Sup CO brothas 'n Sistas. Russet mites are a major plague that is spreading and will only get worse. Here is what I have learned:
#1) 30 day life cycle (+/- five for colder/hotter temps respecptively) This means You generally will not detect a major outbreak until 2 cycles have transpired as they do very little damage in the first run. Their infestation can be classified in 3 stages, based on the population. Stage 1--> initial phase, you have to be damn lucky to find them in this stage, you are chasing mites (closer to spiders than bugs) and they typically lay eggs on underside of leaves but I have seen upperside too. When eggs first hatch they will eat the area right around the egg, leaving a very small (1-2mm TOPS) brown ring/spot. If you use these as a guide you will increase your chances of finding the initial stage presence. Also any repeat ANY damage to a young leaf can be considered to be them if you know they are present and should be investigated. If this sounds like too much work, you should burn/bleach everything and start over. Hell even wait 30 days just to starve any that hatch from possible non-plant laying areas. If you look under a scope and do identify the mites, they will almost definitely be in larval stage--as small as 1/10th the size of the 200nm adults Stage 2--> Honeymoon phase. You will see some of the russeting described by the OP (brown spots) and if you supercrop/cut clones/prune, you may notice an orangy discoloration around any exposed sap. The mites are coming in for an easy drink. This is the most heartbreaking time to catch them because of this: These little bastards secrete growth hormones (PGRs, plant growth regulators) while they feed, so they will actually increase the growth rate and size of your plants making them look bombastic. Usually you have gone through 2+ 30day cycles with a small population to get here, or 1 cycle with a larger starting population (think incoming clones). If you look under a scope during this stage, you will see eggs, larvae, and adults. The adults obviously move much faster but they will not be frenzying yet. Stage 3--> Terminal phase. The plant is really showing damage at this point. Lower leaf russeting and other leaf damage is undeniably evident. The adults have begun to out-consume the plant and begin to collect on the uppermost growths (or wherever the conditions with the most light/wind are found on the plant), they also rush to any injured areas and can be seen swarming on the newest growths once terminal phase really takes hold. They will move to the edges of the windy leaves and blow to the next plant. If you look under the scope, depending where on the plant, you will see adults running around. If you look at one of the "orangy" looking new growths you will realize that the "orangy" color is actually hundreds and thousands of them writhing about. Suffice it to say that if you have fans in your room, or even not because they seem to really be able to move around fast as adults, if you have plants that reach terminal phase, ALL OF YOUR STOCK IS INFESTED
#2) Azamax/NEEM/Azadachtrin/Azatrol/Einstein Oil are all the same thing and do not work for shit. The only results I noticed were the soap in these products or my soap/neem mix helped to wash some of them off. Don't waste your time with these. Spinosad also a no-go. Haven't tried pyrethrum- and I don't use synthetics so I'm guessing it wont work. The literature--scant and speculative at best--mentions sulfur, probably because it is recommended for Aculops lycopersium (tomato russet mites) and I haven't heard of any real tests done for Aculops cannibicola (hemp russet mites). BTW Aculops canni are canni-specific, or at least I can confirm they don't like tomatoes and thus aren't A. lyco. Spidermites happily jumped during a similar test of mine. My opinion is that wettable sulfur has the highest likelihood of working, and a sulfur burner is probably a waste of time. The only method of control that has worked for me is to kill absolutely everything. Use logic to figure out if you should kill a plant. Was it in a different area so not spread by wind, but were you handling the plants in separate areas without changing gloves/washing hands? Because you'll be looking at hitchhiker effect for sure.
(edit: the capsicum remedies need to be looked at with a grain of salt. capsicum is a defense against fungal infection, so it might, repeat, MIGHT help against fungal spores, but I have never seen any scientific evidence of it working against a non-mammallian animal. Farmers spray it on their chicken feed so that rats wont eat it but it doesn't bother the chickens-no receptors. I'd be willing to bet the same goes for the mites as the chickens)
#3) The seed rumor comes because of the outbreak at Indiana University, they hypothesized that it came in on an imported seed. This doesn't mean that is where it came from, but it should be considered as a source. When potatoes are planted from spud, they are often dusted with sulfur, maybe a light dusting on a new seed wouldn't be a bad idea? Within the MEDMAR community I have seen it transfer by clone, and given how prevelant it seems to be, and the fact the the PGRs will induce earlier flowering and perhaps even increased yields, some people may continue to grow even after infestation----maybe even knowing that something is off? Either way these guys should easily be able to persist on traditionally dried/cured product in egg form for at least a few months, as they probably have to be able to do that in their native environment.
#4) Dispensaries are a major concern for contracting this bug, the sheer volume and variety that passes through the doors, handled every which way, and don't even get me started on the clone factories. Thats where I got mine. Also never underestimate the stupidity/laziness of others. Any clones of unknown integrity should be quarantined for at least the 30 days it would take for A. canni to go through a growth cycle, as this would be the only way to tell whether an active infestation is occuring, because it might be in Stage 1.
#5) GLoves Gloves Gloves Gloves Gloves.
Anyone scared yet? You should be. These things are evil and are only slightly thicker than the secretory hairs on the stems of our lovelies so they can be a real pain to ID. The 35x zOrb the OP used is also in my array and will be enough to catch them if you are dilligent. If you are unsure, take a video, and let it run for a few minutes, when you replay the video put it in 2x/4x/8x or something and you will be able to discern movement a lot easier---in my experience.
Hope some of this helps some of you,
MPP
Oh well, maybe can get some dry ice hash from it. Lets see how russet mites like the freezer (safely contained of course).
