Spider mites

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d4mth3m4n

Active Member
So I recently just put my clones into an aero system, about 7 days ago. The other night I saw what I thought was just a small spider in the room making a string down from the ceiling. Thinking nothing of it, I killed it and thought that was it. Then last night I saw another little tiny white spider running across the floor and thats when it hit me....

Spider mites.

I've checked the plants themselves and haven't actually seen any eggs or spiders on them myself, but apparently they're sneaky and like to hide. So I read up on the faq about the sprays or predators you can use to get rid of them but I also wanted to ask the community what their favorite methods of getting rid of them are?


If any of you guys mind giving me an example of how you'd get rid of them and prevent a complete infestation it'd be much appreciated.

Thanks!
 
STANDOX

STANDOX

Well-Known Member
hmm i didnt know that spider mites spun web but wth im no expert on them i use predetatory pests its spring where i am and with windows open i have an abumdance of ladybugs when ever i see them i grab as many as i can and they patrol my plants untill the dumb bastards fly into the 600 and cook themselves.
 
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d4mth3m4n

Active Member
Awesome that's the answer I was looking for!

I had read they did spin smaller webs inside the buds, so that's what made me nervous when I saw one coming down from the ceiling on a web.

Thanks for the quick answers!

On a side note..

Could spiders be a problem? They're very small and white maybe the size of a drop of water or smaller.
 
missmandy

missmandy

Well-Known Member
they might actully be a good thing ,, mabye they will eat the smaller insects ...,,, spider mites are about the size of a needle point .. u dont need a 30x scope to see them unless ur blind ... just examine the bottems of ur leafs very close & if u see lil dark specs , investigate........... get a toothpic & a piece of garlic , stab the garlic a few times to make the toothpic stinky ,, & then start poking around them specs u seen earlier ,, watch closely to see if they move ,,,, to rid of them i use 3 newport cigaretts, break them open & let soak in 1 cup of water overnight , strain it so u get all the tobacco pieces out ,, then to that 1 cup of water i add 1/8 cup isopropal rubbing alcohol & 2 drops of antibacterial dish soap ,,, shake it up & spray all over ur babies ,, especially under leafs , let sit for about 5-10 minutes & spray off with COLD water ,, wait 20 minutes & spray with cold water again ( this is hard to do in the dark ,...so about 30 minutes before *lights off* i take her out & spray well ) then put her back in her home & turn on lil fan ..........., repeate this step every 3rd day until u see no more probms
 
Blunted1

Blunted1

Well-Known Member
MissMandy,
Thats fucking awesome! Do you know if its the oil from the mint or the nicotine that they don't like? I'm thinking the mint???
 
VictorVIcious

VictorVIcious

Well-Known Member
missmandy said:
they might actully be a good thing ,, mabye they will eat the smaller insects ...,,, spider mites are about the size of a needle point .. u dont need a 30x scope to see them unless ur blind ... just examine the bottems of ur leafs very close & if u see lil dark specs , investigate........... get a toothpic & a piece of garlic , stab the garlic a few times to make the toothpic stinky ,, & then start poking around them specs u seen earlier ,, watch closely to see if they move ,,,,
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soo..I do wear blended lenses, not quite blind. If i understand you correctly you can't see them unless you make them move on the bottom of the leaves... hmmm I guess you made my point. VV

to rid of them i use 3 newport cigaretts, break them open & let soak in 1 cup of water overnight , strain it so u get all the tobacco pieces out ,, then to that 1 cup of water i add 1/8 cup isopropal rubbing alcohol & 2 drops of antibacterial dish soap ,,, shake it up & spray all over ur babies ,, especially under leafs , let sit for about 5-10 minutes & spray off with COLD water ,, wait 20 minutes & spray with cold water again ( this is hard to do in the dark ,...so about 30 minutes before *lights off* i take her out & spray well ) then put her back in her home & turn on lil fan ..........., repeate this step every 3rd day until u see no more probms
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I have heard of this before. Have you consider just using neem oil, dish soap and water. You don't need to rinse it off, you do need to re-apply in about three days to cure an infestation. The point of all of it was he wasn't seeing spider mites. VV:mrgreen:
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Onlunch

Onlunch

Active Member
To get rid of spider mites takes a very long time. Once they are there they stick around. The best thing to use is neem oil. You can pick it up at a garden centre. Read the directions. To much will harm your plants
 
Revolution101

Revolution101

Well-Known Member
VictorVIcious said:
In order to 'see' spider mites you need a 30x lens. Those are spiders dude, relax. VV
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That's not true... I can see them with the naked eye and I knew for a fact what I was seeing was mites. Probably wouldn't notice them unless you looked hella close though, they are REALLY small.

Also, if you have a hydro shop nearby pick up some Don't bug Me by fox famrs or some Zero Tolerance. Both are designed to kill those mites, similar to neem oil or tobacco oils, just has a few more things mixed in.
 
Twistyman

Twistyman

Well-Known Member
I've never used neem oil but in wikiped. it says it smells pretty grim, ( not quoted like that :) ) I don't like the cigarette idea because of the fact that it's a neurotoxin . I've had s/mites a few times and have always beat the bastards ( 4 out of 5 X ) with dish soap. Plus it's cheap and easy to remove from plant. IMO
Good Luck
 
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d4mth3m4n

Active Member
I appreciate the input, but like a few of you have said these were easily spotted moving around, and one was using a web to get from ceiling to the floor, apparently their webs are much smaller. It was also about the size of a drop of water. I've only seen two so far, and have checked out the plants and haven't actually seen any on the plants. The plants are also not having any issues of yellowing spots at all so I figured I'd just keep an eye out to see if it's worse.

On a side note, I have a high cfm fan mounted in my attic and the ducting isn't completely sealed along the ceiling to the attic so I'm thinking my issue here is maybe spiders from the attic, and my needing to create a good seal from the ceiling and ducting.

I appreciate the input, I think I'm still going to need to invest into a microscope to check any future spiders or mites that come down to get more conclusive evidence.
 
missmandy

missmandy

Well-Known Member
VictorVIcious said:
missmandy said:
soo..I do wear blended lenses, not quite blind. If i understand you correctly you can't see them unless you make them move on the bottom of the leaves... hmmm I guess you made my point. VV



I have heard of this before. Have you consider just using neem oil, dish soap and water. You don't need to rinse it off, you do need to re-apply in about three days to cure an infestation. The point of all of it was he wasn't seeing spider mites. VV:mrgreen:
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,,, i can see them without making them move , my point is ,, if u see tiny lil specs ,, get a garlic toothpic & they will move then u know 100% they are mites ,,, ,, somtimes it could just be dust or debris & i would really hate to start spraying with all this stuff if in fact i did not have a mite problem ,, ,, so once again if u see specs , watch em close & see if they move ,, if they do kill em ,,, yes a 30X scope is nice to have ,, BUT if u dont have one ,..............
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VictorVIcious

VictorVIcious

Well-Known Member
missmandy said:
VictorVIcious said:
,,, i can see them without making them move , my point is ,, if u see tiny lil specs ,, get a garlic toothpic & they will move then u know 100% they are mites ,,, ,, somtimes it could just be dust or debris & i would really hate to start spraying with all this stuff if in fact i did not have a mite problem ,, ,, so once again if u see specs , watch em close & see if they move ,, if they do kill em ,,, yes a 30X scope is nice to have ,, BUT if u dont have one ,..............
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I have two, you are welcome to stop by and borrow one, please call first. VV:blsmoke:
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