All About Spider Mites and the Things We Use

This article was written and copyrighted by Alex Bennett, an employee of HGRGardenSupply. You MAY print this article out for your own personal use, to teach others, and you may copy/paste this article into any forum you wish. If you paste this article elsewhere, you must NOT edit this article in any way or claim it as your own.
Ohhh… spider mites. Such a tiny little pest, yet they create such huge problems. If you've never faced spider mites as a gardener, then you haven't been gardening long enough. Much like riding a bike, “it's not if you fall off, but when”. Contrary to what other gardeners may tell you, having a spider mite infestation doesn't relate to your gardening skills. Although, how you combat them and deal with an infestation does say a lot about you as a gardener. I've known many gardeners who've had an infestation for a solid 3-4 years straight and buy chemicals on a bi-weekly basis. If you've had spider mites that long, you are either lazy or are growing too many plants for you to handle. In this article, we will cover the description of spider mites, the life cycle, how you get them, and proper ways of getting rid of them once and for all. Let's first start with the basics.
\tThe Description
Spider mites are members of the Acari (mite) family, Tetranychidae, which includes about 1,200 species. Some of the most common species are: The two-spotted mite (Tetranychus urticae), the carmine red mite (T. cinnabarinus), two-spotted mite relative (T. evansi), the European red mite (Panonychus ulmi), the citrus red mite (P. citri), the six-spotted mite (Eotetranychus sexmaculatus), the Texas citrus mite (Eutetrannychus banksi), the tumid spider mite (T. tumidus) and the privet mite (B. obovatus). It goes without saying though, whichever species you run into, you're going to run into problems.
Size: Spider mites are less than 1 millimeter (0.04 in) in size and vary in color. They lay small, spherical, initially transparent eggs and many species spin silk webbing to help protect the colony from predators; they get the ‘spider' part of their common name from this webbing. Since spider mites are so small, the damage they do to plants is often recognized before the mites themselves.

Preferred Habitat and Reproduction: Spider mites love a warm, dry climate. Humidity is a great defense against them, as it dramatically slows down their reproductive rate. They are normally found on the underside of leaves, where they lay their eggs. A female lays about 100 eggs during her lifetime. Depending upon climate conditions, the eggs hatch in as little as 2-3 days, and the adult stage is reached in 7-10 days. The females reproduction is greatly affected by climate and humidity with a significant difference in the days till their maturity dependant upon the temperature. For instance at 60 degrees Fahrenheit, it takes 30 days for the egg to become an adult, at 70 degrees 14.5 days and at 90 degrees Fahrenheit they reach adulthood in just 3.5 days. So now imagine those populations increases over a month when the offspring start to reproduce less than a week after hatching – at 70 degrees she and her offspring number 13,000; at 80 degrees she and her offspring represent a staggering potential of 13,000,000 individuals over a single month! What makes them even harder to get rid of is that most species are both sexual and asexual. This means that in most cases it takes a male and a female to reproduce; but when the lack of sexual partners exist, spider mites can force themselves to reproduce on their own. Long story short, if one single spider mite makes it through a pesticide treatment, they can rebuild their population.

The Damage: Spider mite damage is relatively easy to identify. Lets hope that you don't first identify them by the webbing they create – because it takes the colony awhile to get to that point; so if you have webbing, you've had an infestation for quite some time. The first thing you should notice is the leaf damage. Spider mites live on the undersides of leaves, as it's easier for them to penetrate plant tissue to suck out plant sap and nutrients, but their damage will be visible on top of the leaf. The damage is best described as if you were to sprinkle silver glitter on top of the leaves. You will notice little silver/white spots that are generally the size of a needle tip – sometimes, spots may be yellowish, bronze or a golden color. Damage is often confused with calcium deficiency and damage done by thrip pests. Calcium deficiency, however, will have much larger circles and will be red, orange or yellow in color, while thrip pest damage will look like “squiggly lines” throughout the leaf tissue instead of circles. After the initial “glitter effect” that spider mites leave, the leaf will dry up, become very brittle – almost like very thin glass – and will turn the leaf brown and crispy. By this time spider mites will start working on building their shelter, which very much resembles webworms or funnel spider webs. When you start seeing webs, your plant is in serious trouble. The plants system will go into shock and photosynthesis will change greatly. Plants will go in a “defense mode” and stop worrying about natural functions to flower and will begin worrying about surviving instead. I've personally seen plants stop growing in week 4 of flowering and never recover – so the grower had to kill the plant and write it off as a loss.
