White silky web on bud: Fungus? Insect?

ampere

Member
Hey all, lurking for a while and popping my posting-cherry...

I noticed that two of my buds have a white silky web-looking material on them and I'm trying to identify what it is. It reminds me of a cotton plant in its fine, but dense consistency.

I'm growing indoor using DWC and I'm fairly new to this technique (3rd time), but location is well ventilated and all other plant vital signs are good.

I'm just over 8 weeks into flower and this strain (chocolope) should probably go 10-12, so I'm nervous as I don't what whatever this is to spread. I chopped off the suspect buds and attached a pic of one.

Any ideas and/or recommendations would be greatly appreciated!
 

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StaySmokin206

Active Member
Hey all, lurking for a while and popping my posting-cherry...

I noticed that two of my buds have a white silky web-looking material on them and I'm trying to identify what it is. It reminds me of a cotton plant in its fine, but dense consistency.

I'm growing indoor using DWC and I'm fairly new to this technique (3rd time), but location is well ventilated and all other plant vital signs are good.

I'm just over 8 weeks into flower and this strain (chocolope) should probably go 10-12, so I'm nervous as I don't what whatever this is to spread. I chopped off the suspect buds and attached a pic of one.

Any ideas and/or recommendations would be greatly appreciated!
Spider mites.
 

StaySmokin206

Active Member
Wow, that's one heck of an infestation.

I've never seen one that bad.
I can't say for sure, as I have never had that trouble. But I have seen a few pictures of spider mite infestations that are BAD, and it looks just like that.

Edit: This is the closest picture of a bad infestation of spider mites I could find real quick, but they can get bad.

7253webs.JPG
 

ampere

Member
Thanks all. So, like I originally said I'm 8.5 weeks into flower and many of the buds are def getting really ripe. Because of my small growing area (closet) and I'm unable to remove the offending plant (small bush at this point) I'd like to get some opinions.

Should I just call it and chop to prevent any further spreading or should I try and treat?
 

StaySmokin206

Active Member
Thanks all. So, like I originally said I'm 8.5 weeks into flower and many of the buds are def getting really ripe. Because of my small growing area (closet) and I'm unable to remove the offending plant (small bush at this point) I'd like to get some opinions.

Should I just call it and chop to prevent any further spreading or should I try and treat?
I dont know man that shit is pretty bad looking. The whole plant is covered in webbing?
 

medicalsb420

Active Member
yup, spider mites. (imo)this close to harvest; cut yer losses, remove the infected plant right away. try not to shake off the mites in the process. chances are you already have a building infestation on your hands. you could use einsteins' oil (cold pressed neem) -1/2 tsp to 32oz water+few drops of wetting agent such as bronner's eucalyptus hemp soap, but this works more as a preventative than a cure (since you say other growth is unaffected, neem may work for you). theres some stronger stuff called Floramite which is really deadly to mites, but it is highly toxic and can burn your lungs/skin really easily if your not careful. also this close to harvest Floramite would be like nuclear medicine ie:only if all else fails, because it could make the fruits of your labor less than enjoyable in the end, as floramite stays in the plant for...30days?. I dont know if you use co2 or for that matter -tanked or a burner. but if you have tanked co2 available , the best option you have to combat spider mites is to elevate your room co2 levels upwards of 10,000 ppm, this will kill the infestation. this last option can obviously pose a health hazard so be prepared to exhaust your room and plan to be around fresh air while the room is "filling". but yea, co2 levels of 10,000 ppm + is instant death for the mites. search on this solution for exact directions. whatever you do: ACT QUICKLY, those little fuckers work fast!
 

