Spider Mite help... Last Resorts!?!?!

Hi All,

God how I hate these little buggers.... Got some clones from one of the clubs here in Cali - not only is it having problems with brittle stems and low yield but it brought along spider mites as well. Thought I got rid of them all (with Safer spray), but a month later they were back with a vengeance.

I released 3000 lady bugs and did another spray but it doesn't seem to be working too well. I've got about 2 weeks left to harvest and the yield is disappointing compared to my last couple harvests. I'm hoping just to break even, but I need this to pull through so these spider mites have to go.

I removed some branches cry and a plant that had webs forming, I'd rather lose an oz or two than the whole crop if I can help it. I'm thinking next option is a bug bomb like Dr. Doom. I have 2 4x4 trays going so it has to be effective over a large area.

Any ideas or suggestions? Also, will I have problems with the mites taking over the buds while curing? I would assume they would starve out... but don't want to risk it. I can't wait to be done with this crop so I can nuke my room and start over....

Thanks for any help you can give....

there isnt much you can do that close to harvest with heavy chemicals... unfortunatly... you can wash your plants off in a shower of under a low pressure hose to wash them and their eggs off but you risk washing away trichs... you can make a homeade spray which might help using tobasco, garlic, lemon oil, and cinnamon oil... just mix a few drops cinnamon oil, few drops citrus/lemon oil, some chopped garlic (dont be shy, but dont be tooooo liberal), and a good amount of tobasco in a spray bottle with water... let sit out over night... strain the garlic out... spray your plants liberally.. under leaves and on the tops... before lights out... get some sticky bug traps and put at the bottom of your plants to exiting mites will get stuck on them if its possible... do this every other day for a week and you can prolly cut the infestation down a lot... this wont kill them... it will make the deter the mites... the sticky strips will make sure you dont have to worry about them...hopefully you can cut your problem by half.. just give it a week with NO sprays so your buds dont taste like your spray... and if you see your plants reacting badly to the spray (it shouldnt though) stop use...

mites are almost impossible to get rid of if the infestation is left unchecked... in a week they can overrun a garden... the best way to get rid of mites is not getting mites... IMO you cant beat neem oil.. pure neem oil can be made into a spray and used on your girls from baby up to 4 weeks of flowering.. you can prolly use it past then too.. i just dont.. dont want to taste neem oil at all in my plants... shit smells terrible... but as a preventitive you can spray your girls once a week with a neem oil spray and your almost garunteed not to get mites... now im talking about using PURE NEEM OIL to make a spray.. not a spray the has neem or neem oil as an ingredient... big big difference... you can order pure neem oil online fairly cheap... its natural which is a plus and works great as i said...you can also add neem to your water when you feed.. this takes care of soil pests if you have any... plus the plant will absorb it which helps remove pests if you have an infestation too...

neem oil isnt a contact killer... it works by
a) suffocating the eggs
b) changing hormones in the pest which directly relate to growth, causing the pest to become unable to produce by never letting the pest reach adulthood/maturity

so for large infestation it isnt the best because it take about a week or 2 weeks to control an infestation that is bad... but as a preventitive or as a way to start controlling a minor infestation it is great.. so i'd recommend purchasing some and using it through your next grow... keep those little fuckers at bay before they get out of hand..

you can also use high humidity to slow their life cycle.. so spraying with cold water at night will help.. as long as you dont have to worry about mold and shit... temps below 70F will help slow their growth... fans blowing constantly on the plants deter them because its hard for them to hold on and the dont like wind... those are a couple small ways to help deter them also..

for big infestations that are caught earlier, say beginning of veg to 4 weeks of flowering, avid works wonders, floramite, and no pest strips... all 3 of these will kill your problem off... they are strong chemicals (2 are sprayed on the plant, the strips just release a "chemical cloud") so if you arent keen on chemicals svoid these.. but for strength, imediate results, and overall effectiveness you cant beat them...

i hope this helped ya bro... good luck with those fuckers... everyone battles them at some time... we are all pulling for ya!

ahh i hate those,...another home brew idea i ahve seen is people make a Tobacco tea..out of some fresh American spirits grounded up and steep that in hot water..this works very well..but be carfull

Dr Doom. Just fog the area and no worrys. Chems will dissapate before you even harvest. I have had to bomb for spider mites 3 days before harvesting 2. I had no choice I had 12 in flower at 4 different stages. I never had a problem with smoking buds that where harvested 3 days later.
Spider Mites need to be tooken care of over a 2 week period, then watched out for every time you visit your garden.

i put my vote in for neem oil strongly i have battled those little bitches for a long time ...now i make sure my mother plants are sprayed down and that all my clones dont have em .....currently battling fungus gnats but i dosed the nute solution with neem oil spray i made up after i blasted all the tops of medium where they reproduce i think

Neem Oil is my fav, but you must remember to use every 3 days for a week or so, being that one time is not enough(eggs hatch and start all over). But when buds are close to harvest gotta go with the fogger.

THANKS FOR ALL THE HELP!!!

I checked today when I got home from work and they had some large webs up AFTER A DAY!! I had removed a lot of leaves and sprayed with a safer fruit and veggie spray only yesterday! I guess it's all up to the DR DOOM now. Those little fuckers are gonna pay!

If the fogger doesn't work, I suppose I've got a lot of premium hash to sell....

I'm hoping the fogger puts an end to this - at least until harvest.

You guys are awesome, thanks for the help and +rep

Thought I'd put up an update...

I bombed the room and it worked wonders. Also used Azatrol in my reservoirs and I think that helped as well. I didn't see any sign of a mite for a good week (a great week actually) and I figured I would finish them off this last weekend for good. Got two Dr. Doom bombs and fogged the shit out of the room. That was Sunday.

