# Spider Mites.. helP?



## Jasper0 (Jan 16, 2008)

Hello , this is my first post..... im growing hydroponics ( 6 ladies ) the strain called GREEN CRACK.. and iv had a spider mite problem since probably day one, but didnt knotice them up until like week 3 or 4 of veg.... so i started spraying them with some solution i got from my local hydro store and did that probably like 3 or 4 times but spred it out like every 10 days.... then i stopped because i didnt like the way the plants reacted to the spray. they just didnt seem happy.. but they mites were getting cutt down by this solution..... so i let it be.

well weeks go by and i notice that they are coming back, which i wasnt surprised about... but at this point i was just in the begining stages of flowering so i didnt want to put any stress on my girls and spray them.... so i waited about a week or two until they were a decant way into there flower stage and i got a pytheriyum bomb. i bombed the whole room one night and i noticed a HUGE DIFFERENCE!! 

so i let them go..... didnt bother doing anything cause i wanted to keep away from solutions and bombs and that kinda stuff.... but now i got about 3-4 weeks left before harvist and the mites are coming back probably the heaviest i have seen them


:bump: 


NOW MY QUESTION TO EVEYONE THAT CAN HELP ME OUT IS::::

CAN I STILL DO ANOTHER PYTHRYIUM BOMB??

I HAVE ABOUT 3-4 WEEKS LEFT BEFORE HARVIST.....

MITES ARE GETTING REALLY BAD AND IM VERY SCARED!
HA...

*I CAN JUST TELL THEY WERE SO HAPPY THE NEXT DAY AFTER I BOMBED THE ROOM BECAUSE THEY WERE MITE FREE..... BUT LIKE I SAID NOW I HAVE 3-4 WEEKS LEFT AND THERE GETTING BAD... WHAT DO I DO??


please note, it is 2:55 AM and i was stoned as **** while writing this whole post and very tired..
so please excuse me for the MAJOR SPELLING ERRORS.haha..


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## tom-tom (Jan 16, 2008)

im not shure but i wanted to say that i hope u get them under control and i figured id make a post in this thread to get it back up top for u so mabey some one that nows will answer for u man ,,it sounds like u kind of need to no asap i hope everything works out for u 









HAPPY GROWIN TOM TOM
AND HAPPY SMOKIN


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## Hick (Jan 16, 2008)

hm.. this late into your grow, greatly limits your options. They should have been dealt with at the _very first indication_. 
  A 50/50 isopropyl alcahol/water mix, misted on the leaves, paying extra attention to the undersides, will kill the hatched ones. 
A hand held vacume cleaner,(dust buster or such) ran methodically over and under the leaves, will help clean them up and remoce dead, adults and some eggs. 
   Placing them in the shower and vigerously spraying the leaves(under and over) will wash many away.
    Take steps to redice the populations as much as possible, "this" grow. Before starting another, bomb, clean, disinfect, and repaint, if possible.


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## Puffin Afatty (Jan 16, 2008)

mites are killed by Hot Shot No Pest Strips. I use 2 for my 8x8x4 grow shed.  I leave em in all the time, replacing every 6 months. I have no mites now but several years ago I had an issue with them.


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## Hick (Jan 16, 2008)

NPS (no pest strips) emit an insecticide over a long period (6 months or so) You are smoking that insecticide!..(poison)
Read the warning label.. "not for use in or around food service areas"


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## tiller08 (Jan 16, 2008)

you could try a soapy water spray paying special attention to the under sides of the leaves but i agree with hick there is not a whole lot that you can do you could try predators but you are pretty far in flowering and most will take at least a week to establish but if they are that bad might i suggest lady bugs they will stay around until there is no food for them and will search for food on your surounding plants and are easy enough to remove once harvested


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## godtea (Jan 16, 2008)

Hitting an infestation once isn't ever going to do it with any kind of "Adult" pest control.
Spider mites and aphids lay thier eggs in the soil. 
If you kill off the adults you still have the next generation to worry about.
 You have to hit them at least three times in two weeks so that you break the cycle.That way you kill the maturing Adolesent bugs before they can have any fun.
 As far as predators are concerned : They are most effective as a preventive ie. use them before you need them .By the time you notice you hav a problem it's to late for them to have an effective influence.
Also you have to find the origional source of the infestation.
If you have house plants round them all up and fumigate them (3 X in 2 weeks )and keep them in quarentene 
I like to use those clear garbages with the built cinch tie.
Change your clothing before you go into the farm.


