Hi I have 2 alaskan ice girls which have spidermite, they've benn spotty for a bit now, couple weeks when i first saw it , however i was in denial,
but last night the tips off both , had started to be wrapped in web, Anyway SBPI, has just been done, and i will, repeat,X3
the thing is , they are 18 days in 12/12, and all are showing quite a few buds. except the two spidermite one's. They are budding but a bit slower, Probly just the strain, Now do i have to spray all the plants in the room as they show absolutely no signs , and never have, Its a bugger getting em in & out.

Many thanks,

Also just out of curiosity, where do these mites come from, the soil, or the local environment, if so which plants do they eat in the wild

If you have webs , then you have to spray everything in the room. the little fuckers will be everywhere...
and keep checking on and under your leaves from now on...
They come from other plants, I dont think they come from soil, but I could be wrong (it wouldnt be the first time )

I hope you don't have old carpet down on the floors in your growroom... They always seem to really like rooms with carpet on the floors... Of course that could just be my bad luck with spider mites...

E2A: (Missed that last sentence).... Anytime I've had mites come into a room on me I've always been able to source it back to ME(bringing it in on my clothes or hands) or something I've overlooked or was unaware of (like a backdoor into the space that only insects can find/see)... If your space were mine I'd be evaluating myself and my actions when I go into my room... The other thing I'd do is grab a caulk gun and start sealing every seam/crack I could reach(it only takes two of'em to make a family and your at ground zero for an infestation about two days after they get to work)...

Thanks iarflaith, Podgy,
There is no carpet, however air intake comes straight from outrside, in an area with lots of plant/trees.
So ill have to spray again tommorow then, the buggers.
I wonder why the others have shown no signs, and i cant see the mites, not even on the ones with webs & spots,, then my eyes aren't what they used to be, DoctorOctopusMite Here I come
Thanks Guys

Edit to add, I did use SBPI Weekliy before i got mites, perhaps i wasn't thorough enough.

hello again update on the mites, they have spread it seems,

so I did SBPI X4 then i was meant to spray again this morning , but it didn't happen, so im up early tommorrow , sprayer in each hand, Im ready for battle, but I must have done something wrong last time as they caused a fair bit of damage and have spread since spraying 3X,

So does anyone have any tips , so I can go into this battle with a plan that works.

Heres a budshot for ya people, You can see the new mite damage (spots) in the left of the bud in the pic Help them someone please,
Click to view attachment

Advice andluck welcome Thanks SSS-toker

Ps this pic was yesterday and theres alot more spots today, alot !

Put a tube of spidermite predators on each plant ,that'll get rid of them little bud f***ers.

evnin BBB , where from, how much ? Im p***** off with spraying, i think its burning the delicate pistils too,

google "spidermite predators" top of the page. i've seen growers get out of some rite states using them.

many thanks , just peeped at your cheese, Wicked mate,

Hey SStoker!
I feel your pain man, i have dealt with spider mites a Whole bunch over the years and they are infact a VERY nasty bug. Just when you think youve got them all you find a small colony started on another plant that you had overlooked. The real trick with spider mites among other pests is room control and cleanliness. A few suggestions i can make to you is to Increase your Humidity, and Decrease your Temperare by 10 degrees or so. Spidermites will flourish in an environment with high temps and low humidty. but that is only for containment. Now, Manually you can rid your plants of them but it does take alot of attention.
Keep spraying those babies! even when the last ones have gone, there is a VERy good possibility that they have left their unborn eggs, then a few days later when you will find them starting to take over again. The way the spider mites work is they colonize on one or 2 plants like in your situation, now if you dont get them undercontrol, as soon as you have adult mites, they can spread to other plants once a sufficient colony has started, and then your into a world of problems. Since they are already starting to produce webbing that you can see, this is a very bad sign.

The best advice i can give you is to buy Predatory mites. This will be your safest bet in killing them off. and once your problem is under control, and there is no more food(spidermites), the predatory mites will die, ensuring you that there are infact no more mites!!! aka, problem solved. Here is a website where you can purchase them from. Commercial Link Removed
Now, choosing the right mite can be crucial as well, the tripple threat mix is great!, but unfortunatly these mites are a little less suffistocated than the Spider Mite Destroyer, since the destroyers will actually spread out and search for more mites once they have cleared an area, which is the best part, because they can fly. The tripple threat mix of mites can eat 5 spider mites a day, or 20 of their eggs. The destroyers can eat up to 40 mites a day, and eat all stages of the spider mites life cycle. Anyways, i hope this helps, Spidermites are a hell of a bug for being so small. Hope you get your problem under control.