How You Get Spider Mites: There are many different scenarios on how you can get spider mites – or any type of infestation for that matter. After talking with 100′s of professional growers, with customers, and having infestations myself – the most common way you'll get them is by receiving an infected plant from a friend.
Clone Trading: Never – and I mean NEVER – trade or buy clones with/from somebody unless you know what you are doing. I've heard SO many stories of growers getting spider mites from a friend in which that “friend” said they “got rid” of their infestation and that the clone is clean. What that “friend” doesn't realize is that they didn't cure their infestation – but rather just put them in remission. I've gotten spider mites 3 different times from dirty plants when my “friend” said that they were clean because they haven't seen them – only to get my plant home and awaken the herd like Count Dracula on Halloween a few days later. I know the scenario.. Your friend has this awesome strain or phenotype that you've been wanting to grow, and you MUST have it. You have to ask yourself; is this strain worth the trade off of infesting your entire room with spider mites – or even worse, powdery mildew? I for one, don't think any phenotype is worth that trade off. Unless you personally know that the clone is 100% safe, don't do it. If you're 95% sure, don't do it, because chances are, that 5% chance will haunt you in the end. If you want a specific strain or phenotype, obtain the seeds. If this isn't an option and you HAVE to have the clone, be prepared for a battle with spider mites just in case – don't get caught with your pants down!
Tainted Soil: I use to think this was just a theory, but when you stop to think about it, it's far from it. We think that spider mites aren't in soil because they don't live there. After all, spider mite eggs are laid on the underside of leaves, and they feed on plant tissue. Thrips on the other hand lay their eggs in soil and that is part of their reproductive cycle; so it's easy to think that we cannot get spider mites through tainted soil and that we can only get thrips that way. It wasn't until I talked with a few of my mentors and learned that they have acquired spider mites this way – by using soil from their compost pit. Once we stop to think about it though, it makes perfect sense. Here in Michigan, we get at least 5 months of snowy winter – yet, outdoor plants do get nailed with spider mites from time to time. It's very unlikely that spider mites hitch a ride on a duck or goose to fly south for the winter, right? The answer is simple. Spider mite eggs can lay dormant over winter in dead leaves and plant debris. During the spring when weather conditions are prime, they hatch and emerge from the debris and start the process all over again. It's unlikely that you will buy a bag of soil that will contain spider mite eggs, because most manufacturers cook and sterilize their soil to kill off any unwanted intruders. Although, some cheaply made soil, homemade soil, and soil that has been sitting outside on pallets can contain eggs from various types of insects. This is one of the main reasons why you should only buy soil that's found inside a trusted grow supply store.
Pets and Clothing: You should never allow animals or pets into your indoor growing environment. One of the biggest reasons is because their fur will easily get all over your plants and grow into your fruits and flowers, which will give your product a poor grade. What most novice growers won't realize though, is that this is a very easy way to get unwanted pests or powdery mildew. Spider mites are very good “hitch-hikers” and will catch a ride on you or an animal to find another host plant. If your furry friends rub up against an infected plant outside while running through the weeds, then makes their way into your grow room and does a little shaky shake – well then, you can paint the rest of that picture. You are a perfect transportation vehicle for pests and molds, too.  Over the years, I know a handful of growers who were out deer hunting, then came home to tend the garden – only to bring in unwanted guests from their clothing. To avoid this, simply take a shower and change all of your clothing before stepping into the grow room. Don't think it can't or won't happen, because it IS entirely possible. Again, don't get caught with your pants down! You can NEVER be too safe. Prevention is the best cure!
