A couple questions about Russet Mites...

Like many others I first mistook the russet mite damage as a pH, nute, virus, or soil problem. I had it narrowed down to a boron deficiency. Nope. Hemp Russet Mites. For sure. No doubt. Saw them crawling and the smooth eggs, not the dotted ones like the Broad Mites lay.

I have spent the last couple days reading up on these evil little bastards and my brain is a bit tired but I have a couple questions I seem to have not found the answers to.

1. I reuse my soil. I had some issues and had to stash my grow in a travel trailer in a field for a few months and was not able to take care of them like usual. I reused some soil a few times without the proper treatment it usually gets. Now I can treat my soil well again. Question is: Can these little bastards survive in the soil, in any form, when the soil is being flushed heavily with 120+ F water?

2. I keep reading about people using Avid and Forbid to take them out but I don't want to use that strong of stuff. I am reading that Azamax and Neem Oil do not work on these mites. Question: Why not? There is the smothering them to death function of Neem and it's an ovicide so I wonder why that does not kill them? Shouldn't heavy foliar application every three days for 15 days do the trick and if not, why not?

3. I have learned that the Broad Mites inject a toxin that messes up the growth even after the mites are dead. The damage pics I've looked at seem similar for both Broads and Russets. Question: Is there long lasting damage from the Russets or will the plant return to normal after getting past all the stress?

4. Aspirin at 325mg a gallon in the soil feed and 150mg a gallon for foliar is being used to stimulate the plant's immune system to assist in getting through the terrible stress these infestations are putting on the plants. Question: How often can a plant be watered and sprayed with aspirin before it starts to cause a new problem?

Thanks in advance for taking the time to help me out. Peace and Good Health.

These are some of the worst pests. Another horrid one is root aphids.

1. You can bake your soil to kill bugs.

2. I am having good success exterminating broad mites with a rigid neem oil schedule. One spray every 2 days, it's kind of a lot but the plants aren't responding in a negative way. I intend to follow up with some Nuke Em as a spray and call it a day. Some cuttings/clones/plants are weaker to broad mites than others, and it will help if you can remove these from your garden. If not, good luck with the war, don't miss a day of spraying.

3. I'm not sure, but I don't think the leaves will ever recover.

4. No idea.

I hit em with pyrethrum to kill the adults, then use it every 3 days for 2 more applications to kill off the larvae they will drop on the first pyrethrum fog. I used a mix of concentrated neem oil/drop of dish soap and warm water sprayed on foliage(soak the plant til its dripping off) 2 times a week in veg and once a week in flower up til 4 wks into flower. You can use pyrethrum foggers up til 4 days before harvest (according to manufacturer) but they should really be used for the "inbetween grows" when you are cleaning/nuking your room or maintenance for larger grows. Been russet free for about a year.
There are also systemic chemicals you can use but they arent to be taken lightly. Most stay in your plants for 30+ days and are pretty toxic. I choose not to go this route personally. Pyrethrum and Neem oil are both organic elements, but not good for humans or animals to breath the pyrethrum.

LamontCranston said:

These are some of the worst pests. Another horrid one is root aphids.

1. You can bake your soil to kill bugs.

2. I am having good success exterminating broad mites with a rigid neem oil schedule. One spray every 2 days, it's kind of a lot but the plants aren't responding in a negative way. I intend to follow up with some Nuke Em as a spray and call it a day. Some cuttings/clones/plants are weaker to broad mites than others, and it will help if you can remove these from your garden. If not, good luck with the war, don't miss a day of spraying.

3. I'm not sure, but I don't think the leaves will ever recover.

4. No idea.

Click to expand...

I have been hitting them with neem every three days at 3 TBS a gal and after the third spray down the ladies responded in a very negative way. I suppose it could the mites still but I can't seem to find a live critter. I just know the entire crop is about done for. May be able to save a couple but doubt it. It's very sad.

HydroRed said:

I hit em with pyrethrum to kill the adults, then use it every 3 days for 2 more applications to kill off the larvae they will drop on the first pyrethrum fog. I used a mix of concentrated neem oil/drop of dish soap and warm water sprayed on foliage(soak the plant til its dripping off) 2 times a week in veg and once a week in flower up til 4 wks into flower. You can use pyrethrum foggers up til 4 days before harvest (according to manufacturer) but they should really be used for the "inbetween grows" when you are cleaning/nuking your room or maintenance for larger grows. Been russet free for about a year.
There are also systemic chemicals you can use but they arent to be taken lightly. Most stay in your plants for 30+ days and are pretty toxic. I choose not to go this route personally. Pyrethrum and Neem oil are both organic elements, but not good for humans or animals to breath the pyrethrum.

Click to expand...

I think there are some super mites out there that eat pyrethrum. A P bomb was my first defensive move and I think it did not phase them at all. I'd grabbed a couple of leaves that had living mites on them before the bomb and they were still trucking around two days later.

If you used Doktor Doom that is probably why. Russets will eat that shit for breakfast since it is only 0.3% pyrethrum. Gotta get the concentrated stuff @ 4.0% like Pyrethrum TR
This is what I used & it works:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/381453085812?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT
Also, you must do follow ups like I mentioned or the larvae that get dropped from the adults on the first bomb will hatch and you then have a Russet that is building an immunity to the bombs. You surely dont want that.

HydroRed said:

If you used Doktor Doom that is probably why. Russets will eat that shit for breakfast since it is only 0.3% pyrethrum. Gotta get the concentrated stuff @ 4.0% like Pyrethrum TR
This is what I used & it works:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/381453085812?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT
Also, you must do follow ups like I mentioned or the larvae that get dropped from the adults on the first bomb will hatch and you then have a Russet that is building an immunity to the bombs. You surely dont want that.

Click to expand...

Good inf. Hydro, thanks. Sterilizing soil and bombing rooms, culling the surely dead, rotating killing items (pyrethrum @ 4%, neem, Bayer 3-in-one going on today) Fighting them hard and smart I think...

I've been under the impression for years that neem used properly (2-3 Tbs/gal) every three days should not be harmful but it does seem to have banged them a bit.

I have read that russets do not inject a pioson like the Broad mite does so I would think that with no sign of bugs under a 100x scope and after three neem treatments to the foliage and one flush for the soil the ladies would be perking up some.

Soil pH is 6.3, air and roots are at 72 degrees F, lots of air exchange, no sign of root bugs, very mildly nuted soil.

Any ideas? Thanks in advance!

So on the topic of cleaning the shit out of the place I have a question. I keep reading that a 115f soak of the plant and soil will kill these BORG. Do you think a 3x the pot volume slow flush with 130f water will kill the nasties in the soil, eggs and all? I bet it does and leaves a lot of the soil life intact. It seems a better move than sterilizing soil in the oven. Thoughts?

Would you euthanize these?

The battle was lost but the war is looking better.