Spider mites, White Fly & Alcohol

[Burger Boss]

Hey All, I've been having a problem with white fly & spider mites.
I read that a 50% solution of rubbing alcohol & water would knock them down. So I tried this a few days ago and "Viola", they ARE gone. But, I noticed some leaf curling, (not too extreme).

My problem is, there are at least 3 strengths of isopropyl alcohol on the market, 50%, 70% & 91%, these are all cut with purified water.
I used the 70% cut 50% with tap water.

Which one is appropriate? Anyone who has any experience in this matter, PLEASE give me some input, & thanks in advance, BB

 

[grwmm]

I would like to know if you are still having success with the use of your rubbing alcohol/water mix to keep the white fly/spider mites off? I have spider mites getting on my entire grow room, and would like to be able to knock it out fast. Good luck.

 

[LiEBE420]

hmm interesting. i know you can make organic pesticides involving garlic and jalepenos but maybe the alcohol is better?

 

[DurbanPoisonFiend]

I had this same issue with my babys and I found that using a small amount of dish soap with water in a spray bottle does the trick. Although some of my plants did die from this mixture, most of them have survived and are finally growing again after the bugs stunted them. Out of the 30 plants I had, 26 of them survived the infestation. I believe it also had something to do with the strain im growing (durban poison), i found that none of them died due to that fact that it is extremely good at fighting off infection as well as parasites, while the super silver haze i got had a few casualties. If you use the soapy water technique be sure to use it sparingly as it can cause browning of the leaves, stunted growth, or death similar to that of over-fertalizing and, or under-fertalizing. Hopes this helps anyone experiencing these little fuckers.

 

[420caregiver]

I had this same issue with my babys and I found that using a small amount of dish soap with water in a spray bottle does the trick. Although some of my plants did die from this mixture, most of them have survived and are finally growing again after the bugs stunted them. Out of the 30 plants I had, 26 of them survived the infestation. I believe it also had something to do with the strain im growing (durban poison), i found that none of them died due to that fact that it is extremely good at fighting off infection as well as parasites, while the super silver haze i got had a few casualties. If you use the soapy water technique be sure to use it sparingly as it can cause browning of the leaves, stunted growth, or death similar to that of over-fertalizing and, or under-fertalizing. Hopes this helps anyone experiencing these little fuckers.

I have the same amount of plants but i only seen 3 plants infested i found them yesterday and i dint know what to do! so i went to my local nursery and got my self 100 LADYBUGS! placed them in my room and i sprayed the 3 plants the one's that i can see that had spider mite webs out of 30 of them! i sprayed them with Foxfarm Dont bug me spray!
I hope this doesnt hurt my plants what do you think about

1 Ladybugs for spidermites?
2 Fox Farm Dont bug me (spray)?

I will try the soap method should i wait for your methods since i did all this already (Ladybugs and spray Today!)
or do it right away?

Please help here are some pictures to see if this heavy or normal infestation! I cant belive i dint see them earlier?

 

[DurbanPoisonFiend]

to be honest with you i think the ladybugs will be kind of useless because of the size of the spider mites. Also make sure the spray your using is low in chemicals because obviously if u spray your plant with a non-safe pesticide it has a greater chance of dying. I'm actually suprised your plants look as good as they do considering the severity of the infestation but that being said they could have a better chance of survival because they were able to persevere through it for so long. As for the soap and water technique make sure u dont use a lot of soap and only mist the plants so they have a light film on them. The soap and water works in the same way as the sprays you can buy in the stores, by both drowning and chemically killing them. Make sure you dont do it often ether, check the plants every couple of days for signs of more mites. Also be sure to take off as many of the webs as you can so the mixture can reach the more problamatic sections of the plant. Also, if you can, you should move the infested plants to a different area to prevent further infestation. Hope this helps...keep this updated so i can see how they turned out.

 

[tilemaster]

fuck wut happened to caregiving ...caregiver..hah..damn did u try fighting them be4 they started all that webbing...that shit is gastly..no offense but im glad im not ur patient and buying that mite shit bud..


Rubbing alchol can def be used as a knockdown agent..i have a bottle of it sitting right next to all my other nutes..and miticides.. i wouldnt mix it 50 50 tho by no means..thats just me , and i think thats why u saw the leaf burning..i mix 2tablespoons into the bottom of a designated spray bottle thats like a quart size. but i would be using something like neem be4 u ever spot them..

