highgrower Posted August 23, 2021 Share Posted August 23, 2021 (edited) As some may know i seem to be constantly fighting spider mites over the past few years - recently I cleared out the grow space with Dettol which seemed to kill pretty much everything - obviously this is not for plants in flower and only in veg - duh! It got me thinking why not just spray the plants - so have been experimenting with some males. Quite a simple experiment just to find what concentration of Dettol kills plants. The experiment subjects (victims) - 4 blues x nonames boys The burning on the lower fans if from a previous spray of some neem and other stuff. I started with 10ml per litre and sprayed a plant, added 10ml and sprayed the next one, added another 10ml for the third and then a final 10ml for the forth plant - so actually the concentration is a bit stronger than shown as I did not top up the water as I sprayed each plant. After 6 hrs Unfortunately i was a bit rough and bend the 30ml plants stem. So part of it looking upset is caused by that. The plant which got 40ml was not happy after 6 hrs. But the others were ok. By the next day the 10ml, 20ml plants were fine and back to normal. The 30ml plant is ok and think its more upset about its being snapped than sprayed but there is some leaf curl happening. The 40ml plant a lot worse. Some close ups So Part 1 of experiment complete and would say it is ok to spray plants with a concentration of Dettol between 20-25ml per litre with out serious damage. Unfortunately these plants seem to be pretty mite free so cant really comment on actually how effective this would be at killing them at that concentration of Dettol. I will try and get some mites to start munching on the 10ml and 20ml ones for Part 2 - but if anyone wants to step in and give this a try please do would be very interested for other peoples input on this as if it kills mites at 20ml per litre its a cheap and easy to get hold of and could be a game changer in dealing with them. Edited August 23, 2021 by highgrower 22 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MindSoup Posted August 23, 2021 Share Posted August 23, 2021 (edited) Why not just use predator mites? Or have you already tried that ? Edited August 23, 2021 by MindSoup Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
highgrower Posted August 23, 2021 Author Share Posted August 23, 2021 (edited) Just now, MindSoup said: Why not just use predator mites? Or have you already tried that ? Yup tried twice and they dont eliminate them 100% plus hard to keep humidity up so they start to breed in a small space - I have tried pretty much everything. Im thinking this may be a solution like harkers but with less chance of mites building up tolerance to it as Im pretty sure my mites can now drink harkers like water. Edited August 23, 2021 by highgrower 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catweazle1 Posted August 23, 2021 Share Posted August 23, 2021 32 minutes ago, highgrower said: Yup tried twice and they dont eliminate them 100% plus hard to keep humidity up so they start to breed in a small space - I have tried pretty much everything. Im thinking this may be a solution like harkers but with less chance of mites building up tolerance to it as Im pretty sure my mites can now drink harkers like water. Is fumigation an option? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
highgrower Posted August 23, 2021 Author Share Posted August 23, 2021 (edited) Possibly but im just messing with this idea as a cheap alternative to the other options out there - Harkers and Preditor mites and not cheap and both a hassle to get - and work in a different way to Dettol which could be more effective with mites not getting immune to it. Dettol is about £6 a litre - so per spray at 20ml would be under 15p per litre - easy to get hold of 750ml bottle would be over 35 sprays worth. Harkers costs about £10 per 5ml - and you get about 10 sprays per bottle at best - so about £1 per litre and you have to order it online I have a small grow like under 1m2 so for me to buy a something isnt too bad cost wise but it would be nice not to have to order something and just go to local supermarket and buy a bottle to spray on wouldnt it? Im sure there are people out there who struggle to get hold of harkers etc. I suspect would work for other pests as well. Edited August 23, 2021 by highgrower 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diddy Posted August 23, 2021 Share Posted August 23, 2021 I see nothing wrong with experimentation. Hacking life problems is kind of fun, If you have the space to grow a few you are not overly bothered with then why not ? 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
highgrower Posted August 23, 2021 Author Share Posted August 23, 2021 Attempting to setup for part 2 of the experiment and have rested the two plants against a few buds which have a bit of webbing starting to appear - so far the mites are not too interested in them - perhaps the stink of dettol is putting them off I quite like the smell 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonga Posted August 23, 2021 Share Posted August 23, 2021 Best of luck with the experiment, hope it works could save everyone a fortune. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
highgrower Posted August 23, 2021 Author Share Posted August 23, 2021 (edited) Have taken a more direct approach and just wiped the plants against some buds with webs - will put these aside for a few days - its possible the spray has given them some protection so this could fail but if not will then be able to check if 10ml or 20ml is strong enough to kill them Edited August 23, 2021 by highgrower 13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alys Posted August 23, 2021 Share Posted August 23, 2021 A very interesting thread. Following along and hoping you have a successful outcome. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catweazle1 Posted August 24, 2021 Share Posted August 24, 2021 If the Dettol experiment doesn't get the result, you could try saturating the grow room with carbon dioxide. Releasing a full container of carbon dioxide into a sealed grow set-up will kill all mites and insects. But, don’t be in the room while the CO2 is being released! It would be enough to KILL YOU! I have seen this technique of bringing the CO2 to 10,000 ppm for 15 minutes to kill all pests. You must vent out the CO2 before entering the room. Two applications, five days apart, will kill all mites, pests and their offspring. - Ed Rosenthal 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diddy Posted August 24, 2021 Share Posted August 24, 2021 I was also wondering if the uv sterilising light jobbies would do the job without killing plants....I mean it is supposed to be killer of everything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MindSoup Posted August 24, 2021 Share Posted August 24, 2021 Just now, Diddy said: I was also wondering if the uv sterilising light jobbies would do the job without killing plants....I mean it is supposed to be killer of everything. I bought a uvc bulb with this Idea before doing the proper research and it will happily kill your plants, luckily I double check before i tried it. You could use it when the room/tent is empty though. UVA/UVB are less/not harmful but also not very effective for sanitisation. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
highgrower Posted August 24, 2021 Author Share Posted August 24, 2021 8 hours ago, catweazle1 said: If the Dettol experiment doesn't get the result, you could try saturating the grow room with carbon dioxide. Releasing a full container of carbon dioxide into a sealed grow set-up will kill all mites and insects. But, don’t be in the room while the CO2 is being released! It would be enough to KILL YOU! I have seen this technique of bringing the CO2 to 10,000 ppm for 15 minutes to kill all pests. You must vent out the CO2 before entering the room. Two applications, five days apart, will kill all mites, pests and their offspring. - Ed Rosenthal That is a nice clean solution as in no need to move plants or anything but does require access to co2 and a co2 meter (if you can get a load of dry ice) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MindSoup Posted August 24, 2021 Share Posted August 24, 2021 (edited) CO2 is easy to get hold of at home-brew shops. E2A it's not exactly cheap though. Edited August 24, 2021 by MindSoup Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now