Mite problem solved?

[mr.smileyface]

Hey fellow rollitupers. I had a serious case of mites which i think i solved. I sprayed neem oil waited to days and got in there with the azamax. I used a two gallon sprayer so i could get under the leaves better. I went in there tonight and the bugs turned white. I dont have a scope so i cant look. But before i sprayed them they looked orangy red. now they are flakes of white. Are they dead yet? how quik will they come back. i got them pretty good with the azamax. They are in the forth week of 12.12 i avoided spraying the buds with the azamax because its potent. I got under the leafs really good and put fans on them to dry so i can lower my lights back. I think im going to get them with azamax one more time and then the neem a week after to make sure i got em all. it was kinda bad. There was a few cob webs on some top colas. After i sprayed the neem, they looked alot better. Any ideas or experiances. Or even give your two cents.

 

[closetbud]

just make sure you spray for 1-2 weeks becasue they can come back fast if you think they are all gone... little basterds

 

[mr.smileyface]

yea i was going to do another 2 weeks of spraying twice a week. I do it lighter each time so the bud doesnt smoke harsh

 

[mr.smileyface]

How do i know when they are dead?

 

[sherriberry]

How do i know when they are dead?

no one does... you just keep spraying

figrue that every 2-3 days their eggs hatch, so even if you killed all last night...

some eggs hatched today, and will tomorrow.

so even if you spray again tomorrow, realize, the mites that hatched today might have already laid more eggs...

which will hatch in 4 days.

so... your best bet is jsut keep spraying every 2 days or even every day if your plants can take it

if your room is air tight, or close to air tight, get this stuff called buhach powder...

you can lite it on fire, and it smoulders in a emtpy tuna can, and puts off a chemical that paralyzes the bugs, so they die.

this way its not being sprayed on your plants.

i suggest turning off exhaust fans while using the smoke.

i usually do it right before lights out, and go ahead and shut off my exhaust fan, and leave the smoke in there overnight.

next morning when lights come back on, turn the vent fan back on.

still use aza in the meantime... but the smoke keeps them from hatching and being able to lay new eggs.

 

[mr.smileyface]

no one does... you just keep spraying

figrue that every 2-3 days their eggs hatch, so even if you killed all last night...

some eggs hatched today, and will tomorrow.

so even if you spray again tomorrow, realize, the mites that hatched today might have already laid more eggs...

which will hatch in 4 days.

so... your best bet is jsut keep spraying every 2 days or even every day if your plants can take it

if your room is air tight, or close to air tight, get this stuff called buhach powder...

you can lite it on fire, and it smoulders in a emtpy tuna can, and puts off a chemical that paralyzes the bugs, so they die.

this way its not being sprayed on your plants.

i suggest turning off exhaust fans while using the smoke.

i usually do it right before lights out, and go ahead and shut off my exhaust fan, and leave the smoke in there overnight.

next morning when lights come back on, turn the vent fan back on.

still use aza in the meantime... but the smoke keeps them from hatching and being able to lay new eggs.

Thanks i think i will just spray them down every three days untill 6 weeks

 

[DannyGreenEyes]

You don't have to spray that often. It takes approx 4 or 5 days for a seed to hatch, and another 4 or 5 days before they can lay eggs. So spraying once every 5 to 7 days is plenty.

You may want to change up your spray though. Mites can develope immunities in as little as 1 generation. So it's best if you change your pesticide each time you treat.

Good luck man.

P.S. If I was that far into flower, I'd use suffocants instead of insecticides. Actually I'd only use insecticides in emergencies as a last resort. The mites can't develope immunities to being suffocated.

 

[sherriberry]

danny... there must be lame bugs where you live because where i am, they get it on, and i can spray every 3 days, and they die, and their populations come right back by the 3rd day

 

[mr.smileyface]

danny... there must be lame bugs where you live because where i am, they get it on, and i can spray every 3 days, and they die, and their populations come right back by the 3rd day

what do you spray with? im using neem and azamax

 

[sherriberry]

what do you spray with? im using neem and azamax

i use aza

i need to find neem oil tho... i prob should buy it online somewhere, i cant find it local.

 

[DannyGreenEyes]

danny... there must be lame bugs where you live because where i am, they get it on, and i can spray every 3 days, and they die, and their populations come right back by the 3rd day

Mites shouldn't even be big enough for you to see in 3 days. They're not visable till they're adults. Sounds like you're missing some of the adolescents when you spray.