I have the same amount of plants but i only seen 3 plants infested i found them yesterday and i dint know what to do! so i went to my local nursery and got my self 100 LADYBUGS! placed them in my room and i sprayed the 3 plants the one's that i can see that had spider mite webs out of 30 of them! i sprayed them with Foxfarm Dont bug me spray!
I hope this doesnt hurt my plants what do you think about

1 Ladybugs for spidermites?
2 Fox Farm Dont bug me (spray)?

I will try the soap method should i wait for your methods since i did all this already (Ladybugs and spray Today!)
or do it right away?

Please help here are some pictures to see if this heavy or normal infestation! I cant belive i dint see them earlier?

 

[Burger Boss]

I would like to know if you are still having success with the use of your rubbing alcohol/water mix to keep the white fly/spider mites off? I have spider mites getting on my entire grow room, and would like to be able to knock it out fast. Good luck.

GRWMM, Still not a sign of the critters, thank god. Tilemaster seems to think my
50:50 mix was too strong. However, the bugs are gone for 4 days now, & no viable
eggs to be seen. The leaf curling has dissappeared. So I guess I'm ok for now.
I will update this link as needed. Good grow to all......BB

PS: I would still like to hear from anyone with data on which strength of alcohol to start with
& what the final solution strength should be, again, thanks.....BB

 

[420caregiver]

GRWMM, Still not a sign of the critters, thank god. Tilemaster seems to think my
50:50 mix was too strong. However, the bugs are gone for 4 days now, & no viable
eggs to be seen. The leaf curling has dissappeared. So I guess I'm ok for now.
I will update this link as needed. Good grow to all......BB

PS: I would still like to hear from anyone with data on which strength of alcohol to start with
& what the final solution strength should be, again, thanks.....BB

What % of alchol you use 70?

50/50

I will try this too if the following doesnt work


What is this link?
It says use this mite for Spider mites
http://homeharvest.com/beneinsspidermites.htm

 

[Burger Boss]

It finally dawned on me last night: if you want to know something,
effen "Google it". Keyed in: alcohol as spider mite spray.

Got: www.getridofthings.com/get-rid-of-spider-mites.htm

Halfway down the page is a paragraph on using alcohol. Check
it out and draw your own conclusions.

Good luck & good grow......BB

 

[grwmm]

It finally dawned on me last night: if you want to know something,
effen "Google it". Keyed in: alcohol as spider mite spray.

Got: www.getridofthings.com/get-rid-of-spider-mites.htm

Halfway down the page is a paragraph on using alcohol. Check
it out and draw your own conclusions.

Good luck & good grow......BB

Hi BB, thanks for the update. I had used a organic spray, but I'm still seeing signs of spider mites, so in a couple more days, I'm using the alcohol mix you used. I by no means have the webs, that the other person has, they are just on the underside of the leaves, and the spots on top, but I don't want to let that happen either. Most of the mites happened to also be on the fan leaves, so I did major trimming on those. Thanks BB, and good grow to you. Much appreciated.

 

[420caregiver]

Hi BB, thanks for the update. I had used a organic spray, but I'm still seeing signs of spider mites, so in a couple more days, I'm using the alcohol mix you used. I by no means have the webs, that the other person has, they are just on the underside of the leaves, and the spots on top, but I don't want to let that happen either. Most of the mites happened to also be on the fan leaves, so I did major trimming on those. Thanks BB, and good grow to you. Much appreciated.

Am the one with all the webs on my plants! i dint notice the webs until now? How long do you think it took for my plants to get this bad?

 

[grwmm]

420caregiver: I noticed that there were spots on my leaves, the fan leaves, which made me look underneath. That is when I noticed the tiny black spots, which are the spidermites. To have the infestation like you have had, I would say that they had to be there for over a couple of weeks. I have now been fighting these guys for a week and a half, still having the black spots, but I am using the alcohol mix today to kill them. Hope you were able to get yours under control.

BB: I was only able to find the 70% alcohol myself, but I will use about 12ounces and then water to make 32 oz.