~~Red~~

Many Thanks banschee for your indepth advice,
Cleanliness is difficult for me right now , Im gonna have to struggle through this grow, then have an overhual of my room, and be more clinical.

Predetors it is , but until then, spray spray spray, I have 11 plants in 1.1 X 1.3 m , how many of these buggers do i need , im gonna check your link now banschee , maybe the answer is there , thanks again sssh-toker

Not sure if predators are an option in flower coz they can't breed enough to get rid of the spider mite infestation - better to use something like a hotbox sulphume. It's a sulphur vapouriser which will fumigate your room - just don't put it too near the plants or they'll be sparkling with sulphur crystals as well as resin.

Fumigation is such a primative technique, and can be harmful to the plants. Honestly there is nothing 50-100 predators cant handle as they can eat up to 40 mites a day. Even with the shorter flowering period of only 12 hours, lets say they just eat 30 a day. The average life span of a desroyer is 4-5 weeks. Throw 50 destroyers in your room, and they will eat up to 1500 mites/eggs a day!! Multiply that by a 4-5 week life span and thats over 50000 mites. If you have more mites than that in 11 plants my friend, well, youve got some real big issues on your hands. It'll be the best 130.00 dollars youve ever spent. But, if your problem is not this huge, id go with the predatory mites to start off, the tripple threat mix is killer, and about 100$ cheaper.. Sprinkle a ratio of 1 predatory mite to approx. every 5 spider mites to get rid of the problem quickly.
Manual killing of the mites is also possible, and definatly cant hurt your situation. Just check very closely under all leaves for small black moving dots, but be careful not to miss any, the younger mites arent so dark and can be white or have a slight brownish or orangish color. KILL anything that moves! Eggs can be hardest of all to see. Investing in a cheap handheld microscope will make your life much easier when looking for bugs. Hope this helps.
OH, and i realized the link didnt work, heres one that does. [b]Commercial Link Removed[b]

~~Red~~

I had mites and tried the predator method and it knocked em back a bit but didn't get rid of them - the fumigator did damage some of the flowers but did more to the mites - haven't had them back since and my fumigators still on hand if I do get them again - or fungus.

Yeah, I run my sulfume every now and again. It doesn't harm the buds as long as you don't use it in the last couple of weeks of flower. It kills most insects and fungus spores too

I was under the impression preds didn't work on 12/12 anyway?

Predatory mites will not work during 12/12 as the spider mites become unpalatable due to physiological changes that are a preparation for hibernation brought on by the onset of a 12/12 photoperiod.

Predatory mites are an expensive way to treat spider mites and often fail due to low humidity levels, temp or a combination of other factors.

No worries banschee i found the site, but I think Im gonna just keep spraying them, I sprayed this morning, i plan to spray Mon pm, tue pm , wed pm also then next sat am, and sun pm,

On monday when i spray i will empty the room , and disinfect/ hoover, spray tubs / soil surface, walls , floor, fans etc,

Im using SBPI, how many times and at what intervals do people usually use SBPI.

The girls were thirsty this morning ,so i watered/feed and sprayed them all, They looked sad, Dripping wet, Droopy, and bitten, Like a flea bitten wet dog. they still seem to be putting on weight though, but i wouldn't know if they are slow as this is my first time!

ETA, Thanks for all your reply's everyone , i took so long to write this there has been another 4or5 posts, so-slow-toker

Hi SStoker - I'm not sure if you can use SBPI that frequently as it's also a nutrient so you could potentially over feed them. IMO it would be almost impossible to eradicate a large infestation of mites by spraying with SBPI when in flower because it has to cover the mites completely to kill them through suffocation and they are going to be hiding in every nook and cranny. That's why the sulfume is a better option - it's not a fumigator but a vapouriser which is why it's a lot safer and less unpleasant to use - it doesn't burn the sulphur but boils it off instead. How much longer have they got to go?

Some should be 4 weeks, some 5/6 and some 6/8 weeks, to go. so between 4&8 weeks left. Checking out sulfume now, thanks for the post,

Get yourself an £8 bottle of Harka Mectin, job done

It seems sulfume should not be used in flower , thanks anyway, sin humo

I will now check out harka mectin , thanks felix

It seems sulfume should not be used in flower , thanks anyway, sin humo

I will now check out harka mectin , thanks felix

Anyone know if this invermectin is good with flowering ? Felix ?

