Spider mites and Hot Shot Pest Strips, End of my rope.

E. Environmental Fate:
Dichlorvos enters the environment during production and use, and through accidental spills. It volatilizes readily into air and breaks down quickly; higher temperature and humidity facilitate rapid breakdown (1). Dichlorvos is also a metabolic product of naled and trichlorfon, generated by the metabolism of plants, animals, and humans (7). The half-life of dichlorvos in water has been calculated to be between 1.5 and 57 days and depends on temperature and pH (1). Dichlorvos does not bioaccumulate in animals or plants, and 90% of applied dichlorvos in greenhouses and food storage areas is broken down in 3-6 hours. Dichlorvos does not bind to soil but can remain in dry acidic soil for days (1).


Found this on the stuff. Ive been dealing with these things for 3 crops now with the last crop being the worst. They stay under control with Azatrol and Einstine oil. I dont want to use chemicals but after decemating a crop over the summer due to really hot dry weather all sumer i cant let them go on.

Im not sure about what this break down means. How safe is this stuff long term? My grow is in a tent in an adjasent room next to a bed room. Exaust is vented out of a window and sealed.

How long do i need to keep these in? Would it be ok to throw them in at lights off and shut off my exaust fan then vent for about 30 mins and take them out once lightes come back on? Im not going to leave them in there with lightes on my area will get to hot and i really dont like the idea of using them at all.

Im also concerned about how much if any will stay on my buds i read its pretty nasty shit but it seems to be used in a lot of comercial operations.

"Dichlorvos is also a metabolic product of naled and trichlorfon, generated by the metabolism of plants, animals, and humans "

What the hell does that mean?

Sorry just want to educate myself as much as posible before i decide if i want to use one of these.

I ran it for 8 days total. I placed the strip at the intake on the oposite side of the tent as my filter and exhaust at the base of my plants. For the first 3 days i throttled my exhaust to the lowest posible setting and turned it back up before lights came on roughly 11 hours still air. For the last 5 days i just kept it in there and let the exhaust go as normal. I was cleaning suckers off the bottom of my plants and could not find a living spider mite anywere.

I took the pest strip out and bagged it incase they come back. After spending months with organic products that did nothing but slow them down it was well worth it for me to throw one of these in for 8 days and be done with them. I will still use Einstine oil as a leaf shine and preventative measure but if they ever come back in force i know how i can get rid of them.

Only complaint and i dont know if its just a placebo effect but i did not like being around it. They dont really put off an odor but I felt like i couldnt breath when working in the tent and didnt stay in there for more than 5-10 mins. I took it out tonight because i needed to do some bottom cleaning and knew i would be in there for a few hours just hanging out with the ladies.

As far as these things go I dont think they are the devil and they definatly have worked were other products fell short. I didnt need to spray anything on my newly developing buds. With the short breakdown time espetially with lights right up on the plants 12 hours a day and constant air exchange any residue on plants does not scare me. When compared to spraying concentrated products vs vapors let off from resin I dont think enough would be there to make a diference. Plus Dichlorvos does not acumulate in plants or animals so there is no risk of long term build up in expoture.

My only patient new i was going to use this as we talked it over before and he knows ive been battling spider mites for some time now. If you are a caretaker please make sure to talk it over with any patient before using these and let them know the pros and cons. We kind of came to the conclusion its the same crap on some flea colars and its not like your rubbing the stuff on the plants. Its just a vapor with a pretty short breakdown time.

Mighty wash is on my list of things i need to order. If i could of grabbed some at my Local hydro store i would of.