 

[420caregiver]

420caregiver: I noticed that there were spots on my leaves, the fan leaves, which made me look underneath. That is when I noticed the tiny black spots, which are the spidermites. To have the infestation like you have had, I would say that they had to be there for over a couple of weeks. I have now been fighting these guys for a week and a half, still having the black spots, but I am using the alcohol mix today to kill them. Hope you were able to get yours under control.

BB: I was only able to find the 70% alcohol myself, but I will use about 12ounces and then water to make 32 oz.

Thank you I did see the spots on the leafs i thought they were marks from when i sprayed them with DONTBUG ME spray! so a couple of weeks later i was spraying my plants and the mist from the spray made me see all the webs! i was so sad, but now i have got them under control! i used a girls small make up brush to remove the webs then i spray them every 2-days with (SAFE SPRAY) a Canadian product that works great it doesn't damage the plants its like a bath for plants and at the end of the day i look with 60x magnification and see that 90% of them are dead (You still see 1 or 2 around) i dont know how the spray works for eggs but will see.
I also moved 4 of my infested plants into a new trash can and sprayed them and left them in there with a fan! so hopefully this will take care of the big problem i still spray my room every 2 days just to clean them and make sure there ok!


I will post pictures soon

 

[Burger Boss]

Hi guys, wanted to let you know that i'm STILL mite & white fly FREE.

Glad to hear you're getting the problem under control.

Wishing all, good luck & good grow......BB

 

[Bluemax]

i have spider mite all over my early skunk and thai super skunks,even outside in the wet uk weather,i keep catching them and crushing them individually(a most time consuming exercise i must say) did spray with soap water,and that seemed to do well,but they seemed to have called for back up,was 6 mites on 1 leaf this morning!!!!!

so alcohol is good for killing bugs,i know this,but what about the effect on the plant????

ive read there are some excellent little ladybugs,not the usual uk onesv that are red etc(althought but they work too),but little black bugs,that LOVE to eat and prey on spidermites,they are completely predatory,will guard your ganja from many things including the dreaded spidermites and its cool having your own little bug army!!!!

 

[Burger Boss]

i have spider mite all over my early skunk and thai super skunks,even outside in the wet uk weather,i keep catching them and crushing them individually(a most time consuming exercise i must say) did spray with soap water,and that seemed to do well,but they seemed to have called for back up,was 6 mites on 1 leaf this morning!!!!!

so alcohol is good for killing bugs,i know this,but what about the effect on the plant????

ive read there are some excellent little ladybugs,not the usual uk onesv that are red etc(althought but they work too),but little black bugs,that LOVE to eat and prey on spidermites,they are completely predatory,will guard your ganja from many things including the dreaded spidermites and its cool having your own little bug army!!!!

Hey Max, I used 70% alcohol cut 50/50
with water. Some folks are having success with a 30/70 mix, but I have had no ill effects with the mix I use.
The plants get a slight leaf curl for about
3 or 4 hours, than straighten right out
with no appearent problems.

I have used the Lady bugs in past grows & they do the job, but then they leave & if there is a recurring problem, I have to go out and buy more.
I have come to trust the"AL/H2O" mix
completely, and it's always standing by
for me. I create a lot of air movement, (fans), after spraying. This helps evaporate the alcohol quickly.

I wish good luck for all, & good grow.....BB

 

[aceshigh69]

Whats up burger boss. I use the 70% cut 50/50 with tapwater and it works great. Just dont saturate the soil. And you dont half to get wild with it. They die on contact. Check it out thru a micro scope if you can.

 

[anhedonia]

Azatrol. 2 fl. oz/gal at $100 a quart. Pretty pricy but no more spidermites. Picked some up the other day.

 

[Burger Boss]

Whats up burger boss. I use the 70% cut 50/50 with tapwater and it works great. Just dont saturate the soil. And you dont half to get wild with it. They die on contact. Check it out thru a micro scope if you can.

Hi Aces, yes, this really does work rather well. I try to keep the mixture AWAY from the soil, lightly spraying the
underside of the leaves ONLY. I do own a pocket microscope, (ALL serious growers should!) Be sure to vent your grow area real good after spraying to help evaporate the alcohol, as the little bastards die on contact, and you want to get rid of the alcohol ASAP.

As for paying $100 per quart of whatever the other poster suggested, I will pass for now as long as the 99 cents per quart of alcohol is working with no ill effects. I will use the $99 saved to buy some more great genetics.

Good luck & good grow to all........BB