HELP! spidermites

TeaTreeOil

Well-Known Member
Ladybugs really don;t do anything when an infestation has already set in.
Again, water won't do shit!
I've used cold showers with 100% success. I actually take the plant into the shower, and use my detachable/handheld shower head and spray straight cold water on them for several minutes.

I figure it's similar to say.. a fire hose to a human face. ;-) Eventually they gotta breathe, and when they do there's water being pushed inside. They drown & die or get blasted off and go down the drain.

Either way the problem gets solved.
 

GoldenGanja13

Well-Known Member
I've used cold showers with 100% success. I actually take the plant into the shower, and use my detachable/handheld shower head and spray straight cold water on them for several minutes.

I figure it's similar to say.. a fire hose to a human face. ;-) Eventually they gotta breathe, and when they do there's water being pushed inside. They drown & die or get blasted off and go down the drain.

Either way the problem gets solved.
That's hillarious:lol:.
A friend of mine hits them with a mixture (tea tree, neem, etc) then takes them out back after a few hrs and hoses them off (gently). But what about the eggs? they hatch in 3 days. Do you have another episode?
 

drdodge29

Well-Known Member
You're having F$%ckerMites too ??
LOL YEP Those F@#$er's only chill when I don't treat the plants. I've used OMRI® Listed Safer® Brand Insect Killing soap. Well where do I start off. Them F@#$ers only got pissed. See before that they wer chewing or destroying pieces of my leave. Just in between veins and stuff. But when I used that Insecticide soap......... Leave were gone by morning. I mean they would destroy a whole leaf, or leace it with a small nub(LOL.) On top of that, I was getting some kind of DEF. from the insecticide. My leaves around the edges would burn up. Like nute burn or some kind of DEF. Once I leave it alone the new leaves are ok. So it's kinda impossible for all my plants in different growing systems to be getting DEF. that looks the same at the same time. Normally they show signs of DEF. 24 hours after they've been treated. The guy at the hydro store said I should of sprayed water the next day, but the directions on the bottle didn't say that so I couldn't understand how that much damage could be cause on my plants and there was no directions on the bottle of rinsing the plants. So I'm afraid to use it again, and I also have Green Light® Concentrate Neem. It's a 3 in [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Insecticide, fungicide and miticide[/FONT]. I haven't used it yet cause I'm scared of messing my plants up. Both are highly recommended to me by my Hydro Store guy. And he's a Grower so he wouldn't steer me wrong. He keeps telling me to apply it again if I need it, just to spray off the plants the next day. Both of these products are also organic and can be used up to the day of your harvest. It will not effect the taste. So now I'm trying to see if this "cold water" system works. I'm 4 weeks into flowering and these F@#$ers already have stunted my girls enough. :peace:-Dodge
 

gangjababy

Well-Known Member
I've used cold showers with 100% success. I actually take the plant into the shower, and use my detachable/handheld shower head and spray straight cold water on them for several minutes.

I figure it's similar to say.. a fire hose to a human face. ;-) Eventually they gotta breathe, and when they do there's water being pushed inside. They drown & die or get blasted off and go down the drain.

Either way the problem gets solved.
Well it didn't do anything for me. You must have not had an infestation. The lady bugs just died in a week of being realeased, I let 1500 go in intervals of 500 a week and they did jackshit. Neem oil didn't do anything. tobacco tea worked ok but they came back after multiple applications, safers soap did''t do anything for me.
If you want to get rid of them use pyrethins.
 