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## berserker (Jan 16, 2008)

Like Hick said,get on in there and clean the leaves.Pay extra attention to the bottoms of the leaves.Also,if you have any lady bugs around in your house,bring them in the flower room and put them on the plants.Lady bugs love eatting Mites.After you harvest.if you hang them(buds) on string,put two sided tape on the top of the string.When the plant is hanging and dying the mites will try to leave.Its just a way to catch more of them.Then, when you got your buds out of the way.Get yourself a bomb called Dr.Doom works like a champ.I had mites used Doom,bleached ALL my lights,pots,walls everything.I havent had any mites again.Knock on wood.Hope this helps,Keep it GREEN:hubba:


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## Hick (Jan 16, 2008)

godtea said:
			
		

> Hitting an infestation once isn't ever going to do it with any kind of "Adult" pest control.
> Spider mites and aphids lay thier eggs in the soil.
> If you kill off the adults you still have the next generation to worry about.
> You have to hit them at least three times in two weeks so that you break the cycle.That way you kill the maturing Adolesent bugs before they can have any fun.


 thanks.. I intended to mentioned that. _Persistance_ is imparative. (during veg or "early flower") Treat them every 3 days, for at least 2 weeks, with a different treatment. Iso' and water, insecticidal soap, neem, or a "miticide" (avid, Dr doom,ect.). Wash or wipe down the leaves, and or vacume them on the alternate days.
  Raising humidity and lowering ambient temp's will slow their reproductive cycle. 
  Mites are a plague that has been discussed here in depth, often. The "SEARCH" feature should produce plenty of intereting reading


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## tiller08 (Jan 16, 2008)

hey i dug into some old papers that i wrote for a paper in school that explains the life cycle of the spider mite and the effects of control and pestacides  and i am pulling a couple parts out to share with you so bare with me kinda long and i hope that this  will shed some light on the subject of pest control



If your like most people ,the first thing you want to know after finding one of these pests is"what can i spray it with ?" true,this is what most of the "modern" farm and chemical company's want you to believe. however,this approach leads to increasing problems,because the pest eventually become immune to the common sprays this is happening on both farm and indoor growth . soon you are using more and more poison on your beloved plants this is not healthy  for you or your plants indoors these pesticide residues take longer to break down so you are exposing yourself to there dangers long after you have "bombed"

SPIDER MITES:you almost need a magnifier to see these unless you look realy close and hard they feed by puncturing plant cells then licking up the juices -this is what causes the speckling on the leaves.They spend most of there lives on the under side of the plant but as they over populate they can be seen every were laying there eggs in there webbing with the help of a magnifier the eggs look like little white footballs they go from egg to adult in about two weeks so any survivors will begin to repopulate almost instantly  spider mites thrive in a humid environment so anything you can do to raise the humidity  will keep them down to there are many predators that will love to help with the little buggers i will name a few lady bugs,pirate bugs praying mantis (will eat anything it can grab a hold of )green lace wing larvae, spider mites there are many differnt types but three see to work the best they are phytoseiulus persimilis,neoseiulus californicus,mesoseiulus longipes soorry no common nameswhen all three can be used together or seperatly depending on infestation mite destroyers,felitiella acarisuga there are many more but these are proven enimys of the spider mite some are better than others but all will control not cure an outbreak 



im not a sales man or anything like that just a guy who has studied biological control fer a long time  and wont recommend a place to order the above 
but could be persuaded in a pm


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## Hick (Jan 16, 2008)

> Default
> A female lays about 100 eggs during her lifetime. Depending upon climate conditions, the eggs hatch in as little as 2-3 days, and the adult stage is reached in 7-10 days. The females reproduction is greatly affected by climate and humidity with a significant difference in the days till their maturity dependant upon the temperature i.e.) egg to adult. For instance at 60 degrees Fahrenheit, it takes 30 days for the egg to become an adult, at 70 degrees 14.5 days and here is the astounding number - 90 degrees Fahrenheit they reach adulthood in just 3.5 days! So now imagine those populations increases over a month when the offspring start to reproduce less than a week after hatching - at 70 degrees she and her offspring number 13,000; at 80 degrees she and her offspring represent a staggering potential of 13,000,000 individuals over a single month - huge population increases!
> 
> Mites evaporate large quantities of water from their bodies, so they must **** juices from the plants. This is easier for them to do in a dry environment. Humid environments (above 60% RH) slow down their metabolism, life span and reproductive rate. Mites may be controlled somewhat by lowering the temperatures (at about 50 degrees Fahrenheit they start to hibernate), thus slowing down their life process considerable. Even if you only decrease the temperature during the indoor dark cycle (when it is easier to lower temperatures), the progression rate of the infestation is slowed considerable


http://www.marijuanapassion.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3316&highlight=life+cycle+of+mites


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## Jasper0 (Jan 16, 2008)

thank you everyone that has replied to my post i have gathered alot of idea's and realised how bad my situation actually is .. haha and i realise it needs to be taken care of.. thanks alot guys!

anyone have any more idea's id love to hear .. the more ideas the better.

thanks ladies and gents


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