Drying Spider Mites

Yes, you'll end up smoking them.

You need to get on top of them now, once they reach critical mass (easily within a month) they will stop bud production and even kill your plant, so smoking them may be the least of your worries.

If you don't want to spray, then you'd better get in there and squish them by checking and rubbing every leaf between your fingers. You'll need to repeat the excercise on an almost daily basis.

How bad is the infestation?
If you're seeing webs at the base of fan leaves, or on your colas, you're already in trouble.

 

hey what's up? listen I had a major spidermite infestation that started out just like yours. At first I didn't think anything about it, thinking it wouldn't be a problem becuase I only had a few weeks to go. let let me tell you, they spread fast and multiply over night. Don't sleep on that, go to home depot and get yourself a product called "Hot shot". Buy about 4 or so and hang them on the branches and then put a bag over the plant over nite (I had to use a 55 gal bag on mine). Then remove it in the morning to air out. I used it for 2 days and mites where gone. be careful it can be harmful if left in enclosed space 4 to long. look into it, I found out about it through one the threads here at GC. Good luck!

 

this is interesting but it sounds sketch, you got anymore info on it? or the threaD?

 

here you go:this is from another forum copied and pasted hope you enjoy

Jun-25-2006, 15:18
Opie Yutts
Registered+
Join Date: Apr-14-2006
Posts: 3,851




Man its friggen hot here. Barely into summer and it’s 90 degrees before noon. I’m glad I did my yard work early this morning. I live in the pacific northwest, and am sick of the rain. I would rather be too hot and dry than too cold and wet if I had too choose. How about you guys? Everything hurts more when I’m cold. Anyway, I am rambling – I guess the pain meds are kicking in and I just ground up a fresh handful of AK-47 in my new Krupps coffee/herb grinder, and am enjoying the use of my semi-new, top of the line Wicked Roots vaporizer. So, needless to say but I’ll say it anyway; at this moment life is good and I love you guys. Sniff…

Good thing I don’t drink too or I may never get this party started. We didn’t come here for me to pour my heart out; we came here to learn a little something about spider mites and to perhaps have an interesting discussion about them along the way. Without doing math, it’s been roughly two years since my mite problem. I have forgotten many of the specifics, but anyone can find out the things that I did with a little digging on the internet. Also please note that much of what is to follow is my personal opinion, and taken from my own experiences. This is what I know, and it is not false in my book, so I will present it as fact. I am sure others will beg to differ and that’s fine. Use your best judgment and decide for yourself what is best for you.

- What’s so bad about spider mites?
Spider mites suck, and I don’t mean just a little bit. They rank right up there with moles, termites, and mice for the ability to destroy money, time, and that which we love, need, or enjoy. If you suspect that you may have spider mites, take action immediately! They mature and reproduce very quickly, so very few mites very soon become very many. Ever heard “Don’t cut off your fan leaves”? The plant needs these for photosynthesis and for other reasons. Spider mites left unchecked, very quickly destroy the fan leaves and eventually the entire plant. They live on the underside of the leaf and eat it.

- How do I know if my plants have mites?
The mites themselves are very difficult to see with the naked eye, or even one that is clothed. It is possible; however you need to have good vision for this. It is best if you check with a magnifying glass, or better yet a pocket microscope. These are about $8 at Radio Shack, or at least they were three years ago. You might as well get one if you don’t have one, because you need one anyway for determining when to harvest (by checking trichomes). Not that it is necessary, but a microscope is the easiest and surest way to determine the exact species of mite.

Though the mites are difficult to spot, the evidence that they leave behind is not. At the beginning stages of the infestation you will start to see little white spots on the tops of your leaves. The spots won’t be spread out evenly, but in groups of hundreds or thousands, bunched close together. At first glance it may look like one big spot. This is where the mites ate away the plant matter. Eventually they will leave only the skeletal structure of the leaf. These spots will spread. Do nothing and soon you will see webbing on your plants. Look close at the webbing and you will see hundreds or thousands of mites. The webbing will eventually spread to corners of walls and ceilings. There it will become more and more visible over the next few days as it becomes darker with masses of mites. If it is against a white wall it is very apparent.