MaDz

Well-Known Member
I order preditor mites and they work real well. Once every 6 weeks or so I order a batch and don't worry about spider mites any more.Costs a little bit but mite damage will reduce your yield quickly. Being an organic grower I won't bomb and well you don't want to spray soap on your buds.
It is what I wanted to do but not sure if my girlfriend will enjoy having 1000 ladybugs running in the house :(
 

MaDz

Well-Known Member
Ok guys, my plants are in the EARLY stage of infestation... I will use Pyrethins 0,01% and cold water next day... I don't mind if the plants are hurts because I KNOW what 1000000 mites can do to a plant!!:dunce:
 

bossman88188

Well-Known Member
i cant beleive no one has suggested co2. i have used it with great results.
there is a exact method or ppm to reach. but last time i got spidermites i emptyed a full 20 lb bottle of co2 in the room in three day intervals.kills everything but the girls. it will kill you at that high a ppm so be careful not to enter to soon afterwards.
i wonder if white mold could be killed the same way any one know?
 

gangjababy

Well-Known Member
Ok guys, my plants are in the EARLY stage of infestation... I will use Pyrethins 0,01% and cold water next day... I don't mind if the plants are hurts because I KNOW what 1000000 mites can do to a plant!!:dunce:
Good choice, be glad you caught them early. I had those fuckers for 4 months!!
 

MaDz

Well-Known Member
i cant beleive no one has suggested co2. i have used it with great results.
there is a exact method or ppm to reach. but last time i got spidermites i emptyed a full 20 lb bottle of co2 in the room in three day intervals.kills everything but the girls. it will kill you at that high a ppm so be careful not to enter to soon afterwards.
i wonder if white mold could be killed the same way any one know?
I don't think it could work for mold... because mold do not breath... I hope ;) But I'm not sure...
 

MaDz

Well-Known Member
Good choice, be glad you caught them early. I had those fuckers for 4 months!!

!!! Woohaa! 4 months! I'd rather kill myself instead... lol


BTW I'm using pyrethrin 0.01% and for the moment, I didnt have the time to really deaply treat them but I will do it tomorrow morning in the bath... but for now It's like a micro holocaust in their community ;) they suffer and i'm controlling the breeding process...
 

Brick Top

New Member
The Borg … resistance if futile!

I did not read every message in the thread so it is possible that it has already been mentioned but if someone had access to Ladybugs, from a local or somewhat close gardening supply store or purchased online, they could purchase Ladybugs and release them on their plants. Ladybugs are voracious hunters of tiny insects and they will rid your plants of mites and other small problem critters.

We LOVE Ladybugs at our nursery.
 

MaDz

Well-Known Member
The Borg … resistance if futile!

I did not read every message in the thread so it is possible that it has already been mentioned but if someone had access to Ladybugs, from a local or somewhat close gardening supply store or purchased online, they could purchase Ladybugs and release them on their plants. Ladybugs are voracious hunters of tiny insects and they will rid your plants of mites and other small problem critters.


We LOVE Ladybugs at our nursery.

Yeah but even if I'm growing in an open room beside my computer and with a grilfriend in the same appart? Tehy will get all over the house, no?
 

bossman88188

Well-Known Member
yeah i kinda figured it wouldnt but it really destroys those mites any bug really.
preying matis are real fun to put in the room and watch grow. but when it has no bugs to eat you gotta feed them lady bugs fun to watch
 

josh b

Well-Known Member
i have spidermites dueto my sooil bebing opened and outside for 4 months lol.
i just kill and remove any lavey that i see and now have a bug net .
 