When I got home from work tonight (Tuesday) there were some large webs across a lot of leaves and a lot of spider mite activity... ARRRRGGGHHH!!! After 2 days!?!? WTF? I'm guessing they were able to escape the fog by hiding in the buds...

I don't know what else to do. I am really bummed out and I just want to trash the crop but I have put so much money into this that I need this harvest or I'm gonna be in deep shit. Any ideas? I'd really appreciate it guys.

BTW, I have one 1000W HPS and a combo 600W HPS/ 400W MH fixture and I am having no problems under the 1000W HPS but all the issue is under the mixed lamp. It seems they do really well under the daylight spectrum. I plan on getting rid of that lamp and going with pure HPS after this. Just an interesting note...

ANY HELP WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED!!! THANKS GUYS!

neem oil

or give them a shower.

I can't give them a shower because they are in a tray with a coco mat (roots are all in the mat).

Also, since I am so late into flower (week 7) won't that risk bud mold?

I've tried using the Safer concentrate in a spray but that doesn't seem to do much. Would the neem oil be any different?

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll take any help I can get.

bumpity bump

please help!

I shower low pressure about 1-1/2 to 2 weeks before harvest. (about 11 weeks)

Taste is a lot better, maybe I washed weeks of dust away giving just time to heal. Also the this is the best and strongest I've grown yet.





no mold, just dry with a fan.

out side plants get rain and don't mold

RandyRocket said:

I shower low pressure about 1-1/2 to 2 weeks before harvest. (about 11 weeks)

no mold, just dry with a fan.

out side plants get rain and don't mold

Click to expand...

Good point. I would try it but I'm kinda stuck where I am at. The plants are in Rockwool cubes in a coco mat so I can't move them. They are in an upstairs loft with no restroom access.

I just got some Dr. Doom spray and I think I'm gonna keep at that for as long as it suppresses them.

My local hydro store said that Floramite made a new product that is supposed to work wonders. They are waiting for the shipment of it to come in (as am I) so when I try that out I will post an update.

I will probably fog the room with some more Dr Doom this weekend. Damn little buggers....

Thanks for the help. Any other suggestions please put up a post!

goldenganja...im havn similiar problems..how far in to bud is the neem oil safe as a spray mixed w/ water...and can u spray ur buds direct..i know those fuckers are inthere...Have u used Dr Dooms Insecticide spray..similiar to fogger.. ? foggers going down very soon if i dont see that thier dead..jsut gotta shut off pilot lights 1st..damnit

GoldenGanja13 said:

Don't use neem oil your to close to harvest. Just need to bomb again. You should bomb every 3/4 days at least 2-3 times. What happened was the first bomb killed living but not eggs, so you wait 3 days and bomb again (eggs hatch in just a few days).

Click to expand...

tilemaster said:

goldenganja...im havn similiar problems..how far in to bud is the neem oil safe as a spray mixed w/ water...and can u spray ur buds direct..i know those fuckers are inthere...Have u used Dr Dooms Insecticide spray..similiar to fogger.. ? foggers going down very soon if i dont see that thier dead..jsut gotta shut off pilot lights 1st..damnit

Click to expand...

Thats a good question? I would make sure that plants have atleast 3 weeks left in flowering before I would spray them with neem. If they had less time than that I would use a Bomb (pyrethins) every 5 days x3.
That way you still have roughly 6 days in and 4-6 days drying. I figure neem smell,etc be gone by 10 days.
One female spider mite can about 100 eggs it takes them 5-10 days to hatch and 75% of them will be female. Thats why when you get them you spray/bomb x3 and then keep an I out before its to late and they make tents everywhere.
I have bombed and harvested 3 days later. No problem.
Good Luck

im gonna need it im just torn between so many different treatments.. golden ganja have u used the doom spray..insecticide...similiar to the bomb..but a spray can? my girls are 4 weeks away from harvest..so i think im good.. i sprayed with aformentioned product..and neem oil 5050 water. tommorow straight water ..maybe lil soap to suffocate them..wuz thinking just of hanging hot shot pest strip after tommorows spray.. i have 1 3oz fogger as back up in case..and more spray insecticide..
so have u used the spray..seems lethal scary...face mask and gloves status.. need more info..

Just a real good mask maybe some gloves. I have use a pyrthin fog spray, and I burned the living shit out of my plants. Follow directions and don't spray too close.
4 weeks away from harvest. I would spray neem oil and clove oil. then I would give a light water mist (lights out) 24 hrs later. then I would repeat in 4 days, and one more time.
I would only mist the leafs. I would want the gunk off of them so there stomata is not cloged.

Since the Dr. Doom foggers seemed to be losing their effect, I got the Dr Doom spray and that seems to be working (for now). Just don't spray too close - I made that mistake and it will kill foliage along with the mites - something you don't want.

I didn't use gloves or a mask and I didn't see any reason you'd need to unless it was a really small space and you were spraying a lot. It's a liability issue so they need to put it on the can. Spray paint has the same warning labels on it, and how often does someone spray in their garage with no mask or gloves...

I like the spray better than the fogger because you can focus more on the effected areas... also you don't blow all your money in one bang and you can keep using the spray as problems arise. If the infestation isn't too bad though you may be able to get away with a few foggings to wipe them out.

Also, the spray has about half the pyrethin percentage the foggers do... so not as harmful to the plants as the foggers. Good luck man.

I'd keep an eye out for a new product made by floramite - supposedly for flowering and really killer stuff.... I'm waiting for my hydro shop to get it in. I'll let you know how that stuff works out.