Spider mites

Hey all,

Newbie to the forum, but I've been growing indoors for about 4 years now, and I seem to have everything down with one BIG exception ............. friggin spider mites!!!

I have no idea how they were introduced to the garden, but either way they are here in a big/bad way. I've tried various different miticides, neem oil, einstein oil, hot shot pest strips, etc.

Does anyone have some specific recomendations on how to snuff these pests out for good? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!

If you are growing in soil, I think it nearly a forgone conclusion you will have some level of spider mite infestation. For me, I have reserved myself to the fact that its not a matter of full eradication but rather keeping the levels in check so that it does not adversely affect the plants health or end product. I typically will follow an aggressive spray schedule using neem and Azatrol while in veg and 2 weeks into flowering. I make it a point to wash my hands before handling my plants, and will monitor for new breakouts and treat accordingly. Suppression versus full eradication.

The goal is to cause inhospitable living conditions so that they starve and/or cannot reproduce. Sulfur burning is also an effective treatment as it will produce an environment that is inhospitable to the mites, and the raised ph of the leaves will make reproduction difficult. If you do run sulfur, do it very carefully and right when you flip to flowering. Anything later will result in an end product that will less that optimal, and in some cases, unusable. Also be sure not to have applied any foilar remedy of any kind weeks before the burn as this can cause severe damage to your plant.

Last time I got spider mites, I had to flower out and shut down for 3 months. Then started fresh with new soil.
They're some serious pests.
I've heard this product (Avid) mentioned a couple times on Urban Grower.. But nobody seems to carry it. I found it online though. Im gonna give it shot when the mites come around again... And they will.. eventually.
Good luck to ya.

Have you tried spider mite predators?

LADYBUGS YO

I'm surprised more people don't know about the wonder of ladybugs in a cannabis garden. They eat spider mites, aphids, and many more tiny insects that are harmful to your plants. Ladybugs don't eat or damage your plant either, they live in them and just eat all the nasty buggies you don't want in there. Research a bit on them, I could go into greater detail but I'm late for work

Weedoozie said:

LADYBUGS YO

I'm surprised more people don't know about the wonder of ladybugs in a cannabis garden. They eat spider mites, aphids, and many more tiny insects that are harmful to your plants. Ladybugs don't eat or damage your plant either, they live in them and just eat all the nasty buggies you don't want in there. Research a bit on them, I could go into greater detail but I'm late for work

Click to expand...

I have tried the ladybug route indoors. Added 3000 over a period of 10 days to control an outbreak. I had not sprayed anything prior, so no chemicals on the leaves, etc. Most found there way into the 1000w HPS light (where they sunbathed to death), while others camped out along the floor and became cushion for my feet when I worked in there. Although I am sure they do eat some spider mites, I believe the vast majority did not get the memo as I still had a rather substantial problem even 3 weeks later. In my experience, they simply do not eat enough mites per capita to make a dent in the population. Those 'effing mites grow exponentially if not under control.

The lady bugs are more of a preventative and for minor infestations than a full blown outbreak...It you have a serious mite problem, the bugs won't do much...The first time I introduced them lady's I through in like 3000 and they became more of a nuisance than anything so I vacuum them all out...What I do now is leave about 7-9 bugs per plant and that keeps them alive and eating well...When you put a lot on there, they almost all burn to death which is a waste....keep some in there before you have a big mite problem and they'll keep it in check

Yes, i neglected to mention that you must release the ladybugs right before turning the lights off, or before darkness because at that point in the day, the ladybugs find the closest vegetation for shelter and look for food there too. They will eat the mites for dinner. If you release the ladybugs at other times, when the light is on, they will just continue to fly around and try to catch sunlight or whatever you're using as a light source. Also, OZUT is right, you should only be exposing 10 or less ladybugs onto 1 plant, other wise, the ladybugs start to compete/fight with each other over the turf/food instead of eating.

I love the idea of natural remedies, and will have to try a lower concentration of ladybugs based on your suggestions. I know once you have mites, they reproduce very fast and can easily overwhelm a plant in a matter of a few weeks.

