Thanks Danny +rep, I think your definetly right, I sat in examing plants today and eventually found a tiny white worm looking 'mite'? on my leaf ( literally 0.5mm, v small), it eventually moved turning around like a worm.. Also spotted small black dots near it, I will first absolutly drench them with neem oil then 2 days later some petroleum based spray? then another treatment of petroleum spray a week later?
Thanks.
Quick question, Speckeld white dots ontop of coco could possibly be mould as its been wet for a good week now (just started bottom feeding) could this be mite eggs or just plain old mould at a young stage?
It's sounding like you have more than 1 infestation. Thrips are long & slender, mites are more roundish. The worm looking thing you described sounds like a Thrip, and they leave white dots on the leaves when they feed.
White Mites would look more like a white spec of dust to the human eye. Like a small piece of perlite dust that moves. You definately have damage that looks like White Mite damage though.
The black dots sound like they could be spider mites, or some other type of mite. Did the black dots move? And have you seen anything that might resemble a very small web?
You can't see eggs without a microscope. You can't see Mite Larvae without a microscope either, but you can see some Thrip larvae without a microscope. That's what the worm sounds like to me. Could be white flies too though especially if the white dots rub off. White fly shit looks a lot like Thrip damage.
First thing you have to do if you haven't already. Buy some knee hi stockings and put them over your intake & exhaust. It's not as good as a no-thrip screen, but it will work in a pinch.
You should definately use a petroleum product, here's Bonides dealer finder. Check your zip and you might find a place near you that sells it. I'd suggest getting the bottle of concentrate, sounds like you're going to need to treat more than once.
http://www.bonide.com/dealer_locator/index.html
My advice, treat right away with just the petroleum suffocant. 4 or 5 days later treat again with the petroleum suffocant + something else (neem oil is a good idea). 4 or 5 days later use the petroleum suffocant again but change up what you use with it (Mite X from Bonide is pretty good). After 3 treatments, if you're carefull to spray everything (leaves top & bottom, soil, planters, run off trays, floor/rug, walls, mylar, ceiling, fans...... Everything every treatment) you should be OK, but if you have anything left after 3 treatments, I'd give her a 4th treatment 4 or 5 days later with whatever you have left, just to be safe.
Spider Mites hate humidity & Broad Mites love it, so I don't know what to tell you to do with the humidity.
If the infestation is bad, if it's on a lot of your leaves, you may also want to pick up some lady bugs from your grow store or local nursery. They'll help get the numbers down for you and help you finish off all but the last infestation.
If you want to use predatory bugs all the way and you still have a week or two left of veg, you might want to pick up some predatory mites. I'm not sure if they'll kill thrips or white flies though. Pirate bugs may be a better choice, they'll eat any pest. But if you use Pirate Bugs you can't spray or use lady bugs.
Personally I'd go with the spray & lady bugs. Just don't spray the lady bugs directly with the Neem. They should be ok with everything else.
Good luck, hope you end up on top of this fight.
