HELP! Spider mites in buds

So i have 2 plants that are in 2-3 weeks of flowering and i have spider mites everywhere. how do i get rid of them? I know i can use neem oil but is there any other ways? and how do i use the neem oil if i do buy it?

if you want to use neem you have to buy a sprayer and mix it with water and spray the plants from the bottom up. but you can also use soap and water if you dont like the fact of using neem

I am an outdoor organic grower. I have a BIG problem with using things that will either harm my plants, or effect flavor of buds by putting nasty crap or chemicals into the bud after all that hard work of organics.

To get around this problem for those times when bugs get bad, I use 'EcoSmart Organic Insecticide'. It uses Thyme oil, which is also very similar to the very effective Rosemary oil. Both are much better than neem, and it will simply make your garden smell of the actual herb for a few days, but it quickly fades. Being that you're in week 3, it will not create problems for you. You could probably use a half bottle to solve your problems and just soak them top & bottom (this will not burn at all), and then use the other half bottle in a week or two as maintainence. You prob don't want to use this past week 5 or 6, unless you ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO, which you should def be prepared for.

I buy that EcoSmart for $11 a bottle @ Home Depot n it hooks right into my hose w/ a spray adapter. They have a smaller volume in it's own personal spray bottle for $6 or so, but I say the hose adapter will help you cover every square inch of your plant quickly, where the spray bottle will take time, precision, and even then you may miss some spots.

Good luck and hope you kill those fuckers off! =)

would it effect the buds? i saw on another thread how he used neem oil and it burned up his buds a little bit, I tried using just soap and water and burned up my leaves and made them shrink and look all messed up. Im gonna try that eco smart stuff, could i get it at lowes?

Lowes should carry it, too. It's a white bottle white a lime green label & nozel. I've had that same problem as you. A while back I was sold an organic spray that kills mildew. Was told you can lather your plants with it once a week. The first spray I did burned the shit out of my plants.

For insects, the EcoSmart is very effective and will not harm your plants at all. If you read the label, it'll tell you about the 200+ insects & aphids it will kill. Spidermites being one of the most common. And then if you ever see mold, mildew, or any other exterior disease, I've found that simply spraying Hydrogen Peroxide dilluted with some filtered water on your plants is best. Kills most typical problems in a couple spray downs at low cost and no harm to the plants. The peroxide is actually great for the leaves!

Alright thanks for all info, do you know about trimming bigger fan leaves? should you do it or not? and have you ever used molasses to get bigger buds?

A good way to get rid of them with out chemicals this sounds crazy but it works its old school. Build a fire using tree limbs or logs start the fire natural. Let it burn down to ash. Get 2 shovel fulls of the ash and put it in a 5 gal bucket fill it full of water and let it sit for 3 days stir it 2 or 3 times a day. This will make a kind of soup. Then Stir one last time and strain it in to a sprayer. Then spray ur plants from the bottom up getting the under side of the leafs then from the top up to get the top of the leafs. do this as needed till they are gone.

Do this 2 or 3 hrs before they get light or sun so they dont burn

I use orchard tree spray. It is Pyrethrin and sulfur. It is organic and can be used it says day before fruit harvest. I have used it well into flowering just make sure you do it in the evening and you get under the leaves. One thing I have done before is to spray it on, let it do its job and then wash it off a few hours later. This will kill the bugs but not ruin your buds. If you are in a area with mold problems you might not want to wash it off and put water into your buds.

diamond doggy said:

Alright thanks for all info, do you know about trimming bigger fan leaves? should you do it or not? and have you ever used molasses to get bigger buds?

Click to expand...

It really depends ... 90% of the time, you are going to want to leave your plant alone and let it do it's thing, or you can risk stressing it. The few exceptions would be the following:

-Topping
-Lollipopping/Pruning lower growth
-Pruning larger fan leaves in the final week or two as means to allow extra light thru to the buds. If it isn't already yellowing off tho and you remove it, it still has to cause some form of stress. Whether the extra light outweighs the extra stress the plant endures and outperforms, or not, I am not for sure. Personally, I had a grow a while back where friend who came over and "tried" to help start removing leaves at will without me noticing right away, and the stress endured along with some slight nutrient burn (nothing bad) caused them to herm out and produce seeds in the final weeks. Still quality bud when I pulled, but lesson learned. Again, I say let it be and if you want fan leaves gone, start flushing and the fans will be the first to yellow & fall off!

Cheers =)

I actually have the same problem. Neem is more a preventative and doesn't really help if you already have an infestation. You need a good insecticide with Pyrethin in it to kill the little buggers first. I bought some "Dont Bug Me" from Fox Farms. Doktor Doom's Mite Knockout has the same active ingredient (Pyrethin). Golden Ganja was a lot of help. Here is what he suggested:

GoldenGanja13: "One female can lay 100 eggs in 7 days, and most of them will be female. That is why you must spray every 3-4 days x3.
The eggs hatch ( 3-5 days) and depending on heat is how fast they mature. Could be less than a week.
I have tried many sprays including Neem Oil, Gro Safe, Pyrethins, Azatrol,etc. I can tell you now the best way of taking them out fast is too mix Pyrethins and Azatrol. The Pyrethins will kill most on contact but not the eggs and they may become tolerant to Pyrethins ( & neem), but the Azatrol screws with there hormones and stops them from matureing/growing. So when the eggs hatch and eat the azatrol they will not grow up and no new eggs. The one's that live through the pyrethins may lay eggs before succumbing to the stop in growth.

Spray after sun goes down for at least 1 hour. Drench both sides and top soil."

Spraying both sides of the leaves is really important as spider mites love to hang out on the underside of leaves. Also don't use any of these products in direct sunlight as it can burn the leaves.