Tainted Equipment and Unsealed Environments: Yes, I've seen growers become infected by spider mites from used equipment. Most commonly through used soil containers, scissors and drying racks. Out of personal experience, I've seen spider mites nest on a pair of scissors. The first time I got spider mites, I had a pair of pruning scissors on my work bench in a completely separate room from my grow room. They sat for about a month or two – low and behold, I went to go use them one day, only to find they were covered in web and little spider mites walking around on them. The best way to avoid this is to wash your equipment down with a strong rubbing alcohol mix and to not transfer equipment from a known infected area. Having unsealed environments are less common of a problem when it comes to spider mites, but don't rule it out. You're more than likely going to get fungus gnats or Japanese lady beetles this way rather than spider mites, but again, it does happen. What we mean by an unsealed environment, is having holes in your grow room where insects can easily crawl through, or having your intake fan coming from outside that goes directly into your grow room. The best way to avoid this situation is to make sure you have a tightly sealed grow room and to have bug nets from any incoming vents. Unfortunately spider mites are small enough to squeeze through any bug nets – even pantyhose  - but lucky for you, spider mites GENERALLY do not make it into your grow room through intake fans.
\tPrevention and ControlThe best cure to any type of infestation is prevention. Taking measures from getting the problem in the first place is your best defense – bar none. As we mentioned in the last few paragraphs, prevention, prevention, prevention. If you avoid the 5 main causes that we listed, you should be in the clear. But, don't ever let your guard down – even the cleanest of clean gardeners will get an infestation from time to time. If you are having a rough go at it and find yourself infected, don't worry – at least, try not to (I know how you feel).
Control: There are 3 main ways to get rid of spider mites: chemical warfare, biological pest control, and starting over.
Starting Over: I'm going to start with “starting over” because that's simply the best advice that I can give. Trust me, I know and have heard of every scenario, so I know how hard it will be to swallow this information – but trust me, you'll thank me in the end. You probably have a 3-stage perpetual garden, or something along the lines. I'm hoping that not all stages of your growth are in the same room, nor all stages are infected. If it's only 1 stage that's infected, quarantine it, kill those plants, and don't transfer anything to another room. If all 3 stages are infected, kill your clones and vegetative plants and focus on saving your flowering plants with chemicals or biological pests. Don't take new clones from infected plants unless you know what you are doing – because the problem will keep coming back. When you start over, clean EVERYTHING in your room, even if you don't think that mites can live there (remember the scissor story?). Clean everything 3 times just to make sure. Start over with new plants, new soil, scrub your equipment down, use h202 to clean all of your hydroponic equipment.. clean EVERYTHING! Use rubbing alcohol to scrub out your soil containers. Remove all trash or dead plant debris you may have laying around. I know people who buy a 5 gallon jug of mighty wash every 2-3 weeks and they've had spider mites for 3 years.. they refuse to start over because they think they will take a huge hit.. but in reality, they are taking a hit every 3 weeks because they are constantly fighting a losing battle. Spider mites will reduce quality and yield; you should be spending your hard earned dollars on new, better equipment.. you should be spending your hard labored hours GROWING your plants, NOT defending them!
Chemical Warfare: Chemicals, either all organic or “slightly harmful”, should only be used in desperate situations. Don't ever put trust into a company that claims their product “will kill all stages of growth – including eggs”; even though their might be some truth to that, the fact of the matter is they are trying to make it appear they are a “one-shot” company. If there was a chemical that could live up to those standards, there wouldn't be 5,000 different spider mite killers on the market; and if there was, all of the companies would use the same recipe. To start, nearly every chemical on the market DOES work, but you have to keep using the product to fully eradicate an infestation: There is NO one-shot product! The truth of the matter is adult spider mites are very easy to kill. Adult spider mites are a soft-bodied insect – meaning that anything you spray on them will end up throughout their entire bodies in a few minutes. They are very vulnerable to their surroundings – it's almost like you tearing off all of your skin and hoping you don't get an infection. This is one of the main reasons why humidity prolongs their life cycle. In a hot/dry conditioned room, they transpire water quickly – thus they need to constantly keep eating to replace those fluids. Constantly eating means faster damage, which in turn creates more spider mites. With that said, you can eradicate an infestation with using pesticides, but be prepared for a war. Before I get into the different chemicals you should use, lets go over 4 tips that you should know first.
