Spider mites AKA The Borg

[revegeta666]

Mites react very negatively to isopropyl alcohol. One ounce of 70%+ iso in a gallon of water will kill any mite or mite egg and also dissolves webs. Also evaporates quickly. I use a surfactant so it spreads on the leaf instead of rolling off.
The key is to thoroughly drench the plant every 3 days for 5 treatments. Stops the breeding cycle completely.

ISOPROPYL ALCOHOL ALSO KILLS ROOTS IT TOUCHES. You've been warned.

This is not the first time I read you mention alcohol and I am curious about it and might try it next time I get an infestation. First of all it seems a very simple and cheap solution if it works well. I have refused to accept any clones for a while, because I hate dealing with mites so much. But alcohol doesn't sound offputing to me like say, abamectin does.

I was wondering if clones cleaned witht this method need a recovery time, or if there are negative effects of any kind on the plant, other than the roots dying. Like maybe they lose vigor for a few weeks or grow mutations or anything worth mentioning. Of course alcohol evaporates very quickly so there would probably not be any long term systemic alterations (I am guessing?). If any damage was to happen to the plant, it would have to be on the leaf/stem surface I would think. In your experience the tissue is not damaged at all? Other than the roots?

 

[Douglas.Curtis]

Correct, only roots are damaged by the iso. The plants usually seem to appreciate the sudden lack of mites. They've never shown any signs of stress either.

Find the source and eliminate it, then full drench, every 3 days, 5 applications. Avi told me about it years ago and it has never failed me. Thanks Avi

 

[Douglas.Curtis]

That video rocks! Ton of great info there, which also explains a lot of things I've seen over the years. Thank you so much!!

 

[Wall]

they are super very resistant, unfortunately.
AND crush all that shit!!!!!!!

 

[Douglas.Curtis]

 

[hamstring]

You know what the best type of mites are, dead ones. I thought I would add some pics using my USB scope. I keep saying this, get one.

I know the eegs are small white orbes. If you look at some of the pics I believe that the you can see the eggs have imploded or exploded. They are no longer spherical in shape. Again I use the magic potion called out in one of my video links above.

Defoliate and then spray the remaining vegetation. This leaf is only the size of thumb. In my opinion you cant get rid of every mite on a large plant. Not possible unless you fumigate (bug bomb).

 

[St. Phatty]

I'm dealing with Lice on some pet birds.

I kept them indoors too long, the females because they insisted on it, the males because they kept fighting.

So they ended up with LICE.

Now they are outdoors in semi-special pen. Saw the female taking a dust bath yesterday, exactly what she needed.

If you give your pet a hug, and hold your face next to it, and afterwards feel like you have ants crawling on you ... guess who has lice now ?

The point being - plants have natural ways to deal with parasites also. But they need a natural environment, e.g. one with abundant lady-bugs.

 

[Douglas.Curtis]

Ladybugs die in my growing environment. Too chilly and windy and dry. Terps thrive though. lol

 

[flylowgethigh]

Chilly and dry sounds nice. I will be trying for that this winter.

Adding a little neem oil to ‘green clean’ seems to make it work better on the bastids.

 

[Douglas.Curtis]

Is covering the root zone and using iso/water 5 times that hard?

Should you share neem cannabis, please be sure to inform them you have used neem. A growing number of us will thank you for the info and decline to partake. This applies to neem oil, meal and azadirachtin based products. Thank you so much.

 

[St. Phatty]

Mostly protein with no taste, unless you chew diligently.

If I had enough spider mites and they were chemical free, I would mix them with Mayonnaise and have a Spider Mite Mayo Sandwich.

 

[Loc Dog]

You know what the best type of mites are, dead ones. I thought I would add some pics using my USB scope. I keep saying this, get one.

I know the eegs are small white orbes. If you look at some of the pics I believe that the you can see the eggs have imploded or exploded. They are no longer spherical in shape. Again I use the magic potion called out in one of my video links above.

Defoliate and then spray the remaining vegetation. This leaf is only the size of thumb. In my opinion you cant get rid of every mite on a large plant. Not possible unless you fumigate (bug bomb).

