Spider mites, how long to shut down a grow to get rid of them?

AAjax

Well-Known Member
Hi all,
Been growing for awhile indoors, though most of my grow history is outdoor. Never had a mite issue cause I never used clones...ever. Long story short ran into a clone only strain and also ran into a mite problem. I have a very small indoor set up. A 4x2 grow/clone tent and a 3ftx20in flower tent. Both currently set up in my bedroom. Planning on taking down the whole grow after the next cycle and start fresh. Have enough finished product to last me 6 to 8 months easy not including the in process cycles.
My take on spider mites in a multi use area is that unless I shut it down for a period I prob will not have much of a chance at eradication with unbroken cycles running. Since its a living area and I refuse to use chems on my meds much less my bedroom it seems the best option.
Looking to shut down the grow with extensive cleaning of the tents and my entire bedroom (prob needed that anyhow :D ) and was wondering for anyone else in a similar situation and method could recommend how long to wait to insure eradication of the issue.
Thanks in advance for any insight.
 
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Fastslappy

Well-Known Member
they have a life cycle such that once alive plants have died they die as well IF no other plants are around
IE; get rid of all indoor house plants as the be safe harbors for any survivors
clean all pots wash the walls vacuum the floors
spray the gro room surfaces down with pure orange oil ( I use 50 to one, oil to this next mix = with equal parts water & ISO 90% alcohol , a few drops of dish soap ) put a 1/4 " on oil in the bottom of a quart hand sprayer & then fill 1/2 way with water & then fill will ISO & soap . Shake well before spray , this is safe on plants pets , you , smells good
& best of all dissolves eggs & mites on contact ,kills feas, ants & spiders on contact
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CEID4JU/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I use this stuff around the house it replaces 409 & such cleaners
that Qt will last years
dish soap makes it emulsify the water oil alky together u must shake thou
 

Fastslappy

Well-Known Member
they come from Pets as well as infected clones ( i got mine from strawberry cough clones )
yer dogs & cats can bring them in from the yard , even yer clothes if u garden outdoors
 

AAjax

Well-Known Member
they come from Pets as well as infected clones ( i got mine from strawberry cough clones )
yer dogs & cats can bring them in from the yard , even yer clothes if u garden outdoors
I have no other indoor plants and no pets. Also changing clothes and showering before going into the tents seems to have worked well in past years.
Thanks for the heads up on the citrus oil I will give it a shot.
 

greasemonkeymann

Well-Known Member

greasemonkeymann

Well-Known Member
I have no other indoor plants and no pets. Also changing clothes and showering before going into the tents seems to have worked well in past years.
Thanks for the heads up on the citrus oil I will give it a shot.
I have had moderately good luck with predator mites, albeit expensive...
but absolutely the CLEANEST way to control them.
 

Fastslappy

Well-Known Member
I have had moderately good luck with predator mites, albeit expensive...
but absolutely the CLEANEST way to control them.
I did predators & everyone around local kept telling me to use ladybugs & lacewings
pred's didn't cut at all lost the summer gro
ladybugs last 2 summers no insects no mites no worms no caterpillars just ladybugs hiding in the tops I buy a pint of em a week at this time of year
not to bust ballz but that's totally not right man, mites can go dormant for a LONG ass time..
me and spider mites go WAY back...
dirty ass fuckers...

http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/crops/hort/news/grower/2009/08gn09a1.htm

http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/orn/twospotted_mite.htm
yer right they do live a long time bro .
that's a good read , thanx for posting tells me why the LB's hit the floor once they have searched the plants for food
as the next day the are all up inside every nook & cranny in my G/H & down in the gravel areas near the walls
my 20 year greenhouse experience (orchids,tropicals,African succulents ) & a successful Ebay business selling those plants ,
with mites is cleaning up as i stated & removing host plants
once I did my process they didn't come back till a clone was introduced
I had 4 foot colas covered in spiderwebs that appeared over nite
they are strain happy for some MJ plants
my JTR got eaten up, blueberry eatin alive /Bubba Kush not a mark
this mite issue nothing close to bad like if white fly gets yer crop
White Fly is the worst , little flying fuckers
 

