Diatomaceous Earth

Discussion in 'Sick Plants and Problems' started by 71/99, Feb 8, 2009.

  1. I wouldn't try to control mites with that as that contains very fine sharp powder and won't be good fo ryour lungs if you inhale it. What Diatomaceous Earth does is it sticks to bugs and cuts them which then makes them dehydrate and die. Works great as a first step in eliminating fungus gnats and thrip larvae.

    If you have mites first thing you do is lower your temps and up your humidity. This slows down their reproductive cycle. You can also spray your plants with a nice mist of water (couple time per week) to keep them a bay since they don't like humidity.

    Get yourself End-All/EcoSense/Dr Doom Botanics or any plant spray that contains Pyrethrins. Spray your plants with the spray 3 times in 9 days (once every three days) and then once every 5-7 days while alternatig your chemicals and maybe strainght water once a week to wash off the residue. Also some of those like End-All/EcoSense can't be used too far into the flowr stage as they contain Canola oil and can leave a bitter taste on the plant. First 2/3 weeks of flower is ok.

    Get yourself some SM-90 and feed it or foliar spray it onto the plants. The soap and the herbal extract in it kill spider mites and change the flavor of the plant so that mites wont feed on is as much.

    Other products that mites don't like

    Earth Juice - Esential Spray (Plant extracts that confuse mites and keep them from feeding on your plant.
    Insecticidal Soap - Fatty acids/Soap that disolved the mites shell and kill sit Any brand, just don't over do it as it'll hurt the laves.
     
  2. I recommend using a HOT SHOT NO PEST STRIP in your grow space also. They are around 6 bucks at Lowes or Home Depot, and work for up to 4 months. They emit a vapor that kills all bugs dead. I've used them since June '08, and not had a spider mite since.
     

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