So I’m new to indoor and I just did a small breeding experiment/seed run that got overrun with spider mites. I noticed them a while ago and sprayed the plants with a mixture of organic hand soap and water that another post suggested but it didn’t really help much.. so I said to hell with it since I was only growing for seed and didn’t plan on smoking the bud.. well as a couple more weeks went by they absolutely demolished the one plant and when I cut it down I noticed one of the buds was an absolute breeding ground.. so now I’m nervous to load the tent back up until I know they’re all dead. Also if anyone has suggestions on how to prevent them that’d be appreciated. Growing outdoors usually I can just focus on caterpillars and otherwise ignore all other bugs.. but clearly I’ve just learned that that is not an option here. My guess is that without predators they were able to thrive unchecked unlike outdoors
I used pyrethrin to kill the spider mites. It's supposed to be a natural extract from chrysanthemums that breaks down very quickly but kills spider mites dead. After the run I wiped everything inside the tent with bleach water. So far, so good. No signs yet, and I check often. Spider mites are a royal pain in the ass.
Same here. Pyrethrin is only toxic when its wet. but it can make another animal sick if it eats the dead insects
I just ordered some pyrethrin concentrate. You think spraying the tent down with bleach water should clear it out before I start the next run?
get a pyrethrin bug bomb (mr or doctor doom comes to mind but not sure) Seal up tent let bomb go. Vent tent in 24 hours. Everything will be dead. Wipe off any residue in tent. Easy no mixing no spraying. Even the wiping residue is optional if you have any to wipe. Or Seal up tent put a no pest strip in tent . Leave 24 hours and vent tent. Everything dead as can be. Even easier than the bug bomb. My 2 centavos.
I have no idea if it helped or not, I just did it to feel safer. I also sprayed my airpots with bleachwater after cleaning. I had a felt pot in my 2x2 and just tossed i for a new one.
I wet down the tent using ~10% bleach solution, let it stand for 10 min, wipe it down again so to dry it off and whatever. You can then spray the tent using a combination of potassium fatty acid salts + pyrethrin + neem oil by combining ~1 tsp (or more) Neem oil with EndAll miticide (Safer's) and just spray and let air dry. Other tricks may include spraying garlic extract on the tent material since bugs don't like that smell. You can purchase some predator mites and let them loose in the room/house area and they can maybe just track down the nest... maybe. Another thing I do once in a while (between grows) is use a UVC lamp for ~30 min in that room with the tents exposed etc. You can purchase them on Amazon.
I forgot to add that once I finished spraying the plants with pyrethrin I also bought live ladybugs from amazon and put those into the tent. I did three sprays with the pyrethrin, 5 days apart to catch any newly hatched mites, and then 5 days after the third spray I added the ladybugs. I was finding ladybugs in my house for about 2 months afterwards, but was fine with that compared to the spider mites.
I just mix Neem Cake into my soil as a preventive measure. Never had a Spider Mite in twelve years of growing.
interesting approach. Fertilizes and kill fungus gnats and nematodes but never thought of it killing sm. Since sm life cycle is not in soil, I guess it has some systemic effect? Do you do any other routine preventatives?
It makes the plant too bitter for insects to want to suck on. That's what I read anyway. It doesn't seem to affect the flavor of the weed when I vaporize it though. Still tastes great.
no other preventative pest protocols other than the neem cakes? How much do you mix into soil? Is it only the top few inches of soil or mixed throughout the soil?
I plant directly into a five gallon bucket, and I put a cup of Neem Cake into the soil. I put it in the bottom three quarters of the soil. The top quarter of the soil I leave plain to keep from burning the seedlings.
After all the plants are harvested everything out. I use bleach. Wipe on all surfaces the floors buckets everything . about 50/50 mix .bleach water . A few days later pine sole wipes . in case i missed bug egg if there ever was one . No need to do pine sole its just a ocd measure You room should remain clean. If you drop a slice of pizza there should be zero concern about eating it off the floor . Clean clothing in the grow room right out of the dryer
TY doing my research on cakes now. seems you are on to something. Great tip. I only see positives doing this. Even slightly acidifies the soil as well as ferts it. Lots of good stuff in it and possibly has systemic effects. IMHO even if it didnt, it still seems good to use. However, am I killing beneficial fungi? Bacteria? Seems not to be bc many use it for fert purpose only. ONE big question...does it stink up the place?? Neem stinks.
Lucky for me my house is INFESTED with lady bugs… like everywhere I look there’s 10 and I’m constantly cleaning dead ones out of lamps and my coffee maker.. so maybe I’ll just hijack some of them and throw them in the tent