greasemonkeymann

Well-Known Member
I did predators & everyone around local kept telling me to use ladybugs & lacewings
pred's didn't cut at all lost the summer gro
ladybugs last 2 summers no insects no mites no worms no caterpillars just ladybugs hiding in the tops I buy a pint of em a week at this time of year
yer right they do live a long time bro .
that's a good read , thanx for posting tells me why the LB's hit the floor once they have searched the plants for food
as the next day the are all up inside every nook & cranny in my G/H & down in the gravel areas near the walls
my 20 year greenhouse experience (orchids,tropicals,African succulents ) & a successful Ebay business selling those plants ,
with mites is cleaning up as i stated & removing host plants
once I did my process they didn't come back till a clone was introduced
I had 4 foot colas covered in spiderwebs that appeared over nite
they are strain happy for some MJ plants
my JTR got eaten up, blueberry eatin alive /Bubba Kush not a mark
this mite issue nothing close to bad like if white fly gets yer crop
White Fly is the worst , little flying fuckers
Kudo's to you my friend, orchids are HARD to keep alive and growing/flowering, cannabis is a walk in the park compared to the dockrillia, or the spider orchid..

and damn, you controlled ANY thing with ladybugs??
I found ladybugs to be utterly a waste of time and money, unless you were trying to litter up your reflectors with fuck-tarded ladybugs...
and YES, in the summer the predators are a lil slow at keeping up with the two-spot reproductive cycle..
for sure..

I've literally tried EVERYTHING, and sadly nothing really will keep mites away, at least not when growing in unsealed sheds in the CA redwoods..
 

In Shape Vet

Well-Known Member
i got them from contaminated soil from a plant i brought in just to get some light for a bit... they can live in the soil dormant until warm it seems. i ran the experiment myself when i was testing poisons. Iv seen the bastards in poisons i placed on them just to watch them dry off and go about their day. after much hair pulling. neem oil on new plants and cleaning the room seems to help. had a 4 tub SOG perpetual destroyed. I got complacent. Youll have to keep an eye out from now on. Took me only a week of near neglect just checking water once in a while to not notice the outbreak.
 

greasemonkeymann

Well-Known Member
i got them from contaminated soil from a plant i brought in just to get some light for a bit... they can live in the soil dormant until warm it seems. i ran the experiment myself when i was testing poisons. Iv seen the bastards in poisons i placed on them just to watch them dry off and go about their day. after much hair pulling. neem oil on new plants and cleaning the room seems to help. had a 4 tub SOG perpetual destroyed. I got complacent. Youll have to keep an eye out from now on. Took me only a week of near neglect just checking water once in a while to not notice the outbreak.
heh...
"my" mites are dichlorvos resistant, avid resistant, forbid resistant, azamax resistant, and neem resistant.
yay!
hence my application for predator mites.
mites just evolve TOO damn quick.
hell in a week you can get two full generations of mutation.
imagine that?
it'd be like having your grandfather pass down like a cancer resistant cell to you..
mites are badass lil bastards, almost admirably so.

after nuclear warI they'll be nothing but cockroaches and fuckin spider mites left on the planet
 

Fastslappy

Well-Known Member
GM need to start treating your outdoor area around the sheds now for next year & keep them from migrating indoors into yer warn shed , warm & cozy they be
clear old pots , any bushes near , release LB into the yard & do the lacewings
the little bastards evolve any poison very quickly
biological is the best,
LB work for me ,Preds work IF you catch the infestation quickly I do know that silverfish eat mites
a heat gun will do some damage to the hiding places just be careful
look at bed bug methods of control
miticides are not for smoking remember that .
Grease Monkey do you go to the Emerald Cup ?
 

In Shape Vet

Well-Known Member
yes, people around here bash and flame for mentioning some poisons but i myself was very surprised that dichlorvos in a sealed bag with a mite contaminated sample showed no progress of elimination within a week period. the set up was not destoryed by the mites more so than the various treatments that the plants didnt survive. I think applications of too strongly prepared H2O2 sprays where the fastest as really finishing off everything, mite and plant.
 

