Spider Mites Back On a New Grow

[charliepotatoe]

Hi to All, just after some advice once again.....

 

So my last grow I got a clone that was infected with spider mites - i realised when it was too late and got 31 oz instead of my usual 55-60 oz.

 

Used SPBi but it didnt work.

 

So I cleaned everything in the tent top to bottom with a warm water and bleach solution. This included the walls, floor and ceiling of the tent, the pots where put in the bath tub with bleach, I took the lights out and cleaned every inch of them with wipes etc...

 

Literally spent 5 hours scrubbing.... I even cleans the floor and walls outside the tent as well as leaving it 5 weeks until I started a new grow.... JEEZ i even put 3x 600w lights on and shut the tent leaving all fans off so the room heated up to 45c for an hour to try and burn? any eggs  / mites.

 

So now I start a new grow with 8x new clones - I checked them all thoroughly (wasnt hard as they were really small anyway) and sprayed them with a soapy solution to make sure they were clean of any pests.

 

I am now 1 week today in veg and Lo' and Behold i've spotted one plant with the signs of spider mite bites on the leaf, i cut the leaf off and looked closesly to 1x mite running around and various eggs.

 

Can I ask - how on earth is this possible? The pots are high off the ground - the mites cannot fly and im sure they couldnt travel from the tent floor all the way up to the plant walking over all the lumps and bumps of the clay pebbles to get to the leaves.

 

How do spider mites even know there is a plant to attack  - these mites are sooooooo tiny that a metre must be miles for them.

 

How long do the eggs last? i left it 5 weeks in bleachy conditions.

 

What must I do = (

 

Can I also ask, does harkers mectin kill the eggs or just the mites?

 

Thanks for any help guys - just so confused how they have managed to come back.

[btk1977]

They can effectively hibernate/go dormant if conditions take a turn for the worse and don't think bleechy water would killed them. When I had an issue with them good few years back I fumigated the room with a couple of bug bombs before anything went back in which did the trick. 

 

Might be worth trying a sulfur vaporiser if your plants aren't very old as unlike the bugbombs its safe to use as long as your aren't in the last couple of weeks of flower.

[BarrySHitPeas]

@charliepotatoe

Just get some killermite ,

about £70,  contains abamectin as the active ingredient.

 

It stays in the plant, so when they come back, it's ready and waiting to kill them. systemic

(obviously do your own further research)  abamectin like all ,miticides should be respected.

dont use in flower.

use PPE

 

If your problem persists consider pairing it with another product to avoid immunity.

 

Maybe next grow consider some preventative measures like predator mites (use them in flower this go )

 

Why....

 theyve evolved to survive this planet  for millions of years , i think your house is like a mini nivana compared to that  ! nice and warm no predators

just leaves ruining your plants to be their number one priority.

 

Edited February 25, 2021 by BarrySHitPeas

[Michael Luchóg]

The old SBPI contained abamectin ,not anymore.

If you're near a farmers co-op or you know a sheep farmer ,or even someone that keeps pigeons they may have a few ml of ivermec or harkers mectin . It's all the same . You'll buy 50 ml for 50 quid ,and you can get a litre for maybe 300 but that's not viable ,the bulk buy differential  .Well ,I think it has a shelf life too once the rubber lid is pierced or cap popped . 

Everyone should use a small shot of this before they flip to 12/12 . If you had scabies or intestinal worms you'd be taking the same product(s). 

[ratdog]

7 minutes ago, Michael Luchóg said:

Well ,I think it has a shelf life too once the rubber lid is pierced or cap popped . 

 

 

i don't think so, i've had some gifted to me by a member years ago, and it's still potent now, it was about 250ml so I do't think it's that expensive unless it's gone up drastically in price?

 

i've been trying to source it wholesale, i.e. a litre.

Edited February 25, 2021 by ratdog

[Michael Luchóg]

Just now, ratdog said:

 

 

i don;t think so, i've had some gifted to me by a member years ago, and it's still potent now, it was about 250ml so I do't think it's that expensive unless it's gone up drastically in price?

 

i've been trying to source it wholesale, i.e. a litre.

You're probably right . After I popped a new 50ml bottle I thought it was more potent because I had two sets of mites ,russet and broad mites and the end of the old ivermectin didn't seem to have the same punch as the couple of drops from the new bottle . I thought it was incredibly expensive to buy 10 ml on ebay . A 250ml would be a fair price and more than fair portion for most folks .All that was available at my co-op was a small 50ml ,500ml ,1 litre and up . Covers a lot of cows for flukeworm ! 

I add a drop of wash up liquid as a sticker and to break up the neem oil ,because I sometimes add that too ,with warm water .  

[Slippy One]

On 25/02/2021 at 6:42 PM, charliepotatoe said:

 

So now I start a new grow with 8x new clones - I checked them all thoroughly (wasnt hard as they were really small anyway) and sprayed them with a soapy solution to make sure they were clean of any pests.

 

 

Can I ask - how on earth is this possible?

 

 

You cleaned the flower room, but did you clean the nursery? Your problem is the clone source. 

 

I found mites after cleaning everything, turns out they most likely arrived via my bungie cables, which now get the boiling water treatment after each grow. 

 

I think the mite life cycle in the right conditions is 2 weeks. I always neem them on day 1, and again on day 3-4 to catch any hatchlings. 

 

 

[blackpoolbouncer]

Persimilis to get on top of them, californicus sachets as preventative replaced periodically will smash them. 

 

I wouldn't even bother with a spray these days now availability of predator bugs are available 

[charliepotatoe]

Thanks for all the comments much appreciated, I will buy this killermite and will just use more dose if its weaker than its previous formula

 

Just hope it works as nothing else I've tried has, fuming.

 

I've found it for £45 so worth a shot.

 

[MindSoup]

4 hours ago, blackpoolbouncer said:

Persimilis to get on top of them, californicus sachets as preventative replaced periodically will smash them. 

 

I wouldn't even bother with a spray these days now availability of predator bugs are available 

100% agree especially when growing ganja. The benefits of using predators aside from the obvious not covering your plants in toxic whatevers is that the predators and their eggs will hang around, so if you get another infestation they will be there waiting. You can even have a plant (doesn't have to be MJ) that stays in the tent from one grow to the next that has the predators already colonised in its soil so they have a stronghold and will soon tackle any pest issues before you even notice them. Nature always has the answer, and she will defeat any man made control (pesticide) you put in front of her. 

Edited February 28, 2021 by MindSoup