It takes no less than 4 to 6 days to go from new egg to nymph, here's a qote....
"The eggs hatch in two or three days and the larvae emerge from the egg shell to feed. Larvae are slow moving and do not disperse far. After two or or three days, the larvae develop into a quiescent larval (nymph) stage. Quiescent female larvae become attractive to the males which pick them up and carry them to the new foliage."

This is the growth cycle for a Broad Mite, and every mite is different. Growth cycle included. You can read up on various types of mites on this site http://entomology.ifas.ufl.edu/creatures/orn/broad_mite.htm

So if you're seeing more adult mites (adult is the next stage after nymph) in 3 days then you're missing some of the youngins when you spray, or they're starting to become immune to whatevery you're using.

For most mites every 5 days is good. But it is a good idea to identify your mite and check their life cycle.

 

[mr.smileyface]

i use aza

i need to find neem oil tho... i prob should buy it online somewhere, i cant find it local.

i got them pretty good and raised the humidity as they were sitting is azamax. And i spread them out more and put better fans on them. I also took the heater out of the room for colder nights. Im in B.C and its not to cold out here. You have to turn the lights on at night or the plants will get to cold. Hopeful the neem i gave them and the azamax will work. Im going back with neem tomorrow and soaking under those leafs.

 

[DannyGreenEyes]

i got them pretty good and raised the humidity as they were sitting is azamax. And i spread them out more and put better fans on them. I also took the heater out of the room for colder nights. Im in B.C and its not to cold out here. You have to turn the lights on at night or the plants will get to cold. Hopeful the neem i gave them and the azamax will work. Im going back with neem tomorrow and soaking under those leafs.

Sounds like you're doing everything right.

Neem is a good suffocant. I've also heard that it makes them sterile, but I'm not sure if that's a fact or a rumor. But they can't become immune to suffocants, and it's all natural, so it's a good choice.

In the future, Lady Bugs make a good precauction. I recently had 3 infestations at the same time. The Broad Mites had already "dug in", and spider mites & fungus gnats recently showed up.

I used another suffocant (Mite X) and sprayed everything to the point of saturation (don't forget to spray everything in the room), put a stocking screen over my intake, disconnected my exhaust from the outside world, then released 3,000 lady bugs for my 7 plants.

The spider mites & fungus gnats never returned. The lady bugs finished them off for me. The white mites returned, but the lady bugs kept them off the plants for the most part. They also kept the mites near extinction, but lady bugs wont finish off their food supply.

So last Friday I used a Neem concentrate and sprayed everything again (lady bugs are ok with suffocants). I also cleaned everything, even the back side of the mylar.

I'm going to spray again on Friday with a Neem/Fungicide ready to use spray, and then one more time with the Mite X again the following Friday. The next two treatments are more of a precaution though. I haven't seen another White Mite since I sprayed last Friday. & I only saw one when I sprayed.

After you get rid of this infestation, you should start thinking of precautions..... Lady Bugs, Screens for intake & exhaust, changing clothes before going into the grow rooms, etc....

There's no 100% effective precaustion, but every little bit helps.

And one last thing about lady bugs. Most pests including mites wont make a nest when predators are present. Even if you do get mites while they're present, the lady bugs will keep their numbers low, and will keep them off the plants for the most part. Them & screens are your best 2 lines of defense.

But quick warning, lady bugs are kind of a pain to take care of.

 

[mr.smileyface]

i would need a couple million lady bugs haha.
im just going to cycle with neem and azamax.
i sprayed the floor with 10%bleach dilute. i also got the walls with neem and azamax on differnt days. I went to jail for a bit and got out.. i had 400 babies before i went in and now we have 160 going(thanks bro) at least i got something going for me . I came there and the carcoal filter wasnt hooked up and the big fan was on for intake so i think the mites came in throught the intake... So when i arrived "home" I took the big fan and put it ontop of the filter and for intake i just used the old vent for outtake. with out a fan just passive air. i spread the plants out and gave them what they needed for food and added more fans for circilation. i also cleaned a bit of stuff up and removed the runts. Its going well now! there was a serious bug problem that i hit hard with a good sprayer. I mix 30ml azamax with one gallon and i used that one gallon in there under those leaves in one night. Im going back in a few days and getting them with neem and then im going to get them with azamax at the start of week 5. then need at the end of the week. I think that should get them. If it doesnt im going to keep hitting them with neem oil and make it really cold before i cut. I want my pk to be purple. Im going to water them with floraflush and ice cubes for week 8.. I hope they get gone because i have to bring the dehum in there from week 6-8 to bring it down to 50%. thats not good for mite controll tho. The mites were reallly bad and dont think i got them all. what would happen if i do controll them till the end? would i have mites in my bud or not?