First thing to do anytime you see such unnatural thing on your plant is to try to get rid of it.
The most often remedy first tried is with the use of water.
Take your plant to where you can spray indiscrimately a stream of water at the plant. I say AT, instead of "on", because that is what will knock off most pests.
Once off, they don't come back....at least, not that pest, but their offspring may already be ready to jump aboard.
Pests that invade our plants usually have strong parental genes that causes them to look to their young.
Some pests have very short gestation period...as few a few days to a couple weeks. Your plant may be, right now, harboring the eggs, or the larvae of the specks you see.
The soil your plant is in is most likely to be where the next invader is.
Any treatment you give, must be repeated in an attempt to break the cycle of the gestation period.
Usually, application of a treatment can be done 3 times within a short period...usually 10 - 20 days.
That is, treat today, in 5 days time, and again 5 days later. This often will break the cycle...but continued vigilance must be done.
There are many remedies suggested to rid plants of what invades. Sometimes it can be as bad treating the plnat as letting the little buggers have their way.
Know what the pest is before treating.
Water is not going to harm the plant, so make that your first thing to try.
Soap and water is another treatment that can be tried in most instances. Soap--like it lays on your skin, dries out the skin of the bug. Soap will interefere with the bugs breathing; all bugs are air breathers.
One such solution is 40 parts water, 1 part dishSOAP...(not detergent) sprayed on the plant from top to bottom, bottom to top, making sure all surfaces are treated, then wait for no more than ten minutes before the plant is thorughly rinsed with clean water, top to bottom, bottom to top.
There are bugs though that are not affected by this; they might have a hard shell that soap does not do anything to.
For these, there are other measures to try.
One is the use of dormant oil---the same oil that is used on your outdoor trees, shrubs and roses, in the spring.
Then there are the insecticides, pyrethrum, rotenone and others that you should tread carefully with--they are poisons and should be used only when all else fails.
Sometimes, if you feel eggs or larvae or pest themselves are in the soil, you can immerse the whole plant over the rim of the pot until bubbles stop, telling you all cavities are filled and the bugs will be forced to come to the surface.
On store shelves there are many insecticides that might list treatment for a bug you have identified.
Again, treatment should be repeated to break any cycle the bug might have.
Further reading about the use of baking soda, sprinkled on soil, can be done.
Identifying a bug and then doing a Google search can often advise owners how to treat.
If you can see the pest, you might be able to be rid of it by simply scraping them off. Put a leaf into the palm of your hand and carefuly wipe with a tissue. Or dip a Q-Tip into a bottle of rubbing alcohol and touch the pest with it.
But leaves are not the only place bugs hide. They get into the crotches of stems/leaves, or they invade the leaf itself, eating their way through and out.
Or they can be found in the petals of flowers--and this can be tough to treat because spraying a flower is not recommended simply because most times you will harm the bloom.
Water spray might dislodge the pest or make it more visible. In any case, do read about the pests and this can be done in most cases simply by buying a book or pamphlet on the care of houseplants.
These books are widely available in books stores --but try a USED bookstore first; gardening books are always there at very reduced prices.
 
i ve read some where they die after the first frost outside. SO why not empty out ur frige/ walk in and leave the plant for a hr or two maybe even spray with h20 while in there but be sure to put a old towel down as the mites will freeze, fall off and die =) and u dont want to track them back into ur room on the bottom of ur shoes. My buddy just killed his 6 mamas spraying and watering with neem too much =(
 

FoxMan

Member
You are doing okay but remember AZMAX is a special mix and with a special treatment procedure to get these bikers out of the campground. Try this: Hold plant in pot so doesn't fall out, turn upside down all leaves fold up and cover the buds. Spray real good, get the stem, turn plant upright, spray soil and side of pot. Finally with a friendly Mr. Clean type cleaner do the floor around pot. Oh yeah, do this AZMAX procedure just before feeding as pots are dry and light. This is about as far as you can go bud. Repeat as necessary. Never let plants touch and these bikers to party have to really travel. Oh yeah, when lights go off they ride up to yer buds and party on real THC and die when lights go on like Zombies getting cooked so watch yer smoke so you don't light up the "Walking Dead". BTW, am cross breeding a new strain: "Walking Dead".
 

bob jameson

Active Member
Spray them with cold water, it'll drown most of the spider mites. After a few days to a week they should be gone. During which time you should lift your lights a bit to avoid droplets causing lens burn.

Don't water them in the dark. Lack of light and excess moisture leads to bad things growing, like bud rot.
The only thing I would add is that they like low humidity, so keeping the humidity up will help once you knock them down. Oil sprays work well. Whatever you spray, keep in mind that the critters live on the bottom of the leaves, so that's where you want to direct your water/oil spray.
 
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