Budwashing and spider mites

Fellow growers, what's happening!

So today I harvested a couple of branches of my pineapple express. Now I've battled spider mites throughout the grow. Kept them at bay, or atleast though I did. Given this was an outdoor grow, and with spider mites, I decided to bud wash as an expiriment.

I used 4 bowls. One with hydrogen peroxide 3% and filtered water, one with baking soda, lemon juice, and filtered water, and 2 with plain filtered water. I dunked and swirled them in each. Did a quick fan dry and put them under the microscope.

Under the scope, I see no mite activity at all. However. I do see a few webs in there yet. I also see a few black dots which I assume are spider mite or some other type of bug shit.

So with my experiment, it seems the bud washing didn't do everything it claims? Unless I misunderstood somewhere?

Interested to hear what others have found in this regard

Does anyone bud wash and know something that will breakdown/remove the webs?

Bud washing works to a certain extent. It will not get rid of all things you didn't prep for when you grew.

But it does help so you are smoking less of your fuck ups.

Also if there are still webs on there you flat out were not aggressive enough during your washing.

Swishing around a couple of times ain't gonna do it. Dont be scared to get after it harder.

This is the result you are looking for.

I dunked each branch and swished fairly hard for a long time.

I like the bud washing for outdoor grows. Its time consuming if you have a lot of harvest. I like it because it takes off a lot of dirt and bug residue. But sometimes I just don't have the time to do it. I noticed that it worked better when I trimmed all the leaves off.

TessaMaria said:

I like the bud washing for outdoor grows. Its time consuming if you have a lot of harvest. I like it because it takes off a lot of dirt and bug residue. But sometimes I just don't have the time to do it. I noticed that it worked better when I trimmed all the leaves off.

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It takes a long time yep. Past 2 years I have cleared all vegetation out of the area where I grow and keep my pest management inspections on schedule. I haven't had to bud wash since doing this as I have zero bug issues.

TessaMaria said:

I like the bud washing for outdoor grows. Its time consuming if you have a lot of harvest. I like it because it takes off a lot of dirt and bug residue. But sometimes I just don't have the time to do it. I noticed that it worked better when I trimmed all the leaves off.

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Do you mind sharing your method? Trimming and then washing sounds intriguing. I'd imagine it would help alot with the webbing.

Wizzlebiz said:

Bud washing works to a certain extent. It will not get rid of all things you didn't prep for when you grew.

But it does help so you are smoking less of your fuck ups.

Also if there are still webs on there you flat out were not aggressive enough during your washing.

Swishing around a couple of times ain't gonna do it. Dont be scared to get after it harder.

Click to expand...

Fair assessment, thanks for the feedback. How would you reccomend I prep for spider mites in the future as a preventative maintenance? I make a habanero foilar that I use throughout the grow which seems to help, but you have to do it every 3-5 days. I didn't stay true to that schedule. Is there something organic I can possibly mix into the soil to repel them? Already considering companion plants for next season.

Wizzlebiz said:

This is the result you are looking for.

I dunked each branch and swished fairly hard for a long time.

H2O2 wash/Fresh water wash

Did a wash today with H202 warm water followed by a fresh cold water wash. Here were the results. As we can see the H202 took care of the bulk of the crap from the ash and such. The fresh water rinsed the 1st wash off and offered additional cleaning. But look how clear that second bucket...

www.rollitup.org

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Thanks for sharing. I read it & have a few questions if you don't mind.

When you say the water must be warm, are you talking lukewarm, room temp, hot, Scolding, etc.? Ha. I used cold water only. I wonder if the water temp could tributes to the water color change.

Did you verify your wash under a scope?

How long did you submerge each branch?

dankydank1973 said:

Thanks for sharing. I read it & have a few questions if you don't mind.

When you say the water must be warm, are you talking lukewarm, room temp, hot, Scolding, etc.? Ha. I used cold water only. I wonder if the water temp could tributes to the water color change.

Did you verify your wash under a scope?

How long did you submerge each branch?

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You don't want it crazy hot. Mine was about 100 degrees. But just like everything else warmth losens things up. If you use only cold water you are essentially making it stick tighter to your buds.

