Battled Spider Mites for Years--Plea for Help/Advice. To use the nuclear avid option or not?

Deltron 3030

Well-Known Member
**Should I go nuclear on this longstanding Spider Mite problem and use avid and/or floramite? Advice needed please praying to God**

I have been growing organically indoors for a handful of years, at first with no pest issues. Spider Mites entered my garden via cutting around 3 years ago. They immediately became a problem during flower cycle, likely after festering in vegetative state unbeknownst to me, at the time. Fast forward multiple cycles, some passable, others a disaster; never exceptional I have come to dread this little bastards. Number one I recognize it is a cleanliness issue in terms of proper pruning, removal of dead plant material, having minimal hiding areas for bugs with shit on the floor etc. Clean out between crops. I have used primarily two sprays as there isnt many other options here, one being end-all the other being bug-b-gone. They both contain pyrethrin which I think is one of my main problems, these mites have become somewhat resistant to it. Theyve been sprayed with it here for years, and for years prior to that at other indoor gardens.

With repeated applications it does eventually knock them down to the point there is minimal but still present bug damage. They linger in the areas the spray does not reach essentially. Where they cause me issues most as they progress into the mid-to late of flower its a race against time against their growing population. Where there may have been 1% mite affected area its slowly grows into taking out entire plants, that have to be burned rather than salvaged they become so bad. Its honestly horrific and completely discouraging. To have more success with randomly planted guerillas plots, letting mother nature deal with mites-as opposed to the indoor grow room that is incubating them. It upsets to have better quality from a lesser outdoor environment than I do from the indoor controlled one.

With that said I am ready to go fully nuclear on these bastards. I have shut down the room, torn out all the red-green style mylar and black and white film. Tore out out the floor down to concrete. I am going to finish the walls and ceilings, paint the floor and hopefully give the mites less places to hide (behind plastic, studs and joists etc). I have moved my cutting to another spot temporarily in the meantime, they are still being affected by lingering mites however. I have even hung a hot shot no pest strip which is something that goes so against my organic ethics and practices. Should I go all out and use the nuclear option such as avid, or floramite? Or is this far too toxic. Keep in mind these f****rs just wont die.
 

pulpoinspace

Well-Known Member
i wouldn't. i would add different insecticides to your IPM. like you said since you only use pyrethrin they've become immune to it. so use spinosad, neem oil, green cleaner, purecrop1, insecticidal soaps, ect. there are lots of safer alternatives before you bust out the toxic big guns.

i like your idea of stripping everything out of the room. thats what i would do. then i would clean everything with bleach. set off a dr. doom fogger in there. don't grow anything in there for 2 weeks. spray all your veg plants with spinosad/neem oil/insecticisal soaps, then again 5 days later. then spray them with green cleaner/purecrop1 during the stretch before they show buds. the key is to use a bunch of different shit so they don't get immunity to anything

thats what i do.

fuck spider mites.
 

mr. childs

Well-Known Member
**Should I go nuclear on this longstanding Spider Mite problem and use avid and/or floramite? Advice needed please praying to God**

I have been growing organically indoors for a handful of years, at first with no pest issues. Spider Mites entered my garden via cutting around 3 years ago. They immediately became a problem during flower cycle, likely after festering in vegetative state unbeknownst to me, at the time. Fast forward multiple cycles, some passable, others a disaster; never exceptional I have come to dread this little bastards. Number one I recognize it is a cleanliness issue in terms of proper pruning, removal of dead plant material, having minimal hiding areas for bugs with shit on the floor etc. Clean out between crops. I have used primarily two sprays as there isnt many other options here, one being end-all the other being bug-b-gone. They both contain pyrethrin which I think is one of my main problems, these mites have become somewhat resistant to it. Theyve been sprayed with it here for years, and for years prior to that at other indoor gardens.

With repeated applications it does eventually knock them down to the point there is minimal but still present bug damage. They linger in the areas the spray does not reach essentially. Where they cause me issues most as they progress into the mid-to late of flower its a race against time against their growing population. Where there may have been 1% mite affected area its slowly grows into taking out entire plants, that have to be burned rather than salvaged they become so bad. Its honestly horrific and completely discouraging. To have more success with randomly planted guerillas plots, letting mother nature deal with mites-as opposed to the indoor grow room that is incubating them. It upsets to have better quality from a lesser outdoor environment than I do from the indoor controlled one.

With that said I am ready to go fully nuclear on these bastards. I have shut down the room, torn out all the red-green style mylar and black and white film. Tore out out the floor down to concrete. I am going to finish the walls and ceilings, paint the floor and hopefully give the mites less places to hide (behind plastic, studs and joists etc). I have moved my cutting to another spot temporarily in the meantime, they are still being affected by lingering mites however. I have even hung a hot shot no pest strip which is something that goes so against my organic ethics and practices. Should I go all out and use the nuclear option such as avid, or floramite? Or is this far too toxic. Keep in mind these f****rs just wont die.
https://www.hunker.com/13427688/how-to-kill-spider-mites-with-peroxide
 

CannaCountry

Well-Known Member
Your best bet is to tear everything down, sanitize it correctly and start anew. Start off with new seeds and trash your existing plants; all of them. Trash any used or exposed medium as well. Start fresh, as it will give you a new piece of mind and you won't be spraying all those chemicals everywhere. Use bleach to disinfect EVERYTHING. You've had mites for years while trying to live with them; it's time to take them out of the equation all together. However, you'll have to go all out and cut your losses, otherwise, you're asking for continued issues.
 

Deltron 3030

Well-Known Member
Thank you for all the advice. I have used insecticidal soaps religiously as well as oil based products. I have spent hundreds of dollars on it over the past time period. I have even used peroxide at high concentration. The problem is eggs always survived. It's like ya'll said I have had them for years and have to completely tear down. What a nightmare. I just want to use something that will kill these fuckers and be assured that they wont come back. Get this. I even had the mites outside because if moving them outdoors, and they even attacked common garden weeds like nettles and thistle, they infested everything. I have never seen something so horrible save for the tent caterpillars we get every few years. Please believe me when I say I have used the organic options. They laughed at the pyrethrin spray this summer, I would hose them down with my 2 gallon chapin and theyd be back 3 days later just the same. Even the hydroponic store guy looked at my funny when I said they are even infesting garden weeds. I feel like I need to burn everything to the ground, it makes me feel sick.

This is all my fault for 1) never isolating incoming cuttings and 2) letting it fester on over-vegged sickly plants. I feel in my heart of hearts these fuckers go into a survival mode and hide in any nook and cranny they find only to re emerge 2 months later and into flower. With that said I am going to renew my efforts against these bastards. I will gladly take any advice and appreciate the advice given. Especially the need to reinforce cutting losses.
 

Herb & Suds

Well-Known Member
I used to have a great source for cuttings in Wisconsin or maybe it was Minnesota hehe
anyways
I got in some new clones from Washington state and shipped my boy a couple straight away
He messaged me that his grow was now infected with mites and no matter how many efforts I made to make it right , he refused to speak to me ever again
I now quarantine everything ...lesson learned
 
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