dunit
Active Member
There is an Organophosphate Insecticide available commercially called Monitor 4. In western canada if affectionately goes by the name Stink Bomb at the grow stores and they ususally keep it behind the counter. It smells like nothing you can imagine and will make you gag.
The plus side is it is systemic which means you can add it to your water and it will soak up through the root and through the entire plant and make the entire plant toxic for about two weeks so it is especially effective for killing mites as when the eggs hatch the new mites bit the plant and die and don't reproduce so it stops the cycle. I've used it with 100% success for thrips, fungus gnats, spider mites and aphids.
Organophosphates are inert to the plant and won't cause leaf burn or leave residues like most of the sprays. It breaks down and clears the plant in four weeks so don't use withing a month of harvest.
The down side. It's incredibly toxic and systemic which means it can get in your system through skin contact so you need to wear nitrile rubber gloves when using and don't spill it on yourself and remember that anything it touches should be treated as toxic. This includes resevoirs, dirt, run-off etc.
The plus side is it is systemic which means you can add it to your water and it will soak up through the root and through the entire plant and make the entire plant toxic for about two weeks so it is especially effective for killing mites as when the eggs hatch the new mites bit the plant and die and don't reproduce so it stops the cycle. I've used it with 100% success for thrips, fungus gnats, spider mites and aphids.
Organophosphates are inert to the plant and won't cause leaf burn or leave residues like most of the sprays. It breaks down and clears the plant in four weeks so don't use withing a month of harvest.
The down side. It's incredibly toxic and systemic which means it can get in your system through skin contact so you need to wear nitrile rubber gloves when using and don't spill it on yourself and remember that anything it touches should be treated as toxic. This includes resevoirs, dirt, run-off etc.