SM-90 on Broad mites

After months of questioning my growing skills everyday, researching everything grow related I could find, and redesigning my grow room. I have come to the conclusion that I have Broad Mites or some other pest not visible to the naked eye. Thankfully in my mother room only.

So now that I have ruled everything out but pests what do you guys suggest for sprays. I am looking for DIY recipe not a conventional "bottled nute" conclusion.

I had been using SM-90 for awhile until i ran out. But after all my research I can't help but notice the ingredients of SM-90 are very similar to just plain old soap. Am I Confused? I am not against it if that is the case, but I'd rather save $10 and buy a bottle of Dr. Bronner's. Insecticidal soaps are literally killer recipes.

P.S. Also I have just learned about the use of plant essential oils (Coriander in SM-90) in sprays. Anyone got any nerdy facts or links to good reads on the subject?

Dr. Bronner's Peppermint soap. He mentions adding a pinch of Cinnamon or a pinch of red pepper flakes.

Bronner's label says add a pinch of Cayenne Pepper powder. You can get all of these spices for $1 at the dollar store or Wal Mart. King Soupers/Safeway has 32 oz of Bronners for $11.99 or their copy of Peppermint soap for $9.99. They also have their generic spices for $1. I know Cinnamon oil is supposedly good but expensive.

Bronners is about 3 tablespoons per gallon of water. Bronner's has lots of oils in it.

You can also get Canola oil for $1 at Wal Mart. A fairly well know hydro store spider mite product has mostly Canola oil. You might do 2 table spoons of Bronners per gallon and a teaspoon of canola oil plus a pinch of one of the spices. Canola oil is pretty greasy and ifi t gets on the mite or mite eggs - it is not coming off.

Spider mites also hate onions, lemon, garlic chives, cilatro.and a few others.

Thanks @Freddie Millergogo. Dr. Bronner's Peppermint is what I settled. I'm probably going to start playing with the oils as opposed to the ground spices. To hopefully prevent sprayer clogging. I'm glad there is informed people on here putting out information. Your comments are very much appreciated.

One poster here on Rollitup was a proponent of Orange oil.
https://www.amazon.com/Medina-Orange-Oil-32/dp/B00CEID4JU

http://www.domyownpestcontrol.com/orange-oil-p-3775.html?gclid=Cj0KEQjw1ee_BRD3hK6x993YzeoBEiQA5RH_BGKAWsFCHF-d5wHX6kYlIqzm8jP1QdCm0oy6FtJdyZIaApZj8P8HAQ

Not just for killing spider mites and eggs but for cleaning a grow room after infestation. I would probably spray the room with diluted bleach solution then maybe orange oil diluted afterwards.

Bulk Apothecary sells all the oils in bulk.
http://www.bulkapothecary.com/essential-oils/peppermint-oil/?gclid=Cj0KEQjw1ee_BRD3hK6x993YzeoBEiQA5RH_BJrUMPCm2My0NmW1oivHmHYTdqx4fVrGwppWHy5Gy78aAi-I8P8HAQ

16 oz for $19.99. You probably need only a few drops

Cinnamon oil
http://www.bulkapothecary.com/product/essential-oils/pure-therapeutic-grade/cinnamon-leaf-essential-oil/

7 oils to kill spider mites
http://plantcaretoday.com/7-essential-oils-getting-rid-spider-mites.html
10 oils to kill spider mites
http://www.homeremedyfind.com/top-10-essential-oils-for-getting-rid-of-spider-mites/

Canola oil is dirt cheap - maybe 2 tbls spoons of bronners peppermint and a tea spoon of canola oil per gallon of water sprayer.


+1 on spices clogging sprayer
Cinnamon seems to break down the best and also garlic. Cayenne so so and chili powder will probably clog a 1 gallon sprayer. I am not sure if soaking in warm water helps. Also see Hamebnero Pepper spray aka CaliCleaner for mites.

Another two to consider is Ivory Dish soap. About $2.67 at Wal Mart for 32 ounces white bottle. More expensive but safer than Dawn. Also Johnsons baby shampoo. You can also find liquid Catille soap.

This guy made his own Mite-E-Wash which was a clone of Mighty Wash. For a surfactant (soap) he used kids bubbles instead of soap.

Also Capt Jacks Dead Bug Brew aka Spinosad. Monterey also sells a Spinosad spray. Al Bundy avatar guy here swears by it and it is good. He says two sprays a few days apart and a you can also use it as a soil drench. Do not need to add much to watering jug.

Great info @Freddie Millergogo. Now that I have figured out the issue my plants have resumed growth. My plants were so effed! I almost forgot what new growth looked like... Sad Story.

Do you have any pics of the affected plant? I had broad mites for quite a time awhile back. The only thing that wiped them out was nuke em. I used forbid,avid,kontos,and everything else you can buy. Trust me when I say to get the nuke em. It works!

longdongjohnson said:

Great info @Freddie Millergogo. Now that I have figured out the issue my plants have resumed growth. My plants were so effed! I almost forgot what new growth looked like... Sad Story.

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Another guy on the forums here said Rosemary plants as a companion plant.

I bought three small ones at $3.99 each. SNS 209 uses Rosemary oil and Rosemary extract. It can be used as a soil drench or plant spray. Rosemary has kind of a menthol types smell. Spider mites supposedly hate Rosemary along with Chives and some other plants. I also bought two chive plants. I guess I will see. Chives smell like onions.

@Whodatt I dont have pics of the plants, but it has to have been broad mites. I have been dealing with this problem for awhile and have upgraded environment and changed everything. the only thing i hadn't done was spray. hydro store was out of sm-90 and i didnt go get one because i didnt think it was that big of a deal..... but it was. lol Plants had heavy clawing on old growth. Growth had stoppped. New leaves were light green, small, had burnt tips, and were leathery in texture. no other pests were noticed even under heavy monitoring.

It is my understanding that multiple applications of insecticidal soap/ horticultural oils are the sure fire way of dealing with these pests. These two sprays coat the insects and physically smother/ dehydrate them, therefore the insects cannot build a resistance to your spray. Most other pesticides work on the bugs reproductive or digestive system leaving some bugs alive to build a population with resistance to your spray.

I am realizing the longer i grow that preventative treatments are the best. Reactionary decisions are usually rushed and not thought out properly.