Should I harvest due to spider mites?

[Tstat]

Do spider mites decrease potency during flowering?

It seems we always get spider mites toward the end of flowering. Now, Straw Cough is at 8 weeks and almost done. And of, course the spider mites are popping up quite a bit. Not much I can do (I have been manually crushing them and cutting off badly infested leaves daily) at this point as far as eradicating them.

So, my question is- should I cut them now because the spider mites are damaging the quality/potency of the final product? There are still a lot of white pistils, but they are super swelled and frosty.

Or are they not harming the trich production at this point (or trichs/buds themselves) and I should let them go another week. I am flushing them now...

On the same subject- I also have mites on a really huge WW plant. This plant was a mom, so it has a bunch of small branches with buds. The plant got spider mites maybe 3 weeks into flowering. Now it appears that the pistils are turning brown- like it is done. I am pretty sure the mites affected this plant. Should I chop it and grab what little has developed. or let it go and hope it forms new pistils?

I have the bastards under control now, but did they already screw things up for me?

I wish someone would come up with something that can kill them once and for all. I know all about the little pricks, and practice all safety procedures (clean room, clean cloths, no pets, etc.).

Yet I always have them...

I posted this in the "bugs" forum but got no responses.

 

[homebrewer]

Mites will absolutely hurt your plant's potency. Not in the fact that they eat trics, but in the way that your plant focuses it's energy away from development to resist the stress and infestation. If you get an infestation at the last minute, no harm done really. But if your plant tried to fight them for half the flowering period, you'll definitely will see lower yields and weaker smoke. Check out DoctorDoom foggers to kill all the living mites right now and set off a bomb around your mom once every 5 days until you've killed all the hatching eggs. I would harvest early if I were you. Don't let the problem get worse.

 

[StonedBlownSkiller]

dr doom bomb is awesome.

 

[Tstat]

Thanks! Yea, it's a constant fight with the mites. The best I have ever been able to do is knock them back. I check for them and treat everyday. I guess I'll try the Doom. I also have 3000 lady bugs coming. They always work for a while, then they disappear and I need more.

As for the Cough plants- I wanted to let them go because the I still have a lot of white pistils, but I guess I'll pull them. They look great and a microwaved sample was pretty nice. The large Widow... not sure what I'll do there. I am waiting to see if the buds start producing white pistils again.

 

[homebrewer]

Thanks! Yea, it's a constant fight with the mites. The best I have ever been able to do is knock them back. I check for them and treat everyday. I guess I'll try the Doom. I also have 3000 lady bugs coming. They always work for a while, then they disappear and I need more.

As for the Cough plants- I wanted to let them go because the I still have a lot of white pistils, but I guess I'll pull them. They look great and a microwaved sample was pretty nice. The large Widow... not sure what I'll do there. I am waiting to see if the buds start producing white pistils again.

If your cough plant isn't ready yet, then bomb a few times to kill the mites. It could recover and mature nicely. I guess I thought the plant was in late flowering at which point it may be too late to do anything except get the plant out of there.

 

[Tstat]

It's at week 8. I expected it to go 9. Cloudy trichs, less than 1/2 amber pistils, spider mites. Hehe...

 

[ky|e]

I know it sounds ick.. and many people will argue with me.. But I've fought mites and lost for years. Sprays dont work, most other shit dont work, BUT, Hot Shot-No Pest Strip will rid of your mite issue in one day.. but leave it in to get the egg's also... and never worry about mite's again... Little fuckers DIE

 

[ky|e]

O yeh it kills all the other little bugs also

 

[Tstat]

You know, I have tried that in the past. I really had no luck with them, hehe. Maybe I didn't use enough? But, I really don't like having them around the grow. If they worked for me, then I would use them when I had to!

 

[Tstat]

I just sucked a bunch off with an Oreck handheld vacume. Worked great =)

 

[nog]

yes hot shot no pest strips, but they are nasty shit.

 

[mrchronic8]

yea just cut it it can affect the yhc level

 

[grapesnowcone]

I just sucked a bunch off with an Oreck handheld vacume. Worked great =)

LMAO!!! Good job..!

 

[pbone]

is it okay to go through with a harvest with spider mites. I　assumed they would still eat my plants while hanging after harvest so I　drowned them for a few days before hanging again.not out of the woods yet, but the bugs certainly died

 

[Tstat]

Yea, I know. I harvested some, and left some. I really just don't know what is right- leave the buds to finish more, or chop them now. Nobody has really given a concrete answer on that yet. Are the mites diminishing the plant's potency at 8 weeks?

 

[ky|e]

I have a 15X25 foot grow room with 10 foot cieling and plenty of plants with air circulation.. 424 cfm air out. but anyways U musta got a dud because these things CURE ALL. are you sure you tried it? cause really... the first day everything died... and I couldnt believe it... after everything I had tried. it was that simple.

 

[Tstat]

Yes? No? Anyone??? Should I harvest? Are the spider mites DECREASING potency or not????

 

[cazador]

I've delt with spider mites on and off in the past and I now seem to have them on my outdoor plants. I'm not sure of what I'm going to do at this point because I have buds on the plant. I know alot of people use neem oil with succsess but I'm concerned to use it at this point as I don't want it to remain on the plant (buds). So I think I'll let the plant and other preditors deal with it. Now that it's cooler I hope they will stay in check. As far as potency I don't think it will adversly affect the plant unless the infection gets very bad and weakens the plant. I did have one harvest once were the mites were so bad that when I came into the room where the plants were drying and on closer look the entire plant was covered in spider mite web. It was a bummer. I was worried once after about the same thing happening but I trimmed the bud up before hanging and it did not happen again. I think next year before buds start to form I'm going to give the plants a big misting of neem oil to stack things in the plants favor. Another way is to spray the plant up and down well under all the leaves disloging the bastards slowing their progress. Good luck. I hate spider mites!