View attachment 18750959 View attachment 18750960 View attachment 18750961 View attachment 18750962 View attachment 18750963

Did bug bomb hurt plants and what sized area and bug bomb?? I tried the alcohol and knocked them back on large plant, but a few weeks later as bad as ever. Also have you tried no pest strip? I am going to have to throw all I can at them. Just got thousands of dollars worth of clones and sick of these little fuckers. Do not want to waste 45 days and start over again. Even used fogger with the alcohol and drenched them. About to severely cut back, and use green cleaner with neem with fogger every other day. Have a lot of other products if anyone has recommendation. Ordered prevasyn 2 weeks ago but e-bay seller is lame and still had not sent.

Anyone tried adding any hot sauce, which is basically what prevasyn is? Supposed to drive the crazy so they stop eating and breeding, plus thins shell, and makes them move around s they get into miticide.

 

[Douglas.Curtis]

Nvm... I get it now. And here I am complaining about my own subscription to issues. lolol

 

[Loc Dog]

Just cut back 14 6 inch plants, and only 2 had a couple of spider mites which were fogged with green cleaner which is isopropyl based. Made a fogger spray of green cleaner, neem, and hot sauce and will try that now. These had my local spider mites. The bigger ones that are lousy with them have 2 spot spider mites which came with clones and seem more difficult to kill.

 

[TanzanianMagic]

Here are a couple of mechanical and organic/natural methods of getting rid of mites (and mildew).

I haven't tried them out, and weed has thinner leaves, so they may need a (much) lower concentration. Try anything out on a test plant first, or non-weed plants.

1. KILLING SPIDER MITES & APHIDS DEAD. *** for how to keep plants healthy.


That is: alcohol, hydrogenperoxide (H202), Tea Tree Castile Soap and Peppermint Castile Soap.

What I like about is that it is nearly completely organic. The Castile Soap has no other chemicals, and H202 is just an unstable molecule that turns into H2O and O2 or O3 - water and oxygen or ozone. You can probably use overproof rum as an alcohol source.

2. Old greenhouse operator's solution: water pressure only.

Nursery Owner Shares His Secrets: EASIEST & CHEAPEST Way to Get Rid of Spider Mites And Other Pests


Spidermites are hard to see, they're everywhere, however they are remarkably easy to remove.

 

[Hammerhead]

Anytime the borg invades there is no 1 and done treatment.. How long you treat depends on how bad the infestation is. If you got flowers draped in webbing nothing will fix this. Time to start over. All minor infestations are pretty easy to get rid of today, there are many organic remedies that work well.. The best advice I can pass on is to get your veg space on lock so you won't have any issues in flower. I do 99% of my IPM in veg.

 

[TanzanianMagic]

Anytime the borg invades there is no 1 and done treatment.. How long you treat depends on how bad the infestation is. If you got flowers draped in webbing nothing will fix this. Time to start over. All minor infestations are pretty easy to get rid of today, there are many organic remedies that work well.. The best advice I can pass on is to get your veg space on lock so you won't have any issues in flower. I do 99% of my IPM in veg.

I agree. However the above 2 methods can be used consecutively. And afterwards predatory mites can be released.

A major way to prevent or at least slow mite investations is to make sure the plants don't touch, and that within the plant the branches don't touch. That way they can't easily walk from one plant to another, or spread to the entire plant.

 

[Nannymouse]

After watching some videos from a.e.a. (Advancing Eco Agriculture), i'm wondering if their small growers' package would be a good way to prevent bugs of all sorts.

I don't know if their systems have been mentioned here, cuz i skipped the last twenty or so pages. Their videos are darn right informative, i even got a nice little science refresher. One of the things that was new to me, is that legumes are outdone in soil generation by oats. Never would have figured that.

 

[St. Phatty]

I wonder, what is the total weight of spider mites on an acre of garden ?

Something you might need to know if you are thinking about using the spider mites as a food source.

Just mix them with mayonnaise and make a sandwich !

 

[Hammerhead]

I agree. However the above 2 methods can be used consecutively. And afterwards predatory mites can be released.

A major way to prevent or at least slow mite investations is to make sure the plants don't touch, and that within the plant the branches don't touch. That way they can't easily walk from one plant to another, or spread to the entire plant.

SM will invade when nothing is done to prevent them. If SM are common in any area they will get in. As long as your using IPM to prevent them you shouldn't have any issues with them.. using an organic method is a must where I live. Setting up an IPM schedule will keep your plants happy and healthy.