Need advice on how to properly sterilize a flower room after a mite infestation

Howdy ho everyone, I got a mite infestation in my flower room on my last flower cycle. I made it through to harvest without a problem, but I've never gone through the process of properly sanitizing a flower room after a mite infestation. I bleached all the walls and floors with a 5% bleach solution (was trying to make 10% but ran short on bleach). I made up a 10% H202 and sprayed every square inch of the flower room. Ceilings, walls, fixtures, floor, closet, trim, garden wand, hose, portable a/c, window covering, door, and joists were all sprayed in an effort to eliminate any residual eggs that may be present. I did a little reading and it doesn't appear H202 kills eggs. I'll take any advice I can get here. I just want to do as much preventative treatment here as I possibly can. Mites really suck. I plan to move the next batch of plants in tomorrow, so I've got today to continue cleaning the room. At this point I plan to buy 2 more gallons of bleach to keep on hand for future sanitizing needs. I will make up 1 gallon of 10% solution for stock to clean after each flower cycle. I'll spray the entire room 2 thorough applications of the 10% bleach solution, and that's really all I got up my sleeve at this point. I will be treating all of my plants with Forbid 4F @ 75% recommended strength just before the 12/12 flip which should protect them for up to 6 weeks. I'm going all I can to fight these little motherfuckers. If anybody has been down this road before and can provide a little helpful advice I would be greatly appreciative. Mites are a real bitch.

bug bombs. set off a few in your room. stagger them a few days apart.

bleach spray + bug bomb just to start with,

Grabbing a 4 pack of bug bombs from home depot today. I'll hose the room down again in bleach solution then set off the bomb. I'll kill the ventilation and let if fumigate the rest of the day. I'll postpone moving plants until tomorrow to be safe. Good looking out fellas

Aside from cleaning, you want to figure out how the mites got into the grow.?. Is there any way that can be sealed up and prevented? Do you think they came in on clones or perhaps your person?

Renfro said:

Aside from cleaning, you want to figure out how the mites got into the grow.?. Is there any way that can be sealed up and prevented? Do you think they came in on clones or perhaps your person?

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I believe it was contamination from the outside. I think I was haphazard in walking into the room with contaminated outdoor shoes more than a couple of times. I don't take in clones from other growers these days because every time I have in the past their mites hitched a ride into my garden. I think this one is all on me attributed to operator error. I'm implementing some changes in procedure to hopefully prevent this from happening again. I will be the only one entering the flower room moving forward. I love my wife, but it's hard enough to keep track of if my shoes are contaminated much less if hers are. Less foot traffic. I will have a designated change area where I will change into "grow room clothes and shoes." Hell, I might just start entering the flower room in my boxers and suiting up into sanitary clothing once inside. I might keep a spray bottle of bleach water near the entry door to spray down my "grow room safe shoes" thoroughly before entering the room. Maybe overkill, but I want procedures in place to prevent this from happening again. If they never get into the garden you never have to deal with them. Sometimes when I'm outside looking at the flower garden I see mite webs allover the hostas and into the grass. I think I may pull up all the plants and lay down rock.

You could always spray the outdoor ornamentals with something strong that you wouldn't want to use on your cannabis. Avid, Forbid, Floramite, get you a nice little rotation going during the spring / summer months and you won't have any mites around your home. Maybe even throw a fungicide at them too so they don't end up with PM spores and shit.

or like you said, get rid of the plants entirely lol. Always use the expensive landscaping fabric under your rocks, the cheap stuff doesn't last and you get weeds in the rocks unless you spray with weed killer.

Renfro said:

You could always spray the outdoor ornamentals with something strong that you wouldn't want to use on your cannabis. Avid, Forbid, Floramite, get you a nice little rotation going during the spring / summer months and you won't have any mites around your home. Maybe even throw a fungicide at them too so they don't end up with PM spores and shit.

or like you said, get rid of the plants entirely lol. Always use the expensive landscaping fabric under your rocks, the cheap stuff doesn't last and you get weeds in the rocks unless you spray with weed killer.

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For some reason simple solutions often evade my aging mind. I never even thought of spraying a heavy duty pesticide on them to keep the mites away from the house. That sure sounds a lot easier than digging up a 20' row of plants I'm on it. Thanks man

I put on my respirator from harbor freight and some goggles. Sprayed 2 gallons of 10% bleach solution on everything I could hit. Kicked on the exhaust and dehumidifier. Letting it evaporate off for the rest of the day. I'll lay the tarp tomorrow and move the plants. After trimming for 2 weeks my back is shot, and I'm calling it an early day today.

Dawn dish soap in a spray bottle will kill them as well.

Renfro said:

Aside from cleaning, you want to figure out how the mites got into the grow.?. Is there any way that can be sealed up and prevented? Do you think they came in on clones or perhaps your person?

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If this is a Soil grow, I would bet on the soil being contaminated. Happened to myself many times at different periods of grows.

jonnynobody said:

I put on my respirator from harbor freight and some goggles. Sprayed 2 gallons of 10% bleach solution on everything I could hit. Kicked on the exhaust and dehumidifier. Letting it evaporate off for the rest of the day. I'll lay the tarp tomorrow and move the plants. After trimming for 2 weeks my back is shot, and I'm calling it an early day today.

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You will be fine after that .....they are easy to rid IF the plants are gone. Most things besides bombs kill them on contact , so your bleach wiped them out except for the obvious spots you couldnt reach. (if any) its best to give it a few days of no food being in there too.

Cold pressed orange oil. 4-6oz./gal. H2O. Finest organic (d-limonene) cleaner/solvent known to man and deadly to arthropods and many other pests.
Way too many uses to list. Bleach is so 1900's.

Jloi said:

If this is a Soil grow, I would bet on the soil being contaminated. Happened to myself many times at different periods of grows.

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Hydro water to waste dutch bucket style. I think they piggybacked on my shoes into the grow. My house is surrounded by plants and this year with the excessive heat and drought through summer spider mites webbed up about 1/3-1/2 of all the plants at the base outside. Shit even extended out onto the grass about 8". The wife and I have a 6 year old that insists on playing in the back yard, so it's a constant battle keeping contaminated clothing / shoes out of the basement entirely. Kids complicate everything eh? What can ya do? Gotta love the little fuckers

Next spring pick up a couple of beneficial nematodes sponges at your local nursery and treat your yard. No more mites, fleas, ticks, grubs etc.
Cheap and very effective.

jonnynobody said:

Hydro water to waste dutch bucket style. I think they piggybacked on my shoes into the grow. My house is surrounded by plants and this year with the excessive heat and drought through summer spider mites webbed up about 1/3-1/2 of all the plants at the base outside. Shit even extended out onto the grass about 8". The wife and I have a 6 year old that insists on playing in the back yard, so it's a constant battle keeping contaminated clothing / shoes out of the basement entirely. Kids complicate everything eh? What can ya do? Gotta love the little fuckers

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I've been told by a grower friend of mine he got a bad case of them and he sprayed his room with 91% isopropyl alcohol mixed in hot water using a garden sprayer said it knocked them right out. He tells me he keeps a spray bottle at the tent and spray's his shoes a few min before he goes in hasn't had a problem since...

I had spider mites once, Hot shot strips, works like a charm. Hung them up for a week, never seen a mite again.

pokergod99 said:

I had spider mites once, Hot shot strips, works like a charm. Hung them up for a week, never seen a mite again.

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i used hot shot strips before and didnt work at all but im guessing its because of the ventilation of the room they were in.

I had a friend with mites. Not the friend.. his room.. said he'd had them for as long as he could remember and just sort of lives with it.. horrid. I don't let him in my house.