So I can not seem to get rid of spider mites and other bugs it seems. Now these plants are quite old, good and bushy, and for the most part healthy (minus bugs) I could flower them at any time but I have bugs that keep coming back. This is also my first time with soil. Right now I've got two plants I've struggled with bugs since the get go, having never experienced this before . (all hydro). Bringing organic soil and have had mites. At this current time in the same room, in the window, I have tomatoesni've recently put there. (actually have 5 baby tomatoes, nice!) I've sprayed neem oil regularly. Have tried organicide. Tried Some Rosemary stuff that seed to make it worse. Liquid lady bug, and mighty wash. They keep coming back. WTF? Right now its foxfarms and some compost from a nursery for soil. I feed it tea I make and some organic nutrients. If not for the bugs they'd be great, but I can't shake the bugs. I'm about ready to get a big nasty pesticide filled bug killer. Help?
Ive had luck with "dont bug me" spray. Coat every leaf and crevice with the lights off. Let sit for about 50 mins. douse again , let sit about 2 hrs with lights off. Repeat weekly. Also azatrol works good if you mix a tsp in to a gallon (maybe tablespoon i forget) and feed it to the plants via soil. It works in to the leaves and chutes and makes the insects die from sucking the poison out of the leafs.
Tommatt You're probably dealing with the life cycle of Spider Mites. The adult-egg-larva cycle is almost identical to the fleas that hit our pets. Just like with fleas a single treatment isn't effective. You have to break this cycle and you do that by applying your Neem oil every 3 days and you'll want to apply this 4 times. That will break the cycle. The other thing is that you want to mix and apply Neem oil as close to the 'lights off' cycle. Light breaks down the Terpenes in Neem negating its effectiveness. HTH LD
Make sure you use a wetting agent and emulsifier for Neem's full effectiveness. It is nice to hit them with something to take them down immediately and use neem as a preventive. I use insecticidal soap (dr bronners soap + water) for more immediate action. I also add a couple drops to my neem, silica, kelp, aloe vera concoction as more of a wetting agent to help the water spread better.
For an active infestation i like to start with pyrethrums. But I only use them once as bugs develop immunity to them quickly. Then start a every three day neem spraying. A good friend of mine had a plant in veg that had mulitple mite webs all over it. it was a mother plant that he kept away from the other plants. He ended up cutting the top of the plant off, a good foot. Then he went on the every three day program using neem from neem resource. His plant is now in flower and is the healthest looking plant in his flower room. The topping turned that already large plant into a huge bush, and it looks like his biggest harvest for one plant yet. So as bad as it might look currently, mites can be beat......MIW
Spinosad is a biologicaal treatment made from a bacteria. It colonizes the plant tissue and will work for up to 10 days. It's another good tool to have in your arsenal of mite/bug prevention. Try to get the concentrate rather than the pre mix. If you add aloe vera and liquid silica with it during the application, it seems to enhance it's effectiveness. chunk
Ditto on the Captain Jack's. I think I read something a while ago(by Chunk most likely), got the captain jack's, haven't seen mites in about 3-4 months. I even tried some of the Systemic Granules for insect control as a top dressing to kill some fungus gnat larvae, worked like a charm.
IMO, pest control is a day to day management program. Twice weekly applications of neem/aloe/Pro-Tekt along with thrice monthly applications of spinosad is a good solid way to keep things under control. But TBH.......as humans we tend to get lazy and this past summer, I was derelict in my duties. I went for almost 2 weeks without spraying and got hit hard with mites. It took the better part of a month to get things back on track and was a friendly reminder to stay on top of things. chunk
Our dog takes a Spinosad tablet 1x each month for flea & tick control. Works perfect. No Kidding! Better than "The Drops", then? The drops behind the head in the middle of the shoulderblades are expensive, too - at least for the good brand... jerry.
I got a 6 month supply for Ms. Kate, but I've been weary of starting her on it. I've read stories about a small %age of dogs having terrible side effects. I'm going to switch her from the Revolution to Comfortis in the start of flea season and see how it does. The vet said in can be effective for up to 60 days, which is awesome. LD, has your pooch had any side effects from it?
Jerry, Sorry to get off topic here, but dogs is my area of expertise. Most of the topical flea treatments for dogs suck. Basically, since it was the prefered method for years and years the fleas started to gain immunity to some of them. You'll notice that Frontline is now sold over the counter, where as it used to be sold by a vet only. Also, many dogs have sensitivities to them (specifically any type of Collie. If you own any type of Collie, be very careful with any medication or pesticide. Research before you apply). The topical Revolution burned my dog, Irie's skin. Also, don't trust the all-in-one pesticides. The popular ones are Revolution and Advantage multi. I have witnessed many bad reactions that would have ended in death had not been for my very skilled vet. I use comfortis for fleas. It works and its safe. If you have an outbrea, kill them with Capstar then follow up with the comfortis. The Capstar will kill all the fleas within 30 minutes. It only handles fleas so use a tick collar if you are in the country and make sure to check him after walks in the woods. Ivermectin for heartworm(heartguard) is pretty safe. Also, just like our plants, a healthy dog is less suseptable to attack. Feed him quality food.
poppybgood I have not. I was weary for the same reasons that you are. The vet is board certified chiropractor, acupuncture as well as DVM and his approach is somewhat 'holistic' and I have a lot of confidence in his advice. But the issues are out there - our dog is a 75 lb. Lab so that might explain the lack of side-effects. You're obviously a good pet owner and you'll find what you're looking for. There is a new formula which contains Spinosad and another agent and it's under another name. That is the new medicine I picked-up on the last resupply mission. If you can'f find the name let me know and I'll get it from the package downstairs. LD
i used to use the drops. was surprised in the summer when they got fleas. drops may prevent fleas but IMO dont kill them. switched to comfortis and right on... I think I also read the drops can be toxic, at least the kind from petco. I also switched out from grocery store brand dog food about a year ago to avoid the fish perservatives they contain.
Head over to PetSmart, Petco, etc. and price the dog shampoos that contain Neem oil. There are a ton of sites on how to make your own dog shampoo for chump-change. Add some neem oil when you use it - don't premix the Neem. Done. Finis. Ovah. Stay on top of things and your pets will be comfortable. LD