Russet Mites from my soil?

Qube

Qube

Well-Known Member
Hello,

I've just discovered that I have russet mites on my plants. I didn't even know these were a thing. I just got back into growing from a 10 year break and spider mites were the worst of it back then, I had never heard of russet mites until this past week.

After a lot of reading on them I can't tell how I got them? From what I understand they only live on cannabis/hemp plants and aren't just in your garden like other pests. I don't have any clones, all my plants are from seed, and I don't go to any other grow rooms.

I use Fox Farms Ocean forest soil. Could they have come from a bag of ffof from the grow store? I'm working to eradicate them now but would like to find out how I got them to eliminate the cause if possible.

Thanks
 
norcalreppin77

norcalreppin77

Well-Known Member
Grandevo. Expensive, Completely destroy's russet mite colonies. I've used every thing on them. Grandevo is incredible. Get to it before the buds form or you're screwed.
 
Qube

Qube

Well-Known Member
So nobody has an opinion of where I may have gotten these fuckers? At least tell me I'm wrong about the cannabis/hemp only issue. Are they in the garden or do the have to come from a grow? I've seen other posts about FFOF and mites but thought it was propaganda. lol.

I appreciate the Grandevo recommendation and from what I've read it looks very effective, I'm ordering some tomorrow. I don't really have any genetics that are a must keep atm, but I'd like to learn more about how these pest get to my room if I'm strictly from seed.

I really want to know how they got in. I'm seriously looking at switching my whole grow to a coco or some other inert substrate.
 
Renfro

Renfro

Well-Known Member
They can indeed hide in contaminated soil, they can come in on your clothes or contaminated clippings.
 
Renfro

Renfro

Well-Known Member
Small scale growers have been known to bake soil to kill off any bugs or eggs. Not something thats as easy to do on a larger scale.
 
Qube

Qube

Well-Known Member
Renfro said:
They can indeed hide in contaminated soil, they can come in on your clothes or contaminated clippings.
Click to expand...
So if I don't have cuttings and haven't been to any other grow It must have come from the soil?

I'm already growing close to a hydro system as it is and only use soil so I don't have to feed in veg. Would a coco based grow be less susceptible to these fuckers if I don't have outside cuttings or contact with other grows, or are they just a force of nature at this point?
 
Qube

Qube

Well-Known Member
I thought spider mites were the borg, but at least I could see them and the damage early on. these guys are invisible until the damage is done, not fair. lol.
 
Renfro

Renfro

Well-Known Member
Well russet mites can live on many species of plant, not like your buddy said. So plants around the outside of your home could be a source, or anywhere you like to go outside and have fun or do work. The most common way bugs of any kind get into our grows is we bring them in, either on ourselves or on something we brought in. Pets can also drag bugs like mites in from outside.

Call these guys up and see what they suggest for your IPM. https://www.arbico-organics.com/category/russet-mites-controls
 
Kushman_23

Kushman_23

Well-Known Member
I have a change of clothes in my grow room, they never leave. I always take a bath just before lights on, get dry and enter my room naked & get dressed in there.
Take precautions its all you can do, never enter ye grow in outside clothes & never directly after being outside
 
Kushman_23

Kushman_23

Well-Known Member
Phat J said:
Took me a couple years to wise up, but this part is solid advice. Getting naked is pretty extreme! Lol
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Hahah its only because i enter my grow directly from a shower/bath so i dont risk contaminating myself going into other rooms thats ive been in in my outside clothes
 
Qube

Qube

Well-Known Member
Renfro said:
Well russet mites can live on many species of plant, not like your buddy said. So plants around the outside of your home could be a source, or anywhere you like to go outside and have fun or do work. The most common way bugs of any kind get into our grows is we bring them in, either on ourselves or on something we brought in. Pets can also drag bugs like mites in from outside.

Call these guys up and see what they suggest for your IPM. https://www.arbico-organics.com/category/russet-mites-controls
Click to expand...

Here's my "buddy" https://webdoc.agsci.colostate.edu/hempinsects/PDFs/Hemp Russet Mite_New_6-28-18.pdf
 
Qube

Qube

Well-Known Member
Renfro said:
I was confusing them with broad mites. Sorry.
Click to expand...
It's all good. I definitely need to work on my ipm and appreciate all the info. I'm just trying to eliminate any vectors that aren't of the usual suspects.

I thought I had some heat stress with the tacoing leaves, until I supercropped the tops on a plant and this strange brown "dust" appeared on the knuckle. After looking at the dust under 100X magnification I saw the horror. lol.

At least now I know what to look I'm looking for and will start scoping my leaves instead of just looking under them.
 
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