Mites in my soil

Just like the title says, I think there are mites in my soil, must have gotten a bad batch of FFOF or something. I was checking on my seeds to see if they popped (direct seed germination), and when lightly digging around, I noticed one small mite. When the light hit, it ran back into the soil, it was brown and clearly visible.

I'm using 3gal GroPro smart pots with feminised Autoflower seeds. I've heard of completely submerging the pot in a bucket of water for a few seconds to flush out all mites and eggs. My question is, will this effect the yield of Autoflowers since they do not like being transplanted to begin with?

Since they are still only a few days old, only taproots, I was thinking of taking them out before they establish a root system and submerging the pots without them. I've also heard of ant/mite killer which apparently is a powder that needs to be sprinkled over top soil before watering.

This is the first time I've had this problem, not sure what is the best method for this situation, not too crazy about handling taproots at this stage since they are pretty long. Any advice?

I've heard about mites in FFOF quite
a few times in the past few weeks here at RLOL .
FFOF is what I use and I hope I don't get any mites
on my next transplant. Maybe someone is
letting the company know that their soil has mites
and they correct the problem.
Good luck on your situation. Sounds like it could be
corrected.

Milovan said:

I've heard about mites in FFOF quite
a few times in the past few weeks here at RLOL .
FFOF is what I use and I hope I don't get any mites
on my next transplant. Maybe someone is
letting the company know that their soil has mites
and they correct the problem.
Good luck on your situation. Sounds like it could be
corrected.

Click to expand...

Thanks man, I've used FFOF twice before, each time ordered off Amazon and never had this problem. This time I went to a local hardware store since it was half the price and, voila critters running around in my soil. Hopefully someone who has ran into the situation can shed some light. I'm thinking submersion is probably best given I can probably take out the taproot without damaging it, I just don't know if it's worth the risk.

Simply take it back to the store, eventually the FFOF company will learn of this, and replace it with newer product

Don't wanna do that ...spray with neem oil will do it >>> to my blog: https://www.rollitup.org/blogs/blog32238-neem-oil.html

https://www.rollitup.org/grow-journals/800811-jointeds-journey.html

Dutchy check out my journal. I'm dealing with a mite infestation now. The last 4-5 pages is where you'll find the info you're lookin for. Hope this helps you bro....J

I've been using FFOF for my last 6 grows without a prob
up until this last new grow I too got mites and I know they had
to of come from FFOF. I'm interested in your situation and
hopefully some will chime in and can shed some light like you said.

jointed said:

https://www.rollitup.org/grow-journals/800811-jointeds-journey.html

Dutchy check out my journal. I'm dealing with a mite infestation now. The last 4-5 pages is where you'll find the info you're lookin for. Hope this helps you bro....J

Click to expand...

I don't think they're spider mites, more like soil mites or something, it was pretty big and brownish in color. I don't have a pic but it was crawling around the taproot, seedlings still haven't shed their cases yet. Thanks for the link tho, lookin good!

I just did....Check Cascadians, Cannacoves and DCodeens advice...J

The advice still stands...J

Make that 6-8 pages, it's movin fast

Thanks for linking that J... saved me some typing.

I have read several threads about FFOF over the past few months and I remember one person claiming that some batches of FFOF have had predatory mites intentionally added but not listed on the bag. It was also said that FFOF is made in at least 2 different locations. It is possible that from Amazon it was one location and locally was another? I have switched my base soil to organic Edna's Best not because I am convinced there is a problem with FFOF, just to be safe...

If they really are predator mites they could be your new best friend.

If not then the earlier you start the battle the better!

There are a lot of different mites out there in the world. Might not be the evil spider mite you are thinking of if it's living in the soil. For instance, there are a ton of mites in my compost pile but they've never hurt any of the plants I apply the compost to.

jointed said:

Make that 6-8 pages, it's movin fast

Click to expand...

Yeah, there's a lot of useful info there, does the pepper juice work and can I apply it to soil? I'm seriously debating just going to the store and getting another bag of FFOF then transplanting the tap root with tweezers or something unless there is a better solution.

Cascadian said:

Thanks for linking that J... saved me some typing.

I have read several threads about FFOF over the past few months and I remember one person claiming that some batches of FFOF have had predatory mites intentionally added but not listed on the bag. It was also said that FFOF is made in at least 2 different locations. It is possible that from Amazon it was one location and locally was another? I have switched my base soil to organic Edna's Best not because I am convinced there is a problem with FFOF, just to be safe...

If they really are predator mites they could be your new best friend.

If not then the earlier you start the battle the better!

Click to expand...

Thanks for the help Cascadian! Reading through jointed's thread, I came across this link : http://www.organicgardeninfo.com/predatory-mite.html

I'm not positive but it did look similar, not too crazy about having mites in my grow tent, beneficial or not, they should have disclosed it upfront. I'm not sure where it was mixed, is there any way to test what kind of mites they are? Like seeing if they are attracted to a piece of fruit or something along those lines?

If they are predatory mites you want them there, once what they eat is gone they will just die off. They wont hurt you or your plants....J

As another person already said there a lot of different mite species. I know the 2 most common pest spider mites are the two spotted and the red or "european". That predator mite in the pic is red but there is also a pest mite that is red too. I have never had predator mites so I can't speak from experience on them. Hopefully someone else will give you some better tips.

Yeah, I know some people don't want any bugs in the grow just so there won't be anything sticking to or dying in their buds.
The habanero water will kill the adults, some people claim it will kill the eggs but I don't believe it. A Neem drench would be a good idea too as well as adding another product like pyrethrin, azamax, spinosad, etc. Opinions vary on it so I would do a search and read several threads, check out the bugs subforum in plant problems too.

Good Luck

Dutchy018 said:

Yeah, there's a lot of useful info there, does the pepper juice work and can I apply it to soil? I'm seriously debating just going to the store and getting another bag of FFOF then transplanting the tap root with tweezers or something unless there is a better solution.

Click to expand...

Hell yes it does, but be careful as it is really strong and can burn the crap outta you. You just water it right in, won't bother your plant one bit...J

Another bag o bugs. Come on ppl, freeze soil before use.

I agree with jointed it won't hurt the plants at all... but they are autos and they are 3 days old so care should be taken. You also want avoid getting the soil too water logged. You are in a tough spot for sure. Maybe try to very carefully get them into a smaller container like a solo cup and switch out your soil while treating the smaller amount of soil in the cup more easily. idk, just throwing that out there, I hesitate to recommend messing with a seedling that age at all...
If you have a good amount of perlite for drainage in your soil the drench solution won't be as big of a concern.

The real bitch of the situation is they are already in your grow and even if you switch out the soil and treat the cups they could have made it into cracks and crevices in your tent or room where the tent is. They can hibernate for long periods. They aren't called the "Borg" for nothing..

SnapsProvolone said:

Another bag o bugs. Come on ppl, freeze soil before use.

Click to expand...

My soil was frozen and I still got em, as a matter of fact I had to use another bag of frozen dirt to beat the one I wanted off the fuckin pile...J