I've just about had it

[Bluesboy]

Strain of Mj? OG Kush, White Widow, Trainwreck, Sunshine, and Mazar
Hydroponic or soil? Soil
From seed or clone? Both
Age of plants in question? 2 Months
What stage (Veg/Flower; how many days into)? Veg/Flower Transistion
Medium (Soil, Rockwool, Hydroton etc.)? Pro Mix
Container/Pot size? 5gal
Have they been transplanted, if so how long ago? yes a month ago
If soil, composition ratios (peat moss, perilite, vermiculite etc.)? promix HP
Water runoff Ph? 6
Nutrients added? Earth Juice Line
Ratios of nutrients (N% P% K%)? Uknown
Feeding schedule? Weekly
When were they last fed/watered? 3 days ago
How are you determining when to feed/water (weight, wilting, etc.)? Container Weight
Tap/RO/Distilled water? Tap
Ph before and after adding nutrients? before 9 after balance 5.8
Is your Ph equipment properly calibrated? yes
Light intensity/Age of bulb/Wattage? 600w
Distance to the canopy? 1 ft.
Temps at canopy? 78 degree
Temps at root zone or reservoir? 70 degree
Day/Night temps (Min.-Max.)? 70-80
Current air flow (CFM)? few hundred
Is there air blowing directly onto plant? no
Using CO2? no
Relative humidity? 40%
Growing technique (Scrog, Sog, Supercropping etc.)? standard
Has plant recently been pruned, clones taken, fimmed or pinched? no
Pests? SPIDER MITES
Chemicals used to eradicate? Ed's Zero Tolerance and Payola (pyrithian based)
If so,When? two applications two weeks apart.


Alright so, I've spent a few hundred bucks and the majority of my sanity now trying to get rid of the spider mites that are ravaging my garden but to no avail. One by one im watching my prized plants die off seemingly beyond my control. Twice now I've removed all my plants from my grow tent, completely wiped the interior down with bleach and water. Cleaned the area around the tent, removed all dead and dying leaf matter from the plants. Treated the tops and bottoms of the plants as well as the topsoil with ed's zero tolerance and a generic seeming pyrithian based product called pyola.

And yet here I am 4 weeks into treatment and they are still dying one by one. My last White Widow female was over run today. Leaving me with nothing but a single feminized seed to work with in that line

Please if anyone can offer advice or guidance, Ive read all the threads but some new info would be great. My tent is in my living space so certain treatments are non-options.

Thanks in Advance,

A defeated Bluesboy

 

[RockyMountainHi]

Grow tent?

There was a lot of problems with SOME tents - make sure yours isn't one of them.


No Pest Strips eliminate spidermites.

There are down sides, but a mite free garden is it's own upside.

 

[Bluesboy]

any recomendation on where to pick up the no pest strips? also is there any harm in using them in my living space?

I have a new tent with non of those crazy gas issues.

-Bluesboy

 

[vigilo]

use a NPS. worked for me

 

[xOOx]

i read lots of posts about those tents giving off noxious fumes from the plastic lining when heated up from your lights..the fumes kill the plants..defect, and they were replaced/recalled.. if you don't see any webs and spider mites marching up and down your leaves..the leaves should not be dying and dropping..

if you do, then no pest strip ($5 home depot) and treat the soil w/Avid or something..i've used JMS stylet oil sprayed on a house plant that had spider mites recently, and they just vanished (webs too -- like they melted) after one spraying. still have not returned.. but that plant is nowhere near the secret plant.

xoox

 

[Bluesboy]

update

update

okay, after a lovely conversation with a new friend. I've decided on the following course of action.

1.) Removing all plants from the grow area, once again sterilizing the tent with bleach and water.

2.) Topping plants and transplanting to avoid stunting due to the elongated vegetative cycle.

3.) Putting plants back in the tent, killing the light and exhaust for a yet undetermined amount of time (6hrs?) and applying No Pest Strips.

4.) One week later my donated ounce of Floramite will be here and I will again offer them a light feeding and apply the floramite.

5.) Hopefully living happily ever after in a mite free environment and FINALLY getting into flowering again.

-Bluesboy

Please feel free to offer an erratum to my course of action, I have yet to have to deal with mites prior to this.

 

[RockyMountainHi]

Ya gotta leave the strips in with the plants until all the bugs are dead and the eggs die upon hatching or your just making it worse. They can become resistant to almost anything very quickly - thus the nick name "THE BORG"
Figgure 2 weeks minium. 3 wouldn't hurt ya.

Temprature will influence the life cycle of mites.
Humidity too.

the MSDS for NPS says do not use in food prep areas. It's not candy for sure - nor is it a toy, but in your position - i'd be putting at least 2 strips inside the tent.

(I've had 9 strips in a 1200 SF house - me, the dogs, the cat the bird are all fine.

Shine!

 

[maxxim]

Sounds like you`ll be mite free soon enough now....

 

[NPK]

Dude, carefully read the No Pest packaging before buying. If it says, "For Use Only In Spaces Vacant Three Months", take that very seriously. Hot Shot No Pest Strips are highly toxic--they contain known carcinogens, among other nasties. No crop today is worth cancer down the road ten years.

I'm dealing with mites too, but am able to manage them with a pyrethrin-based spray called Bug Off. I spot-spray here and there and am able to keep things under control. Frankly, I don't even like using the spray, but at least the stuff kills on contact and dissipates rapidly, as opposed to those strips.

 

[Brother_Monk]

That floramite will knock the shit outta them fuckers. Just make sure you spray every surface in, on, and around your grow space. Eggs can get on your clothes and you can taxi them around the house on you. Inadvertently dropping them off at different locations wherever you go. Do a heavy dosage of 2 1/2 ml/gal floramite solution first. Then 2 weeks later, use the usual 1 1/2 ml/gal for a maintenance application. Once every 30 days after that for a few cycles will almost certainly eradicate your problem. Just don't do it a few weeks before harvest.

 

[xxkatchyxx]

all i can tell ya is if ya want them gone for good use floramite/avid either one will work.

 

[Dr. G]

hey hope everything is going well wanted to see how the mites were

 

[stoneypenguin]

Ran into these little bastards recently. Tried neemoil first which was very harsh on the plants and didnt seem to do anything to the mites.

Next I got some No Pest strips, but was reluctant to use them because of all the bad shit Ive read about them. I ended up using them for about 3 days to keep them at bay while I picked up some floramite from the hydro store.

Took out the NPS and sprayed once with floramite under and ontop of every leaf and stems and I havnt seen any mites since (about 3 or 4 weeks ago).

Floramite has my vote so far.

 

[kushism]

I agree floramite/avid are the best.. Dr. Doom also makes an effective pyrethrin based spray.

 

[Fluke]

In my experience letting the soil dry out almost completely will rid the grow of spider mites. This however will affect your plants and may not work for you. I've only done this twice but it worked both times for me.

 

[VirginHarvester]

I have some questions about mites:

Are spider mites regional or nationwide?

Why do they find their way to people's indoor grows so often?

Do they infest other kinds of plants people grow indoors or have a special affinity for finding MJ grows?