So I've got a bit of a spider mite problem. I made some spray from Habanero peppers with some good results but not the results i was hoping for. I'm about to test a batch of spray that I'm going to make from home grown Bhut Jolokia (Ghost Chilli Peppers) on some failed cheese bomb but i started doing research and discovered that capsaicin and dihydrocapsaicin (the chemicals that make these peppers hot) don't actually repel mites. Has anyone played around with recipes for organic pesticides and gotten good results, or know the chemicals that kill spider mites/eggs so i can try to synthesize them with plants. Ideally i would like to make a natural pesticide that will kill mites and the eggs without harming the plants.
I grow indoors and am fortunate enough to not have to deal with bugs. It's bomb that you want to control infestations naturally. While there are commercially available plant extracts that will solve your problem (Spinosad, Neem oil), always check the "pinned" posts at the top of the forum screen. They may contain the answers that you're looking for... and even more. Welcome to GC Organics! http://forum.grasscity.com/organic-growing/335656-natural-insecticides-fungicides.html Hope this helps.
Thanks, I've checked out that post it had some good suggestions but I'm trying to figure out or find a home made natural recipe that's designed specifically for spider mites and their eggs. If the ghost chili idea doesn't work I've got a couple other things i'm gonna try. ill be sure to show before and after pictures if it does. Ps i'm actually growing indoor as well but i got a clone from a friend that must have had some mites on it and they spread quick.
The biggest problem that most gardeners face with spider mite issues is not getting rid of the actual mites but is the damn eggs. It's always the damn eggs. Spider mites themselves are fairly easy to control but you spray, think (know) you've done a thorough job and Bam! several days later they're just as bad or worse than before. You MUST break the egg cycle. This means spraying whatever you're using very thoroughly on the underside of the leaves until your area looks like a hurricane went through (always at lights out), and then spraying again 2-3 days later, and then spraying again 2-3 days later, and then spraying again 2-3 days later... And so on, until the mites are completely eradicated. Most gardeners are simply not faithful enough with the repeat applications which are necessary to break the egg cycle. The darn eggs will hatch if you don't repeat for 3-4, or even 4-5 applications every several days and then you're back to square one. Here's a recipe that is right up your alley from our old organic mentor Lumperdawgz that I have no doubt will get you where you want to be - Here it is for you – and as you can see it's really really difficult! "One head of garlic pulverized and Cuisinart food processor. You want to use everything including the skins and soak this in about 2 cups of water for a week or so to allow the garlic to release all of his oils, compounds, etc. Take about 1/2 cup habanero chiles (fresh) and process the same way as you do for the garlic Go ahead and mix these two together and strain. You can store this for several weeks in the refrigerator. Make your rosemary tea as always and when you're ready to use it and you're ready to dilute the rosemary part, before you fill the job all the way up with water, add 2 tablespoons of the garlic-habanero concentrate. So let me make it very clear: you make a rosemary tea like you always do but you can add 2 tablespoons of the concentrate that you made beforehand. That's it – that's the only difference." LD Break the egg cycle with repeat applications; it's the only way. Hth J
"got a clone from a friend that must have had some mites on it " Suck - isnt that always the way. Take this as a lesson and no matter what consolidate/isolate/quarantine any new clones coming in and treat them as if they did have mites whether they do or not. It only takes one or two to completely infest a grow area. Little bastards!!! J
You have two issues to deal with and FWIW you are not alone in your pursuit of the homade DIY category of miticide to deal with the mite. The two issues are; adults and eggs. There are two broad approaches to take for the adults - contact kill or smothering. If you choose to pursue the DIY approach, good luck! For the eggs, depending on which approach you take for the adults, the azadiachtrin (neem) solution will work kinda-sorta "ok" but stay after it if you go this route and be prepared with your adult mite solution when the eggs unaffected by the neem hatch and begin mating. There are newer classes of NOP approved solutions for mites (and a host of other bugs) comprised in the sucrose esters class of synthesized chemicals. Sucrose is one of the worlds most abundant organically produced compounds. The science people have determined a way to synthesize sucrose to be used as a surfacant for a variety of means. As a byproduct of its use as a surfacant it was determined that some formulations of the sucrose esters kill adult spider mites by smothering! And on it goes with sucrose esters and sucrose octanase esters. But for one to be relaxed and confident using any of these products one should read up on the products and how the synthesis process is completed (some products are the result of toxic acid redux whereas other products not so much). In any event the NOP has approved their use on edible crop products. The larvae might respond well to neem application but they might not. Depends on if the mites have a resistance to azadiachtrin. So, depending on the stage of your crop you might choose a more expeditious means to dispatch both the adults and the eggs. A pyrethrin based spray is the best bet for that. Discussion of systemic assimilation aside, one can use a commercial product for mite control and once the infestation is under control wash the crop with repeated clean water sprays before harvest. Many people have written that the application of neem spray affected the taste of their harvested product. I don't know about that since it is anecdotal but probably has a ray of truth to it for some people. In the future both quarantine your plants AND prepare a horticulture soap solution in a five gallon bucket and immerse completely every single plant that you obtain from a thrid party source. Think "crabs" when someone offers you a clone and make sure you take appropriate action before indulging. Kill the adults, kill the eggs, stay on top of it. It is the only way to survive a mite infestation and especially true if you recycle your soil as mite eggs can lie dormant for a period or two. Good luck!