1. Keep Spraying – Break the Cycle: The biggest issue that I've found when growers use chemicals is that they will spray one or two times, not see any activity, then they think the problem is solved; only to get the infestation back in a few weeks. Since spider mites can hatch and emerge into adults in as little as 2-3 days, it's very important to spray chemicals vigorously every 2 days to break their cycle. Depending on what you are using, do this up to 10 times just to be sure. Sure, 5 times might do it, but it might not – better safe than sorry.
2. Removing Debris: Remove all dead plant debris from your grow room. This includes both on the floor and on the plant. Spider mites hide very well in dying leaves on the plant. Sweep and mop you the floors in your grow room, as they will be hiding there, too.
3. Wipe The Plants Down: Before you spray, go through and physically remove the spider mites with a sponge. Get a 5 gallon bucket, fill it with 4 gallons of water, pour in 1-2 teaspoons of Dawn© Dish Soap. Agitate the water and soak up the sponge. Wipe the undersides of each leaf, leaf stems and the plants stalk. Frequently rinse off the sponge in the bucket. This will both remove the vast majority of the mites before you spray, and will allow the pesticide you spray on later to stick better.
4. Spray The Soil and Barriers: If you are a soil gardener, be sure to spray the top of your soil with Neem oil or Azamax. Again, spider mites don't live here, but eggs can fall off when disturbed. Dead leaves and debris also fall into your pot. Spray the brim of your soil container too so nothing can crawl up the plant. Get Tree Tanglefoot Insect Barrier and put it around the base of the stalk.
With all of that said, let's look at the different products that you should be using to rid your spider mite infestation.
1. Mighty Wash

What's in it: Not much can be said about Mighty Wash as to what the active ingredients are. The company “NPK Industries” claims the formula is proprietary, which means it's a “trade secret” to prevent other companies from knocking off their product. In this industry, this practice isn't uncommon at all – companies generally put in as little information about the ingredients their products contain as possible. Speaking with NPK Industries personally, they claim that it's “Frequency Water”; looking at what's on the label, it's 99.8% water and .2% “Inert Ingredients”. As far as safety goes, it seems to be one of the safest on the market. The marketing team rep's will happily drink a shot of it to prove how safe it is.
The Skinny: By no means am I putting this list in order from best to worst, but I put Mighty Wash at #1 for a reason. It's the best product that I can recommend because of customer testimonials and out of personal experience. The product is “ready to use” and requires no diluting, and does not come in a concentrated form. As I said before, there is no “0ne-shot kill” formula, but Mighty Wash deters spider mites the longest from what I've noticed. Where as most products will rid your problem for a few days to 2 weeks, Mighty Wash will knock down your problem for up to 5 weeks. It's also one of the only products I recommend to use during flowering, as it does not leave behind a nasty residue that ruins the quality of your product. Mighty Wash is our #1 seller in the store, and it definitely deserves that spot. This product also has no adverse effects as far as damaging leaf tissue or stunting the plant, and can be sprayed every 2 days. You also don't need to use any type of protective equipment when using it. Above all, the product doesn't leave behind a foul smell.
2. Neem Oil

What's in it: Neem oil is a vegetable oil pressed from the fruits and seeds of the Neem tree (Azadirachta Indica), an evergreen tree which is endemic to India. Neem oil has been used for centuries for many purposes, including cooking, cosmetics, as medicine and even as flea medication for household pets. The primary ingredients in Neem oil is Omega-6, Omega-9, Palmitic Acid and Stearic Acid. It's considered all organic and is safe to handle. Many companies sell Neem oil, but Dyna-Gro is probably the cheapest and most common product you will find. Some companies will also have a neem-based product but will have other ingredients added to it; Dyna-Gro Neem Oil is 100% Neem.