ampere

Member
yup, spider mites. (imo)this close to harvest; cut yer losses, remove the infected plant right away. try not to shake off the mites in the process. chances are you already have a building infestation on your hands. you could use einsteins' oil (cold pressed neem) -1/2 tsp to 32oz water+few drops of wetting agent such as bronner's eucalyptus hemp soap, but this works more as a preventative than a cure (since you say other growth is unaffected, neem may work for you). theres some stronger stuff called Floramite which is really deadly to mites, but it is highly toxic and can burn your lungs/skin really easily if your not careful. also this close to harvest Floramite would be like nuclear medicine ie:only if all else fails, because it could make the fruits of your labor less than enjoyable in the end, as floramite stays in the plant for...30days?. I dont know if you use co2 or for that matter -tanked or a burner. but if you have tanked co2 available , the best option you have to combat spider mites is to elevate your room co2 levels upwards of 10,000 ppm, this will kill the infestation. this last option can obviously pose a health hazard so be prepared to exhaust your room and plan to be around fresh air while the room is "filling". but yea, co2 levels of 10,000 ppm + is instant death for the mites. search on this solution for exact directions. whatever you do: ACT QUICKLY, those little fuckers work fast!
<sigh> Well, for fear of spreading and losing the crop, I'm going to chop and inspect everything. I took my eye off the plant for 48 hours and this thing showed up. I haven't seen a mite yet, but I'm not willing to risk the other girls.

Is there anything I can do to ensure the "safe" looking bud is mite free? I think I read before I could wash all the bud in a tub or something to ensure they are all rinsed off. Does that really work?
 

medicalsb420

Active Member
washing can work... not as sure fire as co2, but it can work. also just fyi, even if you pull your infected girl, the mites may already be building a larger front to attack your garden. you should start some preventative work asap. mites hate neem! i stand by the tanked co2 theory tho(doesnt affect taste/quality of crop). good investment to make anyway. if you dont fight them before they show, once they do, it will be much more "up-hill." mites stick your plants with hypodermic like needle-teeth and begin to bleed your plant. you can for sure save undamaged parts of the bud. good luck
 

thalboy

Active Member
are you sure it's spider mites? it looks very similar to mould..?
I really don't think that's mold, I agree with medicalsb420.

If you don't want to treat them chemically you can buy predator bugs, like ladybugs. They will go in and eat all of your mites and then die off.
 

Carl Spackler

Well-Known Member
Can you post better pics? The mycelia of botrytis and other fungi can mimic the webbing of spider mites. This may indeed be budmold. If you look closely and see tiny arachnids moving around then it is definitely spider mites. Either way you have a serious issue with this flower.
 

medicalsb420

Active Member
Can you post better pics? The mycelia of botrytis and other fungi can mimic the webbing of spider mites. This may indeed be budmold. If you look closely and see tiny arachnids moving around then it is definitely spider mites. Either way you have a serious issue with this flower.
agree 100%.
 

veggiegardener

Well-Known Member
looks like mold to me
Agreed. !00%

It's mold.

Spider Mites spin their webs on the outside of the bud.

Mold spreads from within.

Remove and discard all the moldy stuff anmd harvest and dry the rest.

The mold will continue to show up in your grow, now that it has arrived.
 

Aruka

Active Member
no signs of mite damage on any leaves. just good old fashioned bud mold. try to get your RH down and maybe your airflow is not as good as you thought...
 
AMPERE

Hold on a moment before you scrap em. If you look at the left side of your picture the underside of those leaves have no eggs or webbing. If you really had a mite infestation you'd probaly see both around there. Plus the usual pin prick spots are not there either. However, mites are still not out of the realm of possiblity.
Depending on where you live; there are some spiders that can produce a hell of a townhouse with thier webbing. I'd look around for dead bugs in the webbing itself and down below. If that is the case, a quick small spray of insect killer or a few hours with a no pest strip etc... Then unless you have a real phobia to spiders, I'd start a surgical removal of the web and inside contents.
This last pieces of advise goes against my nature of being negative minded, but in this case I feel it prudent to say`If not the spidies or the mites, it a wild possibilty it could be some type of really advanced mold buildup, which would put you back to the scapeing table. But then only the infected areas would need to go.
I'm thinking however, it's the former.
In any case I wish you well.
 
Not positive, but on second glance of your picture, looks like there is a dead bug in the middle upper right side of the web housing.
 
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