2 weeks into flower - spider mites have invaded.. help!

[Calbrowno]

Hi folks,

I am growing 4 variations of kush under a single 800w hps in a 1.2m x 1.6m x 2m tent in soil. temperatures range between 25-29 degrees celcius and ~40% humidity.

Everything has been going so well for my first grow, I was thinking shit this isn't so tough! it all changed when the spider mite nation attacked.

It is not a full blown infestation and i believe I have caught it in the early stages as the mite presence seems limited to lower regions of the plants and by no means on every leaf. But already I can see how these can be nearly impossible to keep up with unless dealt with effectively.

I went out and bought some "Natrasoap" with potassium salts as an active ingredient which is supposedly designed for mites and aphids in vegetable gardens. Firstly, was this a good choice? I am extremely hesitant to smother the plant in the stuff as I don't exactly know what the effects on the newly forming buds will be (taste wise)

Any recommendations for my best course of action from here? any help appreciated.

 

[Bud1284]

Hi folks,

I am growing 4 variations of kush under a single 800w hps in a 1.2m x 1.6m x 2m tent in soil. temperatures range between 25-29 degrees celcius and ~40% humidity.

Everything has been going so well for my first grow, I was thinking shit this isn't so tough! it all changed when the spider mite nation attacked.

It is not a full blown infestation and i believe I have caught it in the early stages as the mite presence seems limited to lower regions of the plants and by no means on every leaf. But already I can see how these can be nearly impossible to keep up with unless dealt with effectively.

I went out and bought some "Natrasoap" with potassium salts as an active ingredient which is supposedly designed for mites and aphids in vegetable gardens. Firstly, was this a good choice? I am extremely hesitant to smother the plant in the stuff as I don't exactly know what the effects on the newly forming buds will be (taste wise)

Any recommendations for my best course of action from here? any help appreciated.

Hey buddy,

i do not want to stress/alarm you, but my experience kinda showed that once you have spider mites, you in for a constant battle. Good news is, with consistency comes results and you can actually go through to a nice harvest. Then wash the buds nicely with water mixed with baking soda and lemon juice.

I managed to eradicate red spider mites at very early stage on one of my plants this year - The other ones, i call them the normal 'die hard' ones are another story it seems. You basically need to keep doing what you doing every 48 hours. What i do is 1 teaspoon neem oil, + 1/2 teaspoon liquid soap (non detergent) + 1/2 teaspoon wetting agent in 1 litre of water. Thing is, If its flowering already then very careful with what you spray on the plant and only use it as a last resort - Better to kinda wet a cloth and wipe thoroughly all affected leaves individually without touching the flowers, neem oil has an extremely unpleasant smell/taste.

But your best friend in that case would be ladybugs...if you can manage to get 3 or 4 on your plant, then these greedy ladies will start raining hell on these mites until they are so scared that their soul will leave them bodies!

Good luck

 

[*BUDS]

Chemicals
One hit wipes them out. Also vacuum the around the grow room for a few days after that.