- Crap. I have mites. Now what?
The first decision you should make at this point is very important and not to be taken lightly. It could affect your entire life and the lives of those around you. You need to decide if you want to control them with natural, safe methods, or rid yourself of them with lethal chemicals. As far as I know, it is near impossible to rid yourself of mites using natural methods. Please don’t yell at me about this, I said near impossible, and I mean without spending a lot of money. I’m sure it can be done and has been. In general, most methods that are natural only serve to control, or knock back the infestation. What’s worse, it is never ending. Using solely natural methods one is likely to end up battling mites the rest of his or her entire weed farming venture. The good thing is that natural methods are safe. On the other hand toxic chemicals are not safe, but can easily rid your grow of mites once and forever. Using toxins, I know of two methods that can rid your grow of mites. One is definitely easier than the other but both will work. I would not use toxins if I am trying to or planning on having children. Whatever you use be efficient, do it right and do it well, and kill as many as possible the first try. Mites can build up a tolerance to substances and then you are really screwed.

- I want to try natural methods. What’s your recommendation?
First thing you do, and I mean right now, is mix up about 1/4 teaspoon liquid dish detergent in a spray bottle full of water, and soak every square inch of .. man, getting stoned.. hard to concentrate… Oh yeah, every inch of the underside of the every leaf on every plant. Also soak the growing medium and everything else near your plants that you can stand to soak. This is a suckie process, since it’s hard to get the underside. When you turn the spray bottle upside down it refuses to spray. Someone invent something and give me half for the idea. Now you need to get set up to soak your plants in Neem oil. At this point I should tell you that if you ever spray or soak your plants you need to pull your lights way back until they dry completely, or they will burn. You will need a bucket big enough to submerge your entire plant (just the stalk, not the container). You will also need some Neem oil which is available at most garden centers and hydro stores. Furthermore you will need a piece of Styrofoam or something similar, that you can cut a slot into. The slot is to slide the stalk into when you cover your container. If your grow medium is below the surface of the container, fill the space with a towel or something. Follow the directions and fill the bucket with the Neem solution. Cover your growing medium and turn your plant over and dunk it. Shake it a little to get all the bubbles out and make sure everything is completely covered with the solution. Pull it out and let most of the liquid drip off before putting the plant back. Spray your whole room and repeat as necessary to keep the mites in check. After next harvest, tear apart your room and scrub down everything with a bleach solution. Read up on how to keep mites out in the first place. You can at this point decide if you can afford mite destroyers (not beneficial mites). If you buy maybe a couple thousand of them for a 3’x3’ closet you may be able to completely rid yourself of mites. This will be expensive.


- I’m ready for the big time. How do I kill em dead?
Two methods I know of will work for sure and for good. One is Avid. It is extremely toxic and very hard to get for most people. It is a systemic. It stays inside the plant for a while and continues to work. You can buy it on the internet. Search about this if you are interested. The other is much easier and it is what I used. I have not had mites in about 6 or 7 harvests I think. It is called a Bug Stop Pest Strip, and it is manufactured by Spectracide. It is toxic and it will rid your grow of mites. Buy one and hang or place it in your grow room for two weeks and your mites will be dead. Follow the directions to determine how many you need, but I would probably double it just to be safe. Use as little ventilation as possible during the treatment. Look at the eggs under your microscope and you will see the little bastards dead in their tracks as they attempted to join the real world. If you are fortunate, this will be the end of it forever. More likely though, especially if you are growing in soil, you will need to repeat the process at the next light change from veg to bloom. This is due to a survival mechanism which makes some of them burrow deep into the growing medium and hibernate. And now, just stop letting them get in. Don’t bring them in, and read up on how to stop them from coming in on their own.

- Got any links?

Health effects, MSDS
http://householdproducts.nlm.nih.gov...ds&id=19020034

Where to buy (one of many places)
http://www.righthardware.com/item.html?itemid=364909655

A mite article
http://creatures.ifas.ufl.edu/orn/twospotted_mite.htm

- Got any pictures of the package?
Attached Thumbnails

__________________

 

the above item which is called hot shot at home depot works like a charm!

 

I used a hot shot on my plant when I noticed the first sign of mites and they were gone instantly. I've heard a lot of good things from others about them as well.

 

This shit works great, I sprayed on the 16th, harvested the 25th, no mites, and no shitty taste.
This is a link to show you what its made of, Cali growers i know love it. It's available at most garden stores and hydro shops.

http://www.lawnrite.com/resources/organocide_label.pdf

Speed is of the essence, if those mite eggs hatch, you will lose the plant most likely.

Gardensafe sucks, imho. This stuff is better than that or Neem oil by far, and my plants actually loved it.

 

Repeat any application of insecticide every 3 days until the problem is resolved to get successive generations as they hatch.

 

use azatrol... up to 10 days before harvest.. I will swear by this shit. It is expensive but meant for mj

 

use azatrol. It is concentrated neem oil. Works great. Up to 10 days til harvest...

 

if their in your leaves then their almost definitly in your buds too