As an aside, I did notice that the bugs fared MUCH better in veg than they did in the flowering room. They seemed to avoid the developing buds and the associated resin.

I generally use insecticidal soap spray in a minor infestation. It is safe to use till day of harvest. If you miss it and get a major infestation - major weapons are needed. Pyrethrin foggers seem to work to knock down the major infestation but beware of using to often as the mites will build a tolerance.

Aficionado: What is "Azatrol"? I'm assuming it's not an organic remedy, and if so, have you had any adverse effects to the end product? Also, how have the results been from the sulfur burning?

Mr Blue: I've considered shutting things down for a while to see if I can starve them to death ........ but I'd prefer not to do this. This will be a last resort if all else fails.

MzHerbalistFarmer & Weedoozie: I may just give lady bugs/predatory insects a try. The only problem is that I'm running multiple 1000 watt lights in 42" reflectors, and I've heard that they have a tendancy to fly up in to the lights to their death. Would I have to go to a smaller hood with a glass cover over the bulb??

Genesis: Is this fogger safe to use on plants that are already well in to the flowering stage? Do you apply avoiding the buds, or is it safe to spray the entire plant?

Thanks to all for the replies. I very much appreciate the knowledge!!

Almost a "Given" when you farm pot.--- I've had them lil' bastards in my growroom, and it's like the friggin' spiders are eatin' my children ! Ya need to address the issue immediatly,with a product called "Aza-Max", gentle on yer girls, and hell on the spiders. A continuing process all through your grow,eradication is MUCH harder to pull off, than "Preventitave Mintenance", and it's much easier on the plants if caught before they web up, or turn everyting green, yellow & DEAD!
"AZA-MAX" found at most indoor growing stores---
Good-Luck,
Shoveldon

Floramite!!!!!!!!!!!

Mites today gone tomorrow. Its expensive but one application should do the trick. there was a guy selling it by the oz on ebay

The fogger is air born. Turn off all circulation and exhaust and set it off. Use during lights off period. Before lights on again - turn on all your circulation to vent the room. As for late flowering use - everyone has an opinion. Mine is go for it. This is backed up by this _ http://npic.orst.edu/factsheets/pyrethrins.pdf. Short pdf that pretty much says it`s OK. I personally have used it 2 weeks before harvest with no noticeable difference in the flavor or effect of the fruit.
I feel that if you don`t get a handle on the mites before harvest - those little bastards will just keep coming back.

I have also used Floramite SC and it certainly does work, but it has a 28 day residual effect - which is good in veg and early flower, but can be problematic if you are less than a month out of harvest. Check out the Floramite website for more info as floramite is a very strong mitacide _ http://www.ohp.com/Labels_MSDS/PDF/floramite_label.pdf another short read but worth a minute.

These are last ditch strategy's for infestation gone wild. The best defense is to be aware and stop the mites as soon as possible using neem oil or insecticidal soap - both harmless and functional in preventative and early stage mite attack.

Hope this helps

I've also used Mite X with success against a big spider mites problem

Azatrol works best /thread

no-pest strips are highly rated

aficionado said:

If you are growing in soil, I think it nearly a forgone conclusion you will have some level of spider mite infestation. For me, I have reserved myself to the fact that its not a matter of full eradication but rather keeping the levels in check so that it does not adversely affect the plants health or end product. I typically will follow an aggressive spray schedule using neem and Azatrol while in veg and 2 weeks into flowering. I make it a point to wash my hands before handling my plants, and will monitor for new breakouts and treat accordingly. Suppression versus full eradication.

The goal is to cause inhospitable living conditions so that they starve and/or cannot reproduce. Sulfur burning is also an effective treatment as it will produce an environment that is inhospitable to the mites, and the raised ph of the leaves will make reproduction difficult. If you do run sulfur, do it very carefully and right when you flip to flowering. Anything later will result in an end product that will less that optimal, and in some cases, unusable. Also be sure not to have applied any foilar remedy of any kind weeks before the burn as this can cause severe damage to your plant.

Click to expand...

What are you talking about?? mites aren't normally found in soils that you buy