaves where they love to be and lay eggs. 5 treatments 3 or 4 days apart. I lost a year and 3 grows to them since I had young, veg, and flower all going at once. Saw someone here recently that had to trash grow since he saw spider mites and thought he saw smaller young ones that were broad mites. You need several miticides in combination and rotated. Between grows leave light bulb on so they do not hibernate, and bug bomb a few times.

 

[LoveGrowingIt]

Where did they come from?? If from outdoors, not hard to get rid of on small plants. If they came in on clones you bought can be nightmare, since previous generations have been exposed to everything they could find. They hatch in 3 to 5 days around 80F and have to spray bottom of leaves where they love to be and lay eggs. 5 treatments 3 or 4 days apart. I lost a year and 3 grows to them since I had young, veg, and flower all going at once. Saw someone here recently that had to trash grow since he saw spider mites and thought he saw smaller young ones that were broad mites. You need several miticides in combination and rotated. Between grows leave light bulb on so they do not hibernate, and bug bomb a few times.

They arrived on violets I bought from a local garden store. They were outside, but some of them must have hitched a ride on me. I used several methods to get rid of them. It's all in the thread. Thanks for the advice about leaving a light on.

 

[fishmon]

I spotted spider mites on one of my two plants in my 2x2 tent. I know they're spider mites because I've seen them before. They were on one plant, mostly just above the lollipop and on the side of the plant closest to the other plant. The plants are sativa. It's the 5th week of flowering.

This is what I did.

I cut out all the leaves that had signs of spider mite damage. Then I cut an additional 6 to 8 inches of plant around the area where I saw them. I made sure to create space between the two plants. I bagged the leaves and put them in the outside garbage.​

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I sprayed everywhere with a 1:1 mix of water to 3% H2O2, including the underside of the leaves. I also sprayed the other tent that has a small vegging plant in it. Then I sprayed the floor and my shoes.​

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I washed my clothes, and I took a shower. Then I sprayed the tent again.​

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I increased the humidity setting for the tent from 51% to 55%.​

Now I'm thinking about what to do next. I'm worried that I might have hurt the small vegging plant because its top is bent over, but I sure don't want an infestation of spider mites. I understand they need to be treated aggressively.

Today, I'll probably keep spraying H2O2 every few hours. My wife doesn't want to use anything that might harm her cats or us humans. One of the cats loves to eat cannabis leaves. I can keep the cats out of the room, though, and the room has a window. I'm also worried about the buds.

I have some Neem, Spinosad and no-pest strips. I'd sure appreciate any other ideas.

I share your pain. I discovered mite damage about 5 weeks into flower. Thankfully caught it early. I've been hunting mites for the past week morning and evening. I bag a few on every hunt but getting harder to find. Alas there are limited sprays that can be used during flower. I have some Dr. Zymes coming tomorrow. Reviews are mixed. Most love it or hate it. Not much in between. I've been removing affected leaves until spray arrives. Just found another product called crop defender 3 that looks promising for flowering plants. May give that a shot if Zymes fails to work. Never dealt with mites before. From what I've gathered, insecticidal soap is the typical go-to on non flowering plants. IPM is in my future. I've learned my lesson. Bugs suck.

 

[Natep]

Predator mites. Get the special blend

 

[Zatoichi]

They arrived on violets I bought from a local garden store. They were outside, but some of them must have hitched a ride on me. I used several methods to get rid of them. It's all in the thread. Thanks for the advice about leaving a light on.

They should be relatively easy to deal with. It is the mites from warehouse grows in CO and CA that are immune to everything. Biggest issue is that far into flower, especially if dense buds, spraying can cause bud rot unless humidity low and lots of airflow.