The last thread you'll ever need on spider mites......

[SSHZ]

People that have these little buggers (think BORG) know they are nearly impossible to totally get rid of. I have posted over the last few years in many others thread, thinking I found the newest, the greatest, the best answer to finally remove them for good. I have tried nearly everything on the market at one time or another.......but they eventually come back. ALWAYS. The list includes Doktor Doom Knockout, Bayer Advanced, Azamax, Safer Insect Soap, Neem Oil by various companys, Green Clean, Mighty Wash, No Spider Mites, Pyrethrum Foggers, Live Ladybugs, Mite X, Avid, Atomic Green, Liquid Ladybug, Monterey Garden Spray, hot pepper sprays and I'm sure I'm leaving a few off the list I can't remember. I also bleached the entire room numerous times, threw out the pots and started over with clean, new ones, raised my co2 levels and water blasting them off the leaves. Some things temporarily worked better than others, but they always, eventually came back. We're talking on and off for over 2+ years.

Out of desperation, I tried Hot Spots. Those little thingy's you hang in your garage or utility room to kill of ants, spiders, roaches, flies, etc........the package states they can cause cancer so they were used as an absolute last resort item. I put one in the room, sealed the room around and under the door, turned everything off and let it sit for 2 days. In previous posts I strongly recommended NOT using these, especially in flowering plants that could absorb the vapor into the buds and plants (which I'm not sure if that actually happens or not). You can actually be around them for up to 4 hours without any harmful effects, per the package.....but I chose to just seal the room, stay out and then turn the exhaust system back on for an hour before I re-entered again.

Dam things worked like a dream. I'm in my 2nd week of flowering, not a problem in site. Leaves are all perfect, problem is solved. IT'S BEEN AROUND 4 MONTHS now with no bugs. I'm sure there will be people will negatively comment on them BUT if you are having a problem and are at your wits end....spend the $7 and buy one of these at Walmart, Home Depot, etc. Close the room up, let them do their thing. If it worked for me in my large grow area with 24-28 plants at a time, they will definitely work for most of you.

Here's the bottom line......mites are incredibly small, extremely resilant and resistant to many of the products currently available. If you are spraying or applying anything, if you miss JUST 1 mite.....they'll be back. Count on it! They are on your lights, clothing, pets, walls, pots, flooring, containers, medium, etc. One mite will turn in thousands in no time at all. I've sworn too many times "I got them all" but they just kept on appearing again and again. Not any more!

 

[BarnBuster]

You're talking about No Pest Strips? Been a firm believer in these for years. They tend to off gas pretty quick so I like to hang several.

 

[Dr. Who]

Forbid 4F
Lightly spray tops of the leaves
BOOM - Done!

 

[Final Phase]

SSHZ - I know your pain!
I spent 9 months dealing with them and ended up with a grow of only 12 oz. that should have been 5 lbs. I ended up getting them with No Spider Mite, but not the way they recommended in their directions. It took THREE applications not TWO to kill them off - That damn near killed off the plants. The main grow area with flowering plants in it had to be sprayed with water (can't use No Spider Mite on flowering plants - then sprayed the dirt floor with clorox every day until harvest) - every bud was nuked in a micro 10 seconds at at time to kill the ones on the buds...

I tried using about everything too - The mites adapt to posions very rapidly. I wasn't able to locate Hot Spots before - It's been 3 years since I dealt with them. I'll be sure to buy some next time.

Note: I had spider mites brought in on clones on two earlier occastions and was able to get rid of them with less desperate measures... Once they infest a space - look out they can be a living nightmare!

 

[chuck estevez]

Have had regular and broad mites, One thing I did to get rid of them that other people don't do.

When you chop and hang your plant, any mites left, including eggs that hatch, will climb to the top( or bottom of plant) that is when you burn the fuck out of them. Now you don't transfer eggs and mites when you go to trim and move your plants around.
The other thing is FANS, they climb to the top and ride the breeze to the next plant. I turned them off when I was at war.
I also put tanglefoot around the base of my saucers, now they can't climb up from the floor.

 

[SSHZ]

Hot Spots is the name brand........I'm sure there are other company's making similar products. Make sure it's a broad spectrum bug killer and you'll be fine.

As for you chuck..........I've used tanglefoot around the tops and bottoms of my pots and have numerous fans blowing in the room. For a group of small plants, these ideas will work fine. My issue, I believe, was they were crawling up the wall where leaves were touching. Cool temp's are also supposed to slow them down but that's tough when u used 2 1000 watt bulbs in an enclosed room.

 

[Bear420]

People that have these little buggers (think BORG) know they are nearly impossible to totally get rid of. I have posted over the last few years in many others thread, thinking I found the newest, the greatest, the best answer to finally remove them for good. I have tried nearly everything on the market at one time or another.......but they eventually come back. ALWAYS. The list includes Doktor Doom Knockout, Bayer Advanced, Azamax, Safer Insect Soap, Neem Oil by various companys, Green Clean, Mighty Wash, No Spider Mites, Pyrethrum Foggers, Live Ladybugs, Mite X, Avid, Atomic Green, Liquid Ladybug, Monterey Garden Spray, hot pepper sprays and I'm sure I'm leaving a few off the list I can't remember. I also bleached the entire room numerous times, threw out the pots and started over with clean, new ones, raised my co2 levels and water blasting them off the leaves. Some things temporarily worked better than others, but they always, eventually came back. We're talking on and off for over 2+ years.

Out of desperation, I tried Hot Spots. Those little thingy's you hang in your garage or utility room to kill of ants, spiders, roaches, flies, etc........the package states they can cause cancer so they were used as an absolute last resort item. I put one in the room, sealed the room around and under the door, turned everything off and let it sit for 2 days. In previous posts I strongly recommended NOT using these, especially in flowering plants that could absorb the vapor into the buds and plants (which I'm not sure if that actually happens or not). You can actually be around them for up to 4 hours without any harmful effects, per the package.....but I chose to just seal the room, stay out and then turn the exhaust system back on for an hour before I re-entered again.