The Skinny: Neem oil is typically advertised as a “leaf coat” or “leaf shine”. Essentially, it does a better job at leaving a thick coat on leaves so that plant-sucking insects are unable – or have a harder time – penetrating leaves to get their food, rather than directly killing the insects themselves. Neem oil does disrupt reproduction in many creatures though; a recent study showed that after 11 weeks of being fed neem leaves, male albino rats become 100% infertile. Unfortunately, spider mites have an amazing ability to grow immune to most pesticides over time. I've used neem oil long-term before, and after a few months, spider mites seem to bounce back in a few days. From personal experience, neem oil is a wonderful product but it has some major draw-backs. Perhaps the most annoying draw-back is the distinct smell it leaves behind. It should NOT be used during flower, as it does leave behind a residue that is hard to wash off. If you use too much of it, the stomata in the leaves can become blocked – and will eventually make the leaves curl (claw) downward. It's recommended that you use either dish soap or Dyna-Grow Pro-tekt (silica) to help evenly spread the product on leaves. The upside to Neem oil is how cheap it is, and when used in conjunction with other products, it works great. As far as a preventative spray goes, I would recommend Neem oil above everything else.
3. Pyrethrum/Pyrethin (FoxFarm Don't Bug Me & Doktor Doom Release Fogger)

What's in it: Pyrethrins are neurotoxins that attack the nervous systems of all insects. Pyrethrins occur in the seed cases of the perennial plant pyrethrum (Chrysanthemum cinerariaefolium) and (Chrysanthemum coccineum). To be clear, the products we mentioned just contain Pyrethrins, we are just talking about Pyrethrins as a whole. A plethora of products contain Pyrethrins but will also contain other things.
The Skinny: Pyrethrins work by attacking the nervous system of insects. Many pesticides contain Pyrethins because of how well they work. Pyrethins are relatively safe because they dissipate rapidly when they are in the presence of sunlight and oxygen – in short, they don't leave much residue. From personal experience, I had great success with FoxFarm's “Don't Bug Me” in the aspect that it knocked down an infestation for several weeks without any follow-up care. There are some major drawbacks in using pyrethrin-based products though. “Don't Bug Me” in particular has a very strong odor that literally burns your nose if you breath it in. I advise to use goggles, a respirator and gloves. Spider mites also have the tendency to quickly build an immunity to pyrethrins in just a few generations. For this reason, you should alternate different methods so that they don't become immune. If you continue using pyrethrin-based products only, your spider mite population will become very resilient.
4. Lady Bugs & Predator Mites

What's in it: First of all, before we talk about ladybugs, you should read our ladybug article found here. I've talked with a few growers who showed me pictures of Japanese ladybugs in their garden and they thought they were the “good” ladybugs – so we should first distinguish between the good and bad. Now that we understand the difference, we can talk more about how to properly use them. As far as Predator Mites go, there are 4 major species, but Orcon (the ones we sell) are Phytoseiulus Persimilis. The other species that are available for commercial purchase are Galendromus occidentalis, Neoseiulus californicus and Mesoseiulus longipes.
