spider mites

Just noticed that i have gotten a few spider mites on one plant .the wife has already ordered avide and lady bugs,my question is should i use a pepper spray to slow them down till the other options get here? .....also in flower so the avide is a last resort.

I wouldn't use Avid on anything in flowering. I wouldn't use it past veg personally.

Depending on how far into flowering you are, you could use Neem Oil. I used it every 3 days for 2 weeks and that basically annihilated them. I wouldn't use Neem Oil within 2-3 weeks of harvest though, I hear it can impart a bad taste. I've never had this issue and have used it successfully until 2.5 weeks of flowering. The stuff works, you just have to hammer them every 3 days. And if you are going to let lady bugs go, i wouldn't use any kind of pesticide, organic or chemical, until they are dead or you don't care if they die.

The avid is if the lady bugs dont complete the task( 5000 ladybugs should work though) but if not ill have the avide an will not have to wait,but would really like to slow them down in the mean time if i can.

if by pepper spray, you mean simmering some habeneros or something, then yes i'll say i've had success with just capsaicin (the stuff in peppers that makes them GOOD lol) when the infestation is small, everyday coating and i was mite free in a week. totally organic and no taste even the week of harvest if you diligently wash em off. just my experience

Neem Oil, Dish Soap, the best one I have found is Einstien Oil, it is expensive but I used it on my gfs tomato plant and it worked. One good application and they were gone.

and peppers are only like 3.99 a lb around here. so at about $16 (1.5lb per gallon) i kill all the mites in my garden in a week and have some pray left over.

on 6 plants...

azamax is the best for getting rid of mites, I wouldn't use it past week 4 of flowering (try to to spray anything past week 4) but if cost isn't an issue and your far into flowering than Mighty Wash is probably your best bet, I've never used it but it's expensive.

If your plants not a monster,just put it outside or cut off infected areas... as long as the mites are only on one plant....problem solved. Peace

avid should only be used as preventative dip for clones. and even then that shit is like radioactive. but i digress.. pinch off the leafs that have the mites and spray em down with water for the next few days. introduce the lady bugs to keep the mite population in check. ride it out til harvest. just water will disrupt their reproductive cycle.. educate yourself on integrated pest management. and if you spray wear full protective gear: respirator, hoody, goggles, gloves etc.

bless

What I do is get a large paint brush with a bucket and a large tote so you can dip and submerge the entire plant for at least sixty second then lift it up and shake vigorously and repeat three times in a medium azamax solution with HOT water and lots of soap. Ive found paint brushes to fling the eggs off the leaf undersides is most effective. I repeat this every three days if it gets bad.

I now use Mightywash in a sprayer and its worth the price and can be used in all grow phases. Ladybugs are a pain and its too late they should be used as a precaution, predatory mites are better but still 4 to 6 weeks.

Make your area cooler and raise RH to slow breeding

Mighty Wash. If money isn't an issue, it will knock down the population over night.

Mighty wash is the best solution if your in flowering. Making your own ionized low ph acid water works as well.

dont listen to any of these people...

get forbid 4f and be done with it. I have seen more and more people chasing their tails trying to kill these things. they build up immunities to organic things and floromite. bombs only temporarily give you rellief, but give you brain cancer.

forbid is the only way to win that war

just happened to me. two weeks before flower, loads of spider mites infested the plant. i was able to wash many of the assholes off the plant
with a light stream of water. other members recommend Neem Oil this close to harvest. i do too. i didn't apply Neem 2 days before harvest, then
in the dark for 2 days and then chop down. i'll be smoking some mites but i know they are full of THC (lol)

mighty wash
release lady bugs
i release ladybugs twice per month(10 bux for 1500) and use mighty wash when i get any issues
the lady bugs do a great job mostly, but won't kill them all
avid is not something i would reccomend putting anywhere near any part of your person
mighty wash explodes and melts mites AND eggs
get UNDER leaves well and get STEM well all the way to soil
release ladybugs and place the little scented cottonball at the base of your most infected plant

Hey shaggalicious Can YOU Vouch for that????? Maybe your ladybugs are causing a strain to PM all over. I love your comments they make so much cents.

Another vote for Mighty Wash. I was skeptical but took the plunge, and I only wish I hadn't waited so long.

myfather said:

dont listen to any of these people...

get forbid 4f and be done with it. I have seen more and more people chasing their tails trying to kill these things. they build up immunities to organic things and floromite. bombs only temporarily give you rellief, but give you brain cancer.

forbid is the only way to win that war

Click to expand...

I'm chiming in a bit late here. myfather is right, forbid 4f will erase them from existence. I have had mites for the better part of a year now. I had been keeping them at bay using hotshot no pest strips, which kept them at bay but didnt wipe them out. I read about forbid 4f on a local dispensary forum. It is super expensive, like $220 for 8 ounces, but it's also super concentrated so you can buy small amounts on ebay for like $15. 1 ML makes a gallon of spray and you don't even have to spray it on the undersides of the leaves. The $15 I spent is enough to make 5 gallons of spray, plenty to last me a long time. It kills mites AND EGGS systemically right through the leaves.

You can only use this during vegetative stage, or the first week of flowering before they show any pistils. It kills them by drying them out and supposedly they cannot build a tolerance to it. Trust me, I have tried everything under the sun and this is the first thing I have seen that completely eradicates them, since they outlawed Kelthane back in the 80s. Forbid continues to kill for 40 days after the last application.

I sprayed mine during vegetative stage and waited to see what would happen. Normally I would start to see them towards the end of vegetative, this time I saw nothing. I sprayed them again the day before flowering, and again a week into flowering. I sprayed the floor and the sides of my grow totes. I went in and sprayed the room (not the plants, just the floor and sides of the totes) 5 weeks into flowering just to be safe from any crawlers. Have not seen a single mite and that crop is now on its 7th week (8 week strain) of flowering. This shit is miraculous.

Have been told to rotate treatment with several products, but all I have used is the forbid and the mites are gone. I will continue to use it preventively for six months, then will use it once during vegetative every crop after just to be safe. This shit is the bomb KILLS EGGS the holy grail of gardening. Best $15 I have ever spent.