zem
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- Dec 6, 2009
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I have been growing for about 20 years, and my first 15 years, I had never encountered the feared spider mite and I was confident that in case I do get it, I will be able to deal with it just like I dealt with other pests. One day it appeared, and I tried a lot of methods to deal with it. I always manage to harvest without severe infestation, however, no matter what I do, the mites eventually reappear. I even tried chemical pesticides when I had the chance, 3 times spraying and I put petroleum jelly on the stem. The theory was that if i clean all the leaves that provide food for the mites from my room, that the mites should starve within 2 weeks of warm weather. I was very careful to work on them one plant at a time and I was sure that I had no mites on my plants for a while. However after a while the mites appeared again. So I concluded that they must have survived in my room somewhere. They could easily hide in crevices but what would they feed on while they are active in warm weather? If the plants were toxic and inaccessble for several weeks, how did some mites survive and reappear on my plants? Is it possible to eliminate this bug for good or should i just give up and live with it?