Borax vs spider mites?

Getting rid of the cats fleas organically and I'm reading over and over about borax and how well it works. Seems it works against ants, bed bugs, and a variety of other mites as well. Has anyone experimented with borax and spider mites?

I'd love to know the answer to this. At my last house we had a real ant problem. I used borax and diatomaceous earth.

Hard to say which one works as I used both... I didn't use much diatomaceous earth however as they say the dust is not good to breathe (Same with borax but the DE is quite dusty compared to the Borax)

I found this link which does say that DE is good against mites...http://www.ghorganics.com/DiatomaceousEarth.html

I'm subb'ed to see a response but will try to find something on Borax

I forget the chemical composition of Borax but it is some sort of phosphoric acid...

Damn I was way off wikipedia says Borax is:

Na2B4O7·10H2O - Sodium Borate been a long time since 2nd year chemistry​

this past summer was TERRIBLE for fleas in Maine. i bombed my house with the usual wal mart shit once with 9 bombs, still nothing. i ended up having to use 12 bombs and 12 raid fumigators in my 3 bedroom trailer to get rid of them fuckers. had to stay in a hotel overnight and it was a godam mess but the 24 treatments worked lol, suprised that shit didnt strip the paint off my walls

ottawaliquid said:

Damn I was way off wikipedia says Borax is:

Na2B4O7·10H2O - Sodium Borate been a long time since 2nd year chemistry​

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*dislike* new avatar

Not a fan of song of fire and ice?

$9.99 plus shipping comes to about $30 for 1,500 lady bugs.
http://naturescontrol.com/aphid.html#lb

personified said:

$9.99 plus shipping comes to about $30 for 1,500 lady bugs.
http://naturescontrol.com/aphid.html#lb

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Thanks. I have some very cheap local vendors of lady bugs and find them to do a decent job of cutting down the adult population, but unless you can get them to breed in your tent (and you can't) they won't get rid of all the mites. Lady bug larvae might - highlight on the might, but lady bugs themselves don't eat enough of the eggs. IMO for $30 go with mite destroyers or predatory mites.



Anyone else have experience with Borax?

I think it would be a viable treatment. Cost effective, pretty natural depending on the source your using, etc. However I wouldn't go near a flowering plant with that stuff, personally. I'd estimate that would leave it's usefulness indoors for 1-2 months or slightly more depending on the personal growers regimine.

It's also wise to look into the strucure of the compound like you already have. What is it and what does it do. Basic polymers which get left on our body as soap resiude, peroxide and water usually takes care of that. I'd take measures to make sure whatever you apply to the plant to treat it gets off.

Borax is most commonly used a laundry booster. 20 Mule team is the most popular brand of borax (the only one I was able to find to buy when taking care of my ant problem)

It is water soluble as well so it shouldn't be an issue to apply right to the plants but again due to its somewhat toxic nature (at high doses) I wouldn't use personally the last 2 - 3 weeks prior to harvest.

http://chemicalland21.com/industrialchem/inorganic/BORAX%20DECAHYDRATE.htm

ottawaliquid said:

Borax is most commonly used a laundry booster. 20 Mule team is the most popular brand of borax (the only one I was able to find to buy when taking care of my ant problem)

It is water soluble as well so it shouldn't be an issue to apply right to the plants but again due to its somewhat toxic nature (at high doses) I wouldn't use personally the last 2 - 3 weeks prior to harvest.

http://chemicalland21.com/industrialchem/inorganic/BORAX DECAHYDRATE.htm

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I have a box, used it one time only for ant control on an in-ground. Even then I used it as poison bait, mixed it with molasses and peanut butter. Then the workers carry it back to the queen and kill the colony. Even under those circumstances it was a last resort, and I wouldn't recommend using it.

I've never had to deal with mites, but doesn't 2 apps of neem oil work?.

Ladybugs (Hippodamia convergens) eat over 5,000 Aphids and other soft-bodied pests during their one-year lifetime.