I swished for about 2 minutes per branch. Has to be long enough to drown anything holding on. Trichomes are not water soluble. If the water is too hot then you will have an issue.

I the aggressively swished in the bucket with warm water to clean it up as well as possible.

Id say each branch took me about 3 minutes.
Yes its a ton of time but it was worth it.

Yes I did scope it when I did it. I will not claim it was sparkling clean. But it was leaps and bounds cleaner than the branch I held to the side for comparison.

dankydank1973 said:

Fair assessment, thanks for the feedback. How would you reccomend I prep for spider mites in the future as a preventative maintenance? I make a habanero foilar that I use throughout the grow which seems to help, but you have to do it every 3-5 days. I didn't stay true to that schedule. Is there something organic I can possibly mix into the soil to repel them? Already considering companion plants for next season.

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I’m battling spider mites with my outdoor grow (super soil/5gal. Air-pots, Ph Perfect Nutes in Flower) and I’m using Trifecta Crop Control, it’s Ll natural and my plants love it. I think the acidic nature of the oils is what they like, as I noticed My soils is running a bit alkaline. The Trifecta is Thyme, clove, garlic , corn oil and citric acid, think it has Rosemary as well. You apply every 3 days, I’m on my second application and the girls stand up immediately. Best to spray under side of leaves and work ur way up from bottom to top.

First timer, I'm in the 5th week of flower. I have spider mites. I wiped almost every leaf with alcohol water solution, yesterday. After close inspection today, I can see I still have have them. If I spray the alc/h2o solution on the entire plant, including the flowers, will it harm the buds?
Thanks

dadoo said:

First timer, I'm in the 5th week of flower. I have spider mites. I wiped almost every leaf with alcohol water solution, yesterday. After close inspection today, I can see I still have have them. If I spray the alc/h2o solution on the entire plant, including the flowers, will it harm the buds?
Thanks

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Think so. go get some doctor zymes or citric acid might help

Lizard0420 said:

Think so. go get some doctor zymes or citric acid might help

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Thanks, I'll give it a try. I sprayed neem oil in the soil over the wknd, now my buds don't smell as nice. I hope I have enough time,before harvest, for it to cycle through, so it won't ruin the taste or smell. Any thoughts?

dadoo said:

Thanks, I'll give it a try. I sprayed neem oil in the soil over the wknd, now my buds don't smell as nice. I hope I have enough time,before harvest, for it to cycle through, so it won't ruin the taste or smell. Any thoughts?

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Neem oil in the soil will not affect the taste or smell of your plant. #neemgate.
It will, however affect the taste if SPRAYED on your buds through late flower. You can use it up to week 2-3ish.
Spiders mites are the most common and easiest bugs to get rid of. There's multiple ways to do it. Dont go spraying your plants with everything under the sink.
Products that work good but not limited to
Botanigard es
Nukem
Harvest miracle (copper/sulphur)
Elium (atak) (copper/sulphur)
Athena ipm spray
Doktor doom fogger (not in later flower)
Insecticidal soap
Neem oil
Vacuum (suck their asses up!)

@Rurumo and/or @xtsho make their own sprays too with Citric acid. Cheap and effective.
There's many ways to get rid of them. You need to figure out what's best for you in your situation and don't let it get out of hand (vacuum cleaner last resort suck em up). The worse it gets eg webbing etc. The worse it's gona be for you to get rid of. Good luck
Noot noot

dadoo said:

First timer, I'm in the 5th week of flower. I have spider mites. I wiped almost every leaf with alcohol water solution, yesterday. After close inspection today, I can see I still have have them. If I spray the alc/h2o solution on the entire plant, including the flowers, will it harm the buds?
Thanks

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Do not put alcohol on your plants!

Alcohol dissolves resins. Maybe. Ot dissolves, but lets say removes. I clean my bowl by shaking Alcohol in it. It all comes right out..kit...

Try a homerew spray. Mix thyme, cinnamon, rosemary, habanero and garlic in water. Lightly simmer, pot covered) until aromatic. Cool it. Strain it. Soak every inch of the plant. Repeat in 5-7 days.

I just came across an Ed Rosenthal product which is basically the same recipe.

Also you can try something like pu

Try 1 tsp citric acid mixed in 16 Oz of water.