The Skinny: Both of these methods are the most organic ways of treating a spider mite infestation. When health comes first, beneficial insects are bar-none, the best option. Let's talk about ladybugs first. The biggest issue about ladybugs is they are misrepresented. First off, you buy them in the adult form, which is your first problem. Ladybug larvae and nymph stages are what really goes after spider mites. Adult ladybugs go after larger prey, like aphids and thrips. Furthermore, adult ladybugs are far worse hunters than the nymph stages – adult lady bugs are more interested in reproducing and finding their soul mates. If you are serious about using them, buy them a ladybug house and give them some raisins for easy food supply, and they will start reproducing. If you just dump all your ladybugs on a plant and expect them to work, you're sadly mistaken. Within 24 hours, half of them will be dead on top of your hood and inside the glass next to your lights. Give your ladybugs a fighting chance; help them help you. As far as predator mites go, it's not necessary to build them any type of home like you will have to do with ladybugs. They are hungry and ferocious right off the bat, maybe a little bit too much. The main downside to predator mites is they will eat each other, too; although, they prefer to snack on spider mites before they become cannibalistic. Predator mites are one of the only things I haven't used personally to try to eradicate a spider mite infestation, so I can't give a personal testimonial on them. I have, however, talked with a handful of people who have. I can honestly say to NOT buy them from websites like Amazon, as many people have had huge problems with the mites showing up dead, and they have to go through the painful process of trying to convince Amazon to give them a refund. Buying them directly from HGRGardenSupply is a much safer bet, as we will get them shipped directly from the manufacturer to ensure they will be alive when you get them. Everyone that we've sold predator mites to have said they worked better than their expectations, but like every method of treatment, requires more than 1 application. I would defiantly give predator mites a try if you haven't yet. If you're thinking about using ladybugs, remember the tips I gave you and don't have high expectations. They are great garden warriors, but spider mites are even greater pests.
5. Wipeout, Pure Kapow! & SNS217C

What's in it: Wipe Out contains 3.2% Cinnamon Oil, 1.6% Citronella Oil, 1.6% Thyme Oil and 93.6% Other Ingredients (mainly water). Pure Kapow! contains .464% Lemon Grass Oil, .25% Castor Oil, 2% Soap and 97.286% Water. SNS 217C contains 10% Rosemary Oil and 90% Water, Lauric Acid and Polyglyceryl Oleate.
The Skinny: Hopefully you see the pattern with the 3 products we listed for #5. I should mention, these are simply the 3 more popular products that we carry like this; if you were to dig deep into the market, you would probably find 200 more. The consensus here is that these products contain natural plant oils and resins. The list can go really deep when talking about natural plant oils, however, both Rosemary Oil and Cinnamon Oil seem to be very popular in the pesticide market because of their natural repellent characteristics. Clove Oil and Lemon Grass Oil are also fan favorites. These oils do a really good job at repelling insects; the plants themselves have little to virtually no natural predators from the insect world – especially Cinnamon. Once sprayed on your plants, any insects that get a nice taste of these oils will want to relocate elsewhere. Once again, spider mites are soft-bodied insects, and these oils will kill most mites on contact, but these oils aren't generally classified as a “contact-killer”, but rather a very strong repellent. The huge upside of these repellents is that spider mites generally don't build an immunity to them, but some may build a tolerance. Therefor, repeat applications is a must, and you should alternate between other products that are designed to kill them, like pyrethrum. I can personally say that I've used many natural oils to deter pests, and they are among my favorite weapons in my arsenal of pesticides. Perhaps what I like most about them is they have very little to no adverse effects on the plants you are treating. You don't have to worry about leaves “clawing” up or burning. Like everything though, you can overdo it, so be sure to follow the recommendations found on these products labels. Most products containing natural plant oils are “ready-to-use”, so you don't have to worry about any guess-work or over dosing.
6. Captain Jack (Spinosad)

What's in it: Spinosad is an insecticide based on chemical compounds found in the bacterial species “Saccharopolyspora spinosa”. The genus of â€œSaccharopolyspora” was discovered in 1985 in isolates from crushed sugar cane which produce yellowish-pink aerial hyphae, with bead-like chains of spores enclosed in a characteristic hairy sheath. Captain Jack contains .001% Spinosad and 99.999% Water & Other Ingredients. In short, this product is a bacteria that directly attacks the nervous system in many insects.
