Managed to salvage my harvest from spider mites. Royal fucking pain in the ass it was. Before I start my next crop I am wondering about spinosad. It was recommended by another grower who claims that it is safe for weed. Supposed to be all natural/organic. Added to the water it is supposed to prevent spider mites. I'm generally against adding things to my water that I don't know about. If anyone has any insight or experience I would appreciate any feedback. And if smoking weed that has been grown with spinosad is bad for you are there any other alternatives to use to prevent them from feasting on my gals? I already plan on sprinkling a layer of diatomaceous earth on top of my soil. I'd rather take steps to prevent rather than try to fight a long battle. The first four harvests went amazingly well. This last one was a bitch. If there is a simple , safe product that I can use to prevent them altogether I'm all ears.
Spinosad is currently banned for commercial cannabis grows in Michigan, Montana, Oklahoma, Oregon, and Washington and is completely banned for sale in Canada and Denmark. I wouldn't use anything that a commercial site can't - but thats just me.
I'm unaware of anything that will eliminate spider mites completely. Regular IPM, "Integrated Pest Management" is the way most of us deal with plant pests. We can not truly eliminate pests, only manage their numbers in a way that they have a smaller chance of doing major damage to our crop.
Natural Guard Spinosad - Follow instructions, problem solved. Do not use on eastern oysters, otherwise you're good to go, I mean grow.
I’m in MT and yeah, it can’t show up on a test or it will fail. Not illegal to use it, just can’t show up on tests. I’ll use it against thrips and spider mites but only early in veg, and nowhere near the flip. I’ve never had an issue, but I rarely resort to using it. It works systemically, and I’ve always applied it as a foliar spray, not a soil drench. Look into predatory insects for your IPM. Here’s some that I use regularly: For thrips Producer of beneficial insects for biological pest control For spider mites Producer of beneficial insects for biological pest control For thrips and fungus gnats Producer of beneficial insects for biological pest control