Fastslappy

Well-Known Member
nothing to do with mites but after 36 hours I got this burst of explosive growth with blue corn SSTIMG_20160819_1029557_rewind[1].jpg lateral caudexes have also doubled & are making branching bud stems
frost has doubled over nite
 

greasemonkeymann

Well-Known Member
GM need to start treating your outdoor area around the sheds now for next year & keep them from migrating indoors into yer warn shed , warm & cozy they be
clear old pots , any bushes near , release LB into the yard & do the lacewings
the little bastards evolve any poison very quickly
biological is the best,
LB work for me ,Preds work IF you catch the infestation quickly I do know that silverfish eat mites
a heat gun will do some damage to the hiding places just be careful
look at bed bug methods of control
miticides are not for smoking remember that .
Grease Monkey do you go to the Emerald Cup ?
I hear ya man, but it's a fools errand, we have four types of mites out here, and they are EVERYWHERE.
i'm literally in a redwood rainforest (well, when it rains)
believe me, I've tried it all, for five yrs now, the previous 20 yrs or so of growing I never had problems past the occasional outbreak, but it was all controllable, the problem is the forest is CRAWLING with mites, so eradication is simply not plausible.
it's all about CONTROL, which is why I spend about 600 bucks a yr on predator mites.
150 bucks an ap, and get em when it's in vege.
and the predator mites only stick around if it's a happy-medium with the reg mites, in other words if the predator mites eat ALL of the reg mites, they leave...
so ya gotta keep some around for them
 

Fastslappy

Well-Known Member
looks like it's changed it's mine a couple times regarding flower, no?
no she's been chunking up nicely & steady growth that is the only cola that did that the rest all went out laterally
the rest of the plants are swelling stems after the SST
I noticed a perk up across the g/h this morning
 

Fastslappy

Well-Known Member
believe me, I've tried it all, for five yrs now, the previous 20 yrs or so of growing I never had problems past the occasional outbreak, but it was all controllable, the problem is the forest is CRAWLING with mites, so eradication is simply not plausible.
Yeah , it's the drought the forest is stressed & bugs love stress
PM is my issue , new furnace in g/h will control that , tried to do with out last year cost me dearly
pre bubba 98 melted in one nite 4 huge fuckers cherry pie about the same
strawberry cough didn't even get PM candyland no pm
 

Fastslappy

Well-Known Member
back at the OP clean your room & adjoining rooms very well
spray the Orange oil into all cracks & hiding places + Vacuuming really works wonders
when they do go dormant they don't travel very far to a hiding area
that article GM posted talks about that
 

greasemonkeymann

Well-Known Member
Yeah , it's the drought the forest is stressed & bugs love stress
PM is my issue , new furnace in g/h will control that , tried to do with out last year cost me dearly
pre bubba 98 melted in one nite 4 huge fuckers cherry pie about the same
strawberry cough didn't even get PM candyland no pm
it's anecdotal, but since I bought the "10k" 600w metal halide, and started running with the hood open, I haven't had ANY pm at all.
and like I said, typically it's a rainforest..
there is quite a bit of UV there.. and they do use UV to sterilize hospitals, reef tanks, etc...
maybe it's coincidental...
I run two 600s, one a conventional HPS, the other the 12k metal halide
but look at the UV in these, not sure if it's the correct spectrum to sterilize, but like I said, no pm in my shed, even during the gnarly rains CA got last yr, hell I had almost an entire flowering session in the friggin rain
no pm
10kspectrum.png
course the UVc is in the further spectrum down, and this graph doesn't show it...
so I could be full of shit.
BUT, still... no pm since I started using it
 
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Fastslappy

Well-Known Member
as long as I keep the temps above 68*F I am golden
I get the pacific fog rollin in over the coastal mts in marin @ night
everything that is a annual outdoors soon gets PM here , it's what kills all the summer weeds (thistles)
 
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