I think I have spider mites, how can I solve this?

I can't upload a picture at the moment but I will as soon as I can.

Patches of the leaves look as though they have been sapped of juice and appear lighter than the rest of the leaf.
There was also a web between the soil and lowest leaves which is why I guessed spider mites.

What is the fastest and safest way to eliminate the problem, if it is as I suspect?

The plant is still in its early stages and only about 3 weeks old.

Thanks.

put a few drops of dish soap in a spray bottle and spray the leafs and soil that should sort the little buggers out.good luck with the battle

Soil is always more susceptible to spider mites and covering your soil with a plastic lid or bag can help. Spray your plant with a very diluted down mixture of soap water and get yourself some spray safe or similar.

Let us know how it goes

Thanks guys. Does the problem sounds like spider mites?

Without images I wouldn't like to say, however webs may be a good sign or you my have a baby money spider doing his rounds lol

fuck that shit head to the store and get some neem oil spray the shit of them 3 in 2 weeks eliminated the problem b4 it starts. spider mites are a nightmare once they get a grip on your plants so make the proper so take the proper precautions do some research about them and kill them early as possible.

Soap with a drop or two of Dawn dish soap is my #1 go to weapon of choice. Second is Diatomaceous Earth (DE), but only the food grade kind. You can mix DE with water to make a slurry then paint it on with a paint brush. You can also dust your plants with DE early in the morning. It helps to mist the plants first so the DE sticks better.

When the above two don't work because of a near by infestation, then I'll spray my plants with a permethrin based insecticide. The bran "Safe" mentioned earlier uses permethrins, as does most flea shampoos. Permethrins are very safe, kill on contact, break down under natural sunlight within about a day, and even when it's diluted it has a natural repellent effect that last about week. Another option is Neem Oil, but it requires many applications to work properly since it's targets reproduction. Permethrins on the other hand targets the nervous system, which is why it kills faster. Both are plant based. Neem is simply newer so there is less testing of it and it's generally more over-hyped.

Lastly, if you still have an infestation you can upgrade to a true poison based product, which most people hate to do, but they're extremely effective and can be very safe to use if used correctly. One can even argue that it's better to apply a well known poison once a year then to apply a new untested natural insecticide every week. Of course, do your research and use your best judgment, but if it ever comes down to it where you feel you need to apply a poison your safest choice might be to use a product like Sevin 5% dust, which uses a chemical called Carbaryl.

polyarcturus said:

fuck that shit head to the store and get some neem oil spray the shit of them 3 in 2 weeks eliminated the problem b4 it starts. spider mites are a nightmare once they get a grip on your plants so make the proper so take the proper precautions do some research about them and kill them early as possible.

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be careful you don't spray neem in high temps or full sun. you'll regret it. repeated applications may help. smaller plants can be wiped down with alcohol pads.

You have to spray twice in the first week to catch the hatching eggs. Dilute at 0.5 % / 5ml / litre and u need to add a tiny drop of dish soap per litre (oil and water don't mix).

Shake ur bottle as u spray and also pay attention to the soil and trunk.

Only choice that work's HOT SHOT NO PEST STRIP HANG IT UP NO MORE BUG"S have used many year's not harmful to you...not 24hr exposure!! could be problem then!!

polyarcturus said:

fuck that shit head to the store and get some neem oil spray the shit of them 3 in 2 weeks eliminated the problem b4 it starts. spider mites are a nightmare once they get a grip on your plants so make the proper so take the proper precautions do some research about them and kill them early as possible.

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Hell Yeah, I hate those fucking things

first things first, identify the enemy, get a magnifier and scope down the situation
a few webs could be mites, could also be some small spiders, which are usually a good thing
one thing about mites, they look evil when you see them up close

growone said:

first things first, identify the enemy, get a magnifier and scope down the situation
a few webs could be mites, could also be some small spiders, which are usually a good thing
one thing about mites, they look evil when you see them up close

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So do spiders they both look evil.
How can I tell which of the evil is lesser?

NoSmokingPlease said:

So do spiders they both look evil. How can I tell which of the evil is lesser?

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good point, mites kind of look like crabs
they will be on the leaf surface, spiders should look more like spiders and be on their webs
but i suppose it could get confusing, there are pics out there for id'ing help

dude, without a pic or more info, it's tough to say if it really is spider mites. However if you feel so, use the soap dish as already someone have suggested here.

Okay, since clearing the webs yesterday, I checked it again this evening and found no webs. I looked closely at the leaves, especially the underside, and saw nothing. No spiders, no mites, nothing.

The leaves are still looking shitty and I managed to grab a couple of pics. Don't watch the quality, it's a beat down camera.



Anyone know what the marking could be? Thanks for all the help thus far and any in advance.

Looks like nute burn to me. Spidermites will leave little dots all over your leaves and make webs around bottom sides of the leaves.

Dirtfree said:

Looks like nute burn to me. Spidermites will leave little dots all over your leaves and make webs around bottom sides of the leaves.

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I haven't given my plant any nutrients at all. I was planning to start next week.

What type of soil are you using? If its MG then it already has nutes in it.

I can also be leaf suckers or leaf hoppers.. have had a small issue of this in veg state but it may have been due to my other non 420 grows attracting them..
it has not done too much harm to it kinda looks like water burn on my plants.