Actually you can get them to breed I added some marigolds they need flowers for necture. I tried preditor mites and they never made the shipping and the company did not warranty it. So I went with a diffrent company and so far I am happy.

personified said:

Ladybugs (Hippodamia convergens) eat over 5,000 Aphids and other soft-bodied pests during their one-year lifetime.


Actually you can get them to breed I added some marigolds they need flowers for necture. I tried preditor mites and they never made the shipping and the company did not warranty it. So I went with a diffrent company and so far I am happy.

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Are you saying you personally got them to breed? Everything I have every read says you cannot get them to breed in a tent (or even a greenhouse)... - most all lady bugs bred for the ag industry must migrate before breeding. Straight up will not even attempt to breed even if you could get everything else perfect. The problem with lady bugs is that they do not eat most of the eggs and will often even skip over smaller mites. Lady bug larvae work great against mites but adults will never completely get rid of a population. Aphids are magnitudes larger than a spider mite and eggs are much smaller than mites.

Mite destroyer (best natural predator of mites)


Mite destroyer on a leaf (they are tiny!)



Mite destroyer compared to eggs (eggs are TINY!) The large clear one is an aphid egg, the tiny tiny yellow one is around the size of a mite egg.



Thanks for all the info people. I'm literally sleeping in borax every night so I'm not too worried about the toxicity on humans. I would of course never use it during flowering as inhaling it definitely isn't great for you. I generally use Azamax and am not going to stop, just wondering what other organic alternatives I have. Seems like a great preventative for large areas.

I just got some Organocide (dont know that was stupid or not yet) and a hot shot no pest strip. Im gonna try the organocide first i guess. Its just a clone, so im not worried about contaminating any bud.

I am interested in lady bugs or predator mites, hell like everyone else ill try anything.

Gastanker no I have not got them to breed. I was under the impression that all ladybugs were destroyers I now see your point my appologies. With that being said I shall see if I have breeding accomplished at a later date. I know they do need nector to breed as well as other insects to eat. I may fail in the insect department since they do not eat mites.

Here are preditor mites for the same price 30.43 out the door with shipping.
http://naturescontrol.com/mite.html#smd

But I know I wont have an aphid problem!!



Mite destroyers are pretty expensive so I had to pass.

Yeah they are definitely more expensive but the idea with them is to get a breeding colony going versus lady bugs that eat and then die. Of course if you can't get them to breed it's a big waste of money - great for greenhouses but chancy for indoor imo.

Back to my original question - I have plenty of ways I can get rid of spider mites. I am not looking for recommendations on how to get rid of them.

All I want to know is will Borax kill spider mites. Does anyone have experience with it working against them?

Borax is mined from the Mojave Desert in California. Near the towns of Mojave and Boron. Does that make it a chemical? I used it for fleas during a hot and humid time here in N. Cali (humidity is rare here). Got it at Walmart in the laundy section. It definately worked! Just sprinkled it all over the carpet...took off for a couple hours...came home and vacuumed. Did it again a week later for any hatchlings and haven't seen a flea since. Don't know about using it for spider mites. A vacuum cleaner and Monterey brand organic spray for mites works. Keep it clean in there! I don't grow inside...anymore. Did that back in the late 80's. Outdoors is for me. I hate spider mites...they usually come to you from cloners infested rooms. It's hard to get rid of them once they're there.

Find some food grade DE. It is non toxic to plants, animals, and us.

All I want to know is will Borax kill spider mites. Does anyone have experience with it working against them?

Borax
Borax works in two ways for treating mites – eliminating the parasites on the skin and eradicating them from the home. A natural mineral, borax is a particularly effective cleaning agent. Used in small doses, borax cleanses the skin and can be used as a house cleaner to eliminate mites.

While some mites are naturally occurring on the skin and hair, an onslaught of the parasites causes skin irritation, inflammation and other skin disorders. Natural treatments work to treat the underlying issue causing mites as well as the disorders of the skin.