The Skinny: First of all, Spinosad generally only works on larvae and adult stages of insects, while hardly effecting the egg stages at all. This means that repeated application is an absolute must. I once used this product for an infestation back when Spinosad was starting to make it's way on the shelves of indoor garden supply stores. I was sold on the fact (unintentionally) that it would take care of my spider mite infestation. The store I bought this product at didn't have much knowledge of Spinosad – in fact, none of the employees had personally used the product. At the time, I had both a thrip infestation and spider mite infestation running concurrent in my garden. I was looking for a product that would curb both of my problems at once. I used the product as described on the label, and what I found was quite interesting. After my 3rd application within a 6-day period, the thrips were 100% eradicated, while my spider mite infestation was still there. Actually, Spinosad seemed to not effect spider mites much at all – rather, they were just pissed off that I was spraying something on them. Again, spider mites are soft-bodied insects, so anything you spray on them will slow them down. In conclusion, Spinosad is the #1 product I recommend for thrips, but for spider mites, not so much.
7. Organocide 3-in-1

What's in it: Organocide 3-in-1 contains .10% Sesame Oil, 1.84% Edible Fish Oil, .06% Lecithin & 98% Water.
The Skinny: Don't let the name fool you, this product is far from being 100% organic – at least, the word “organic” isn't being used the way it should be. When we think organic, we generally think all-natural and “healthy”. Sesame Oil and Edible Fish Oil should explain themselves, but lets talk about Lecithin. Lecithin is typically derived from soy beans, but it can come from other sources like milk, eggs and cottonseed. The FDA approved Lecithin for human consumption and labeled it as “generally regarded as safe”, but this was only tested for internal digestion – it was not tested for being smoked or vaporized. For this reason, use the product with caution. The product itself works great if used as directed, but things can quickly go south if you don't. I've seen many fellow growers and customers burn their plants up with this product because they didn't thoroughly shake the product before mixing it, nor did they continue to shake the product in their sprayer bottles while spraying it – thus leaving heavy concentrations of the product on leaf tissue. Do NOT use this product in high-temperature climates, and do NOT use this product right before harvest! The major downside to Organocide 3-in-1 is the fishy smell. After your first application, you will know exactly what I'm talking about. If you've ever consumed some nice product where the grower used Organocide right before harvest, you will never forget what that tastes like. Much like Neem Oil, Organocide will also make your leaves shine. It seems as if I've done nothing but talk down 3-in-1, but in all honesty it's a great product if you use it correctly. I recommend to only use the product during vegetation – up to the first 2 weeks of flower. For the love of all great things though, do not over-use it! I know a few die-hard Organocide users and their plants always have curled leaves and their fruits always seem to be smaller than average – however, these people normally use Organocide all throughout the flowering period, so that's why I recommend only using during vegetative and to strictly follow the label instructions – if not, go lighter.
8. NuFarm Abamectin (Avid)

What's in it: Abamectin is a mixture of avermectins containing more than 80% avermectin B1a and less than 20% avermectin B1b. These two components, B1a and B1b have very similar biological and toxicological properties. The avermectins are insecticidal and antihelmintic compounds derived from various laboratory broths fermented by the soil bacterium Streptomyces avermitilis. This pesticide is classified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as a class II toxicity pesticide on a scale of I to IV, I being the most toxic.
The Skinny: Coming from Ed Rosenthal himself, â€œAvid is a miticide registered for ornamental plants. Its active ingredient is abamectin, a derivative of a toxin originally found in soil bacteria. Avid is not registered for use on vegetables except in certain restricted situations. Other brands of abamectin such as AgriMek by Syngenta are registered for a wide range of crops. The AgriMek label calls for a minimum of a seven day wait between application and harvest. I wouldn't use marijuana if I knew it was treated with this pesticide during the last few weeks of flowering.” With that said, I've seen and heard of great results using Abamectin, but me personally – being an organic freak when it comes to pesticides – have not used it personally. The major problem I have with this product is that there haven't been reliable studies to show the long term effects of this product being ingested through smoking. For this reason, I would never recommend using this product during flower, even if the label says you can use it all the way up until 2 weeks before harvest. Use this product during vegetation alone and leave it at that. As far as how well the product works, I think it's on the leader-board with other products – but as far as safety goes, I'd have to rank it towards the bottom. I'd strongly advise using a respirator when spraying this onto your plants, use rubber gloves, and be sure to take a shower before cooking, eating or smoking. To rap it up, I don't think there is enough information out there on this product quite yet, nor have there been enough long-term studies of its use.