Dam things worked like a dream. I'm in my 2nd week of flowering, not a problem in site. Leaves are all perfect, problem is solved. IT'S BEEN AROUND 4 MONTHS now with no bugs. I'm sure there will be people will negatively comment on them BUT if you are having a problem and are at your wits end....spend the $7 and buy one of these at Walmart, Home Depot, etc. Close the room up, let them do their thing. If it worked for me in my large grow area with 24-28 plants at a time, they will definitely work for most of you.

Here's the bottom line......mites are incredibly small, extremely resilant and resistant to many of the products currently available. If you are spraying or applying anything, if you miss JUST 1 mite.....they'll be back. Count on it! They are on your lights, clothing, pets, walls, pots, flooring, containers, medium, etc. One mite will turn in thousands in no time at all. I've sworn too many times "I got them all" but they just kept on appearing again and again. Not any more!

Hello SSHZ, Did you Mean Hot Shot ? I've seen that but not Hot Spot, is that correct, Just wondering for Preventative Measures, Been Using Organi Bliss Now for Months and have not had any Problems, Hope it keeps working but I have heard Nightmares about those little pests, and someone should come out with a easier solution, And May be you have, Keep us Posted on your Room, If there gone that's a great thing, Oh one more thing are the Hang ups or Fog, ? Thanks My Friend Info is always a good thing.

 

[st0wandgrow]

I personally wouldn't use those or give buds to my patients (some with compromised immune systems) that have been exposed to those chemicals. Each to their own though.

To me the best defense against any bug is to make your plants unappealing to pests. I have found that inoculating my soil with beneficial microbes, and then adding neem seed meal and crab shell meal to the soil works like a charm. I used to have mites, thrips, gnats, etc. NON STOP!! I haven't had a bug of any variety fucking with my plants in 2+ years since I started amending my soil. No spraying necessary.

 

[Michael Huntherz]

I totally got rid of them on my first plant (she was an only child) with a bit of water to which I added light castile soap and some cinnamon oil. Then I kept the humidity very high, blasting the leaves with water a few times a day. They didn't seem to like the high humidity, a tip from an arborist friend. I'm sure if you have multiple infested plants it becomes MUCH more difficult, but I haven't seen them since.

In the future I'll be using diatomaceous earth on the soil and neem oil on foliage prophylactically. I haven't heard of using crab shell meal, @st0wandgrow - same idea as DE, I assume.

 

[SSHZ]

When u only have a few plants, it's MUCH easier to get rid of them. BUT, when you have 24 plants packed in a room, with many plant leaves touching each other- it's a whole new ball game. High humidity does slow them down quite a bit, as does cooler temps. Neem has been totally ineffective for me, as I've tried numerous products with that as the main ingredient and it didin't do shit. The DE is a great product for any soft bodied crawling insect as it slices their under-belly and they dehydrate to death.

 

[st0wandgrow]

I totally got rid of them on my first plant (she was an only child) with a bit of water to which I added light castile soap and some cinnamon oil. Then I kept the humidity very high, blasting the leaves with water a few times a day. They didn't seem to like the high humidity, a tip from an arborist friend. I'm sure if you have multiple infested plants it becomes MUCH more difficult, but I haven't seen them since.

In the future I'll be using diatomaceous earth on the soil and neem oil on foliage prophylactically. I haven't heard of using crab shell meal, @st0wandgrow - same idea as DE, I assume.

Crab shell meal and other crustacean meals have chitin in their exoskeleton which is what most pests/bugs have as well. This triggers the plants auto immune response thinking its under attack.

There is some debate as to wether marijuana is one of those plants where this reaction occurs, but I have seen incredible results using it. To me it's no coincidence.

Look up chitin and chitosan.

 

[whatup619]

I believe I am the shit at getting rid of them indoors in veg I Have used rubbing alchol in my atomizer(LIGHTS OFF) with great success because it evaporates and leaves the plants healthy and green.I have also used mighty wash and is also the shit...Keep room cold while killing them less time to reproduce

 

[Michael Huntherz]

Crab shell meal and other crustacean meals have chitin in their exoskeleton which is what most pests/bugs have as well. This triggers the plants auto immune response thinking its under attack.

There is some debate as to wether marijuana is one of those plants where this reaction occurs, but I have seen incredible results using it. To me it's no coincidence.

Look up chitin and chitosan.

I'm familiar with chitin (zoology nerd) and chitosan (used in wine-making sometimes), believe it or not, but I was unaware of its use in gardening. Neato.

 

[Dr. Who]

Crab shell meal and other crustacean meals have chitin in their exoskeleton which is what most pests/bugs have as well. This triggers the plants auto immune response thinking its under attack.

There is some debate as to wether marijuana is one of those plants where this reaction occurs, but I have seen incredible results using it. To me it's no coincidence.

Look up chitin and chitosan.

I agree with you......Neem meal in the soil at build time. Always use Crab shell meals too......I never considered the fact that these where the basis (along with healthy plants as stressed plants give of a pheromone that attracts mites - the use of neonictinoid insecticides (They include imidacloprid, acetamiprid, clothianidin, dinotefuran, nithiazine, thiacloprid and thiamethoxam) actually cause the plant to give off vast amounts of the pheromone that attracts mites and if you look at their labels, they tell you so!) of me not getting bug troubles for the past years......Looking at notes as to when I began using then together. I think your right! It very well appears to have a strong bond to that time period!

BAD INSECTICIDES TO USE! Avoid Neonictinoids at all costs!!

Doc