Contributed by:
Chimera
Thanks to:
Bunz
Submitted: 07-19-2003
Images archived: 2003
Introduction
[SIZE=-2]Image by: Green Shaman[/SIZE] Let me first start out by offering you my sympathies... mites are one of the worst pests you can encounter while growing cannabis. They can reproduce at a phenomenal rate and easily have the potential to ruin your flowering crop, nay all your plant material IF you aren't vigilant about getting rid of them.
Scared yet? You should be! Hopefully this will wake you to the seriousness of the situation; trust me you don't want to see a full blown mite infestation. Not a pretty site. That having been said, if you take care and understand the life cycle of the mites, you should be able to rid yourself of them quite easily.
The Environment
Mites have a life cycle that varies directly with the environment... in a very hot, dry climate they can complete a life cycle in a few weeks. If the environment is cooler, and has more humidity, it can take them over a month to hatch, mature and leave their own offspring for the next wave of attacks on your plants.
This is very important to understand, because it's easier to destroy the population if there aren't new ones popping up as fast as you can kill them.
So your first goal is to make the environment less hospitable for the evils... drop the temps as low as possible, and increase the humidity in your grow chambers. An evaporative cooler should help.... this can be as simple as a bucket with a fan pointing across the water. Stale air is a no no as well, so get some good fans constantly blowing across your plants (making it very difficult for mites to lay their eggs) and increase the ventilation if possible... depending on your setup, this should also help drop the temps, but may decrease overall humidity.
Chemical sprays
Spraying daily with water is really hinders the spotted mite's reproduction.
There are many sprays that will kill spider mites. Kelthane, Malathion, Neem oil, pyrethrum based sprays.... the list goes on and on.
There is a product called AVID which is sold illegally under the counter in many hydro stores. AVID is similar to a systemic; it is translaminar. The safety of AVID in cannabis and breakdown periods in leaf tissue have never been shown adequately IMO, so I don't use it nor recommend its use to anyone. NEVER use AVID in flowering, if you feel you need to use it at all.
I've had great results using the 'softer' pyrethrum based products. Pyrethrum is a natural miticide produced by flowers in the chrysanthemum family, it works against all the different mite populations. Repeated treatment is key; most of the sprays are unable to penetrate to the eggs; so you need to re-apply the spray to take care of the hatched eggs before they have a chance to lay more eggs themselves.
Spray application:
Get yourself a quality pressure sprayer (a separate container and a wand type are the best) at home depot or Canadian Tire etc. The wand allows you to easily get under the leaves where the mites spend most of their time sucking the juices from your babies.
I highly recommend two product by 'Safers': EndAll and Trounce.
The active ingredient in both is pyrethrum, but Endall is based on canola oil, Trounce is based on soap and alcohol. Get the Endall and Trounce concentrate bottles, mix your own spray from these at home... it's much cheaper, and you will be able to use your own sprayer.
Note: Safer's insecticidal soap is pretty much the same as Trounce. Trounce contains alcohol and pyrethrum as well, which will further help kill the bugs.
I like the Endall because it coats the entire surfaces of the leaves well, and seems to penetrate the eggs and kills some of them, where as the trounce doesn't seem to kill the eggs.
I like to apply Endall generously first (Day 1), and let it soak overnight, then rinse with plain water in the morning. Twice a day (if possible) on Days 2-5 spray the plants down using the same pressure sprayer with plain water... make sure you get both top and bottoms of the leaves each time.
On Day 5 mix a batch of the trounce up and again, spray before lights out. Rinse in the morning, and on days 6-10 spray twice daily with plain water.
Day 10- repeat the cycle
This should have killed all the mites on the plants, unless your population is resistant to pyrethrum. If they are resistant, you might substitute a harsher chemical (ie kelthane (flinch) or Malathion (flinch) ) for the second application of Endall.
Spray tips:
Always read the label for mixing direction, and never spray closer to harvest than recommended by the manufacturer (Never use a product recommended for ornamentals only... make sure it is safe for use on food crops.).
These types of sprays are contact sprays... if the solution doesn't come into contact with the pest, the pest won't die!! This is why it is so important to use a good sprayer and make sure you coat the entire plant- top and bottom of the leaves. Even spray the surface of the medium.
The mites MUST come into contact with the spray o be killed. Mite eggs are resistant and won't be destroyed, so you'll need to reapply the spray the before the hatched eggs can lay their own eggs.
[Editor?s note: spot spray if you have never used the chemical before to prevent damage to your entire crop. Never spray with HIDs on, and use appropriate protective gear]
Other homemade chemicals
If you smoke cigarettes, you can also make a spray with a small amount of dish soap, and some tobacco. The nicotine is extremely toxic, and will kill the bugs if they come in contact with it. Break a bunch of cigarettes up and soak the tobacco in water overnight. Beware of the possibility of TMV (tobacco mosaic virus), unless you boil your solution for ~20 minutes (after adding the tobacco) to kill the virus. Let cool, add your few drops of detergent and voila. Strain it, spray it.
You can also add some types of hot pepper powder (cayenne etc), or if you have access to chrysanthemums... get a bunch, remove all the petals and blend them in a blender with water. Strain, and add to your soapy solution. This should work also.
[SIZE=-2]Image by: Green Shaman[/SIZE] Let me first start out by offering you my sympathies... mites are one of the worst pests you can encounter while growing cannabis. They can reproduce at a phenomenal rate and easily have the potential to ruin your flowering crop, nay all your plant material IF you aren't vigilant about getting rid of them. 
. the taste deters them more than anything but it will make them leave ur plants alone. the soap will work for most of the pests u will encounter, only 1 prob. do ur BEST not 2 get it on the soil. a lil wont hurt ur plant 2 bad but a fair ammount may just kill ur plant. 