9. H202, Dish Soap, Concentrated Hot Sauce

What's in it: To be clear, we're talking about hydrogen peroxide, Dawn Dish Soap© and ground Cayenne Pepper diluted in water. All products are pretty self explanatory.
The Skinny: Let's start with H202. Throw caution to the wind when using H202 diluted with water. If using 1 quart of water spray, mix between 8-10 drops of 29% H202 into it. You can experiment going up and down with the ratio as needed, but this is a good start. I've used this technique before in the passed, with mixed results. It works great when you're in a pinch, and defiantly sterilizes everything. The downside to doing this is you can really mess up your plants. Doing it too much will dry your plants leaves right out and your leaves with crisp up and fall off. What I noticed about doing this that I don't like is after you're done spraying and some of the water drips to the floor, the water has a greenish tint. I don't think I need to go into detail of what that is or means. As far as repeat applications go, I do not recommend using H202 at all – use it only if you're in a desperate pinch between getting some Mighty Wash. Also, refrain (at all costs) using H202 spray during flowering, as it will drastically reduce the quality of your product. Dawn Dish Soap© has pretty much the identical story. Don't use it in flower, don't use it too often. Use 2.5ml of soap in a gallon of water and mix well. As far as Cayenne Pepper goes, that's the only method of these 3 that I haven't used. From testimonies from other growers, they say to use between 1/2 and 1 teaspoons of crushed cayenne pepper to 1 quart of water. As you may have guessed, it's the Capsaicin that really pisses off insects. In nature, pepper plants have very few problems with insects – their fruit, even less; but, some insects have developed a tolerance for it, such as some species of thrips. As I've said many times before in this article, spider mites are soft bodied insects. Imagine if you were a spider mite and someone dumped a bunch of Capsaicin on you.. Hell, imagine someone spraying you with Capsaicin, period! If the spider mites don't die from immediate exposure to the sauce, you can bet that they won't be feasting on plants that are drenched in it. The absolute major downside to using Capsaicin is handling the product itself. Be sure to wear gloves, a respirator and eye protection. Your skin may become irritated if you get some on you and some people also are allergic to Capsaicin. Above all, do NOT rub your eyes afterwards if you get some on your hands – unless of course, you like the feeling of getting pepper sprayed.
Final Thoughts: Now it's time to sum up this entire article into a few short sentences. If you thought you've tried everything that I've listed and haven't had success, think your garden is too big to get them all or don't have the money to dump into any of these treatments, your best bet is to start over. Spider mites favorite quote is, “You may have won the battle, but you haven't won the war.” They are ferocious warriors who can kick out hundreds of soldiers every 2 days. If you have a small or manageable garden, your success rate drastically improves. My BEST piece of advice is to follow this strict schedule (during vegetation). Buy Mighty Wash, Wipe Out and Azamax. Use Azamax at 1/2 to 3/4 recommended strength and use it as a soil drench or in your hydroponic reservoir. This will allow the plant to uptake it through its vascular system and to “sweat” it out, releasing the chemicals slowly, which in turn becomes an antifeedant to spider mites. Top it off with thoroughly spraying Mighty Wash on day 1, Wipe Out on day 2, Mighty Wash on day 3, Wipe out on day 4, etc, for 14 days. Many people will tell you that you'll only need 3-5 applications – but it's better safe than sorry. While you are doing that, make sure everything else you have in your room is thoroughly cleaned so that the mites can't “run for shelter”. If you're in flower, use Mighty Wash and/or Wipe Out only – don't use Azamax. Even though Mighty Wash is safe to use on the day of harvest, I would never use any type of pesticide for the last 2 weeks before harvest because you will be reducing the quality of your product.
With all of that said – Happy Growing!
(If you have any questions or have some information you'd like to add, leave a comment!)