Check out what the oils from lavendula laitfolia, ie. Spike Lavender do to mites. I used to have issues until I looked up the compounds and applied it myself. It will melt the eggs and kill the adults. I use rosemary, peppermint and lavender mixed with an emulsifier (protekt) and a surfactant (aloe vera extract); I usually mix in roughyl 3 mL of each oil per gallon of water, apply after lights out like all foliar applications. You can use multiple fresh herbs (look up cilantro, sage, lemon balm, spearmint, etc.) soaked in water for a day. I have not had mites in almost a year now thanks to this information and the establishment of a healthy ecosystem. (healthy soil = healthy plants. healthy plants = more resistant to pests) HTH Edit; damn DB. always one step ahead of me. Edit 2; from what I've seen myself, it does not harm bees or anything much larger than small ants at this concentration. Increasing it (the concentration strength) may cause unintended damage if applied outside though I have yet to try a higher dose.
Effective on contact and I believe (Opinion; need actual testing) the smell affects small insects/invertebrates above the soil as well, one time needed for immediate control. I only use it once a month now, or as needed. It's quite the complement to neem and crab meal as part of my IPM. I used it once weekly when I first started but if you have an issue you can use it every day though I would do it no more than every 3 simply for the excess moisture factor. The oils degrade within 12 hours when exposed to air (still), faster when the air is agitated and/or light is applied. In my own garden it's gone within 4 hours completely, only a lingering scent remains. Do NOT use during lights on; it will burn your plants. I'm going to save enough money to patent a product for the "lazy masses", to make it easy for others to jump on the bandwagon while browsing through products at the local hydro stores. First I need a still for next year, to distill my own oils. For those that don't mind a bit of reading, here's the link to where I purchase oils; http://www.libertynatural.com/.
From what I can tell, the oils do not interfere or alter the chemical constituency of the flowers upon contact; ie the scents, flavors and combustion are completely normal ime. My understanding is that these are safe to apply all the way to harvest. I just hit a few the other day with the solution that I took down tonight; they actually have a stronger smell than most of the others I've pulled down in the last 2 weeks that I did not spray the week of harvest.
Dang, thanks for all of the information that was much more then i expected. Some very thorough break downs. I'll probably try all of these methods defiantly have to try and observe the lavender one[SIZE=12.727272033691406px]. What is the process of making the rosemary tea?[/SIZE] [SIZE=12.727272033691406px]Also, I've started treatment of the cheese bomb with the Bhut Jolokia spray. I'll post before and after pictures tomorrow assuming it makes a difference. [/SIZE]
Try Middleton's Spider Miticide. $7.99 on ebay it's all natural ready to use and it works. Most natural spider mite sprays only confuse mites to not lay eggs if they even work. This stuff kills on contact and prevents existing eggs from hatching. Good luck with your medicine and happy tokin'!
Have any of you folks ever given cinnamon a thought? http://hyg.ipm.illinois.edu/pastpest/199905g.html J
There's a couple reasons I don't use cinnamon, the main one being it brings in OM that can decompose on the surface of the plant (not good for late flower) and the other being it's irritability on the human nose, eyes and skin. It is very effective though.
Im running Thai chillies and fresh garlic with vegateble oil in a spray bottle. Right now. Spayed every few days
One thing that I think gets overlooked is the importance of cleanliness if you're going to do battle with these lil bastards. I just 'inherited' a decent sized grow (soon to be 7200w) complete w/ spider mites...lots of em. Sprayed one room 14 days in a row....only to find they jumped onto my flowering girls in the other room! The entire place needs a thorough cleaning and I need to do battle when all the plants are relatively small. It was interesting to see that any clover patches were completely covered in mites! Never saw this before...my canopy is so thick my clover always dies off well before harvest. I am a big fan of soaking a half pint jar full of lavender and then using whatever juice comes out in a 2 gal sprayer if I have to spray past 3 weeks flower...which I hate to do!
I tore out my clover cover crop because of the mites I had. One nice thing about the clover is when they decided to come back, I saw damage on the tender clover leaves before I noticed damage on my plants leaves. Like a canary in a gold mine. They liked the vetch too. I tried planting a cilantro "cover crop" and they ate that up which surprised me as I thought that was something they don't eat which is why I planted it. My new game plan is a sulfur burner. I think this is gonna be the golden ticket for when they decide to come back. So far though no mites for several months.
I just thoroughly checked my two outdoor flowering plants (several weeks from harvest, about 1.5 months into flowering). My neighbor in the unit below me and I went in on them together. He's been taking care of them with his girlfriend since they're on his property. Found spider mite eggs. Not many--most leaves don't have any, and the ones that do only have 1 or 2. Not sure I saw any actual mites. I saw some bugs but they looked too big to be spider mites. Very few leaves have visible damage. I scraped off as many eggs as I could. The only webbing I found was under a little low leaf. It was on the underside of the leaf, making the leaf curl into itself. Other than that, I just saw some single threads of web going from one leaf to another. Not sure if this is from spider mites or just regular spiders (I actually found a regular spider web near the base of one of the stalks). There's nothing like the pictures you see, with crazy webs and lots of damaged leaves. Not sure what to do. There's virtually no visible damage to the plants, but I'm still several weeks from harvest, and I'd hate for there to be an outbreak. At the same time I'm hesitant to use neem oil etc. because I don't want to harm the buds.