 

[DannyGreenEyes]

The cold will slow them down as long as they're spider mites, and the humidity will slow them down too. Might even kill a few with the humidity. But different mites act differently. The Broad Mite I had liked it humid.

But you really want to get screens over your vents. Stockings work in a pinch, but thrip screens or filters are better.

You're right about the lady bugs, you need about 500 per plants because they don't like to stay on the plants. So you'd need about 30,000. At $8 for 1500, that works out to be a good chunk of change, around $1,500 if I'm not mistaken. But as fast as they die, they'd be too much headache to be worth it even if you had the extra cash to burn. lol

 

[mr.smileyface]

The cold will slow them down as long as they're spider mites, and the humidity will slow them down too. Might even kill a few with the humidity. But different mites act differently. The Broad Mite I had liked it humid.

But you really want to get screens over your vents. Stockings work in a pinch, but thrip screens or filters are better.

You're right about the lady bugs, you need about 500 per plants because they don't like to stay on the plants. So you'd need about 30,000. At $8 for 1500, that works out to be a good chunk of change, around $1,500 if I'm not mistaken. But as fast as they die, they'd be too much headache to be worth it even if you had the extra cash to burn. lol

I even sprayed the azamax up the intake haha. the intake is just a piece of ducting with no fan attached. The outtake is the 700cfm filter and 8inch inline fan. its going in the attic. i ran that 24.7 for security. im going to bring another one in at the end just to control the smell of the pk. Ona is a good choice for the attic

 

[DannyGreenEyes]

I even sprayed the azamax up the intake haha. the intake is just a piece of ducting with no fan attached. The outtake is the 700cfm filter and 8inch inline fan. its going in the attic. i ran that 24.7 for security. im going to bring another one in at the end just to control the smell of the pk. Ona is a good choice for the attic

I also use ONA in a modified in line odor eliminator of my own design. Smells like a freshly cleaned public bathroom though. lol But at least it don't smell like herb.

Not sure what kind of filter that is, but remember that mites are microscopic when they're young. So it's gotta be a good filter, or one you can treat with oil, like a car cone air filter.

For the intake you might be able to use WD40 or some other type of oil that doesn't dry out. If a mite tries to crawl across it, they'll get stuck in it & suffocate. It might not stop flying pests, but they're a lot easier to kill off than mites.

You might also try praying mantisis. They don't die as quickly as lady bugs and you wouldn't need as many. But you have to make sure you scape their eggs off your leaves or their young will damage your plants.

Good luck with your current infestation. I hope you get them before they do too much damage.

 

[mr.smileyface]

Not sure what kind of filter that is, but remember that mites are microscopic when they're young. So it's gotta be a good filter, or one you can treat with oil, like a car cone air filter.
No no its a carbon filter for the smell. i dont care if they go out the outtake

 

[mr.smileyface]

I also use ONA in a modified in line odor eliminator of my own design. Smells like a freshly cleaned public bathroom though. lol But at least it don't smell like herb.

Not sure what kind of filter that is, but remember that mites are microscopic when they're young. So it's gotta be a good filter, or one you can treat with oil, like a car cone air filter.

For the intake you might be able to use WD40 or some other type of oil that doesn't dry out. If a mite tries to crawl across it, they'll get stuck in it & suffocate. It might not stop flying pests, but they're a lot easier to kill off than mites.

You might also try praying mantisis. They don't die as quickly as lady bugs and you wouldn't need as many. But you have to make sure you scape their eggs off your leaves or their young will damage your plants.

Good luck with your current infestation. I hope you get them before they do too much damage.

No no its a carbon filter. i dont care if mites get sucked out of the room

 

[DannyGreenEyes]

No no its a carbon filter. i dont care if mites get sucked out of the room

They wont get sucked out. But if it's cold outside your exhaust can be a bigger target than your intake. The mites may follow the source of the heat right to your plants.

And don't think they can't, you ever see a bug hang on to your windsheild at 40 or 50 mph?

A stocking would be the easiest fix on your exhaust because you don't want to get oil in your carbon filter (carbon filters wont keep mites out). If you can rig your exhaust & intake up with one of those cone car air filters that you're supposed to treat with oil, that may be the best & least expensive fix next to the stockings. Just remember to spray it with oil every once in a while.