Here you go

Thanks felix, good read that, good work too btw.

it seems ihave mites in nearly all plants , 11 , can you recomend a spraying regime / schedule. to give me the best chances (harka mectin) Many thanks ss-toker

I read THIS thread of yours a while back Felix and used it effectively on cuttings that I thoroughly drenched with it - highly recommend it. For a well established garden though in mid flower I'd still go for the sulphur - just don't site it too close or below the canopy. Moving plants to spray and also the potential for mold as well as the bugs you'll miss I think could cause more harm than a dose of sulphur vapour.

Absolutely, I wouldn't recommend the Westlands for anything other than very young plants but if you follow the thread I found a pure source of mectins. Now pure Abamectin or Ivermectin is translaminar and that means it will only be absorbed by the first few cells of a leaf and will not travel around the plant. That means if you spray the leaves and not the buds your mectin will stay right there in the leaves and be discarded when you trim them off.

Spider mites will tend to stay on the undersides of the leaves and not venture onto the buds due to the sticky trichromes unless the invasion is bad. This means you only need spray the leaves and not the buds. Mectins are active for only about 7 days and after that rapidly break down so will not be in the plant for very long at all. However 7 days is normally enough time to kill any adults and emerging eggs, if it's not spray again.

Next comes cost Harka Mectin - £8, Hotbox Sulfume - £80, I've used 1ml from my 5ml bottle so far so there's plenty more left. So long as you have a spray bottle with a wand on the end then there's no need to move your plants, just spray from the bottom up. Mectins don't work as contact killers so you don't have to get the bugs themselves just cover the undersides of the leaves, they sit in the leaf tissue and when a bug comes along for lunch it's game over. Use with a wetting agent like yucca extract to achieve good coverage.

Another advantage Mectins have over Sulphur is they don't kill any bacterial/fungal inoculants used on the leaves, also I'd rather not smoke bud that had even microscopic traces of sulphur coating it, Over the years that could build up to a lot of sulphur . Hotbox Sulfumes are ok for use on veg in commercial greenhouses I guess as we wash them before eating them thus removing the deposited Sulphur but you can't wash your bud before smoking it can you ?

but you can't wash your bud before smoking it can you ?

Dont know about ,washing it but you could water cure it, and maybe dip it in some water first for a rinse.

I will be buying the pigeon spray tommorow, and give it a go,

thanks for all your advice felix, and everyone else,

fingers crossed for me yeah, 4 wks left min, and if they keep bitting at this rate rate, there will be no leaves left.

Click to view attachmentClick to view attachment

Right heres a couple of scary pics,

The worst of the mite damage.

E2A It doesnt look half as bad in the pics , but believe it is widespread.

i use a sulphume for fungus and its done the job, i never used it 4 weeks before cutiing because of the taste. i lent it to a mate who had a spider mites and its eradicated them in 3 weeks.

Thanks for the input Grandad ,
I think for my next grow , i will have a hotbox on standby,

However iv just ordered some Harka mectin, and i will give this a go, They've had a good ol spray with the SBPI, today, should hold em back for a day or two, thats all it seems to do, Perhaps i have too severe an infestation.,

One more Q, from what you can see in the pics, if i managed to stop them, from now til harvest. do you think my yeild will be much affected,, Im guessing it will, as the severe biting seems to affect there health alot, and it seems to accelerate any other leaf problems , all lessons learned tho, be it the hard way

E2A Hi felix noticed you were reading,, Any tips for the harka mectin mate ? thanks

Like I said before the Sulfume is great in agricultural greenhouses but not so sure that bud covered in sulphur is the way forward

i've tasted worse shit, but i found if i dont use it 4 weeks before cut it dont taste, but the point is i dont need to use it now because it works.

Cant be as bad as, bud covered in sugar, wheat,glass, prescription tablet dust, and even a bag of small buds which was simply a load of oregano, glued together, Thats some of the shit thats found its way to my bin lately, bloody sick of it.

Thats why im desperate to get something out of this,

thanks all, any more tips for the harka mectin, felix ? Nice one for that info btw, i have faith.

Thanks FW,

yeah them jacky's smell lovely, spicy grapefruity, mmmm. Mental notes mate, its all going in, actually i want this grow outta the way so i can progress, and im gonna prob have an overhaul, add another light , use preventtives for mould/pests, and hope for a very productive summer grow, then ill put my garden away next winter, im also on the verge of doing some guerila this year, If weed aint addictive, growing it is !

Think I used 1/2ml Harka Mectin per litre of spray water but it may have been 1ml, have a look through the link I gave you earlier . If you can get a wetting agent like yucca extract then that would help the spray penetrate all the surfaces of the leaves even better. If you don't have any already you can order this


Spray your plants just before lights off, paying particular attention to the undersides of the leaves and any areas covered in webs, so spray from the underside. Ivermectin mainly kills by being ingested so you don't have to worry about spraying the actual mites so much but do want to cover everywhere they feed.

If any mites are still alive after 7 days spray again.

Many Thanks, Funny thing is Iv seen webs, though none for a while , but i have never seen a mite, iv looked with magnifying glass , Must say though i do have shit eyes, They must be there though as the bites continue, Thanks again

i used 'bug clear', got it from wyevales... about 6quid, did the trick, little bastards..hehe

Hi SStoker - that looks more like thrip damage than spider mite - do you see any little black flies flying about that are almost impossible to swat or catch 'cause thay're so small?

Apparently the sulphur is water soluble so you can wash your plants down if neccesary - no different to wetting them when spraying anything or when it rains on outdoor plants - just make sure that they get dried properly.

Hey sin humo, Thrips ? I thought they left a silvery effect ont the leaf. Saying that though i did the white paper and shake the plant test, and i saw something that looked like a "thunderbug" but very small, like 1mm long,

I think i found the first mite yeaterday anyway, Up til now ive not seen a bug just their damage, but i have shit eyes and the unatural light dont help.

Well Thrips or Spidermite, Sbpi , is for both is it not ? = Didnt stop em, whatever they are,

Q for Felix , do you think the harka mectin, would work on thrips too ?

Also any "household products " that i can safely use as a wetting agent, I have ordered the one you recomended , however my harka mectin is here already and i not expect the yucca extract til wed. If possible id like to spray tommorow , so if anyone knows Something i can use as a wetting agent or some popular store that sells one that would be great !

Cant wait til harvest now, mostly so i can bleach n spray the whole room , kill all them little m'f***s and start again, ha sweet revenge.

According to this page mectins may have some effect against thrips but I'd be tempted to use a bifenthrin based spray like bug clear. Bug Clear is a contact killer so you have to actually get it onto the thrips to kill them unlike Harka Mectin.

Well I sprayed with the harka mectin, 4 days ago , i did notice fresh bite damage , but if its a poison, hopefully the fuckers are dying about now,

Will spray again on tue , 7th day, only 3wks max to go now , so its horrible havin to spray em, they are so top heavy , that the addition of water makes them topple, i have to tie them to the walls , If it werent for these mites, i would have been reaL happy with this grow.
Still though lesson learned,

Ps thanks for your guidance felix

I read here before that predators don't work in 12/12. I think it's because the mites taste bitter then.

I have used the harka mectin once, and am due (7 days) to do again in the morning, Im still seeing new bites, i think there is just so many of em,
The question i'd liketo ask you is, do you think it would be O.K to mix the Harka mectin with , SBPI . and spray, therefore killing by contact, and leaving poison down in one stroke, ?

Or do you think this will mixing will make some unforseen chemical reaction, - Puff of Smoke - Explosion
Most of them have only got 2-3 wks to go but on a couple from the birds eye veiw there seems to be more bites than green visible, this cant be good, :

Ok had a bit o advise from felix,
Many thanks there, As said before its probly thrips, so sbpi is coming out again,

To clarify, the 2 alaskan ice that originaly had mites, (they showed webs) , were treated with sbpi , with the rest of the girls.
I now beleive this treatment was successful, ( 3X sprays + 1spray 5 days later )

however sometime soon after this i guess i got thrips , and in my ignorance i didnt think thrips bites were like spots, so continued with treatment for spider mite, lesson learned

Back to the sbpi then. The little f***ers I wish they'd pick on smoeone there own size.

Answer to my original question, Spidermites do spread to other plants but not as dam quick as thrips ,

thanks for advice people, felix many thanks,

This cant happen again,

Usually YOU WALK THEM IN......esp in summer.......................decontaminate like you are radioactive (just like off the movies...lolol)......
wash before you enter....it won't stop it but it helps.
MITE-AWAY (aptly named) is evil but very very effective............read instructions carefully ( no harvest for 2 weeks at least....so make that 5 weeks)

mate i used to have loads of mites till i used cannadian express safe spray a few sprays of this and there history as it kills the eggs aswell as the adults wich alot of sprays dont do and you can watch them burning in the stuff and watch there pain plus if youv got webbing id get a paint brush and wipe all the webs and uder every leaf to get them a bit more and as long as you only have new buds should be safe to spray now honestly its organic hell for spider mites