Just like the bug, there's been an explosion of threads and posts concerning these wicked creatures. I for one have spent months battling them, helping fellow growers, and trying to add as much experience as I've gathered to the forum to help other growers out.
Its really hard going after a creature such as this that has a very limited amount of information. I've spent weeks browsing the net, speaking to folks, and running my own trials with different approaches to see wtf even works and what is a huge waste of time and money.
However I've recently been amazed as I watch the threads regarding this pest explode with more and more growers becoming aware and finding that they're a victim too. At first when I posted about these things I thought it was me and maybe a few other people who were suffering from these things. I never expected so many others to be experiencing the same.
2 days ago, I made an appointment with a friend who sure enough is infested with RA to go help him try to clean house so to speak. I told him not to waste time or money on anything, because I'd be bringing the solution with me. After arriving setting up a game plan and commencing treatment with 15ml/gal of Bayer tree and shrub, as I've found this to be a good initial hit to them. I couldn't believe my eyes that the RA were totally unfaded by the stuff. I mean unfaded to the point were I thought this surely must be some other creature. We macro photographed some, and sure enough they were RA, verified by its features. My ego said fuck that, and I began hitting them with some really harsh chems. We spent nearly 6 hours flooding and re-flooding the 20 plants he had, and I left feeling they weren't all gone. Today he called, and sure enough they're still present.
I'm afraid that this seems like an epidemic of a problem, and god knows how many more people are infested, just unaware at the moment.
Here are my concerns:
-I am fearing that we're going to create a chem resistant super RA.
-Not all fellow growers are mature enough to be dealing with these chems.
-We're releasing way to much synthetic chems into the environment for literally one bug.
-Too many people are using these chems while flowering.
-No one knows what future health issues might arise from pesticide residue consumption.
-Many of the members who have and are wanting to treat these bugs are also medical cannabis patients who might cause themselves more harm by handling/consuming treated plants.
-Many medical cannabis patients donate back to their dispensary, further spreading chemical exposure.
I believe the recent experience where nothing that had previously worked even made a dent, and the fact of reading posts earlier by members asking if 4th week of flowering is okay to be using IMID, or other chems, really made me change my approach to eradicating these RA.
Please remember the regulatory bodies in Gov't do not test any of incendiary properties of these chemicals. I for one know that eating a tomato with Imid residue, is not the same as burning bud that contains Imid residue. I do not know what the burn properties are for imid, because the only crop that I know of that is burnable that Imid is used on is tobacco, and I know tobacco farming is not regulated as other farming.
So what to do?
A lot of the member who originally posted, applied and recommended a simple approach. Cut down, take clones, and start all over. At this moment, I agree 100% with this strategy.
It is the safest (for you and your family[ if applicable]), fastest, and least frustrating approach. I know the frustration first hand of treating and waiting and waiting to see if it really worked, and if it didn't, damn right back to attacking them. I've advocated bringing out the big guns, but now I believe that it is not worth it. In fact it's time to put the guns away and take a more simplistic approach.
The Solution:
In the time that it takes to research, order or buy chems (depending where you live), commence treatment, re-treat, re-treat, inspect, etc, etc...... You can take cuts off your plants, disinfect them, throw them in zip lock bags, throw all the zip locks in rubbermaid shoe box (6 qt size), and put that box in the crisper drawer in your fridge. Cut everything down.
If you have access to an oven great, heat it to 300, and throw all your medium in a large disposable aluminum tray (the kind you use for the turkey), and let it chill in there for a few hours.
If you have access to a dehumidifier run it continuously for about a week. You want humidity levels around 10-25%. (Remember these things live in hydrated environments, no moisture = bye bye for them).
All the mmj patients who obtain their cuttings from mmj clubs. Please pay as much attention to the roots and rooting material as the foliage. Everyone is just looking out for spider mites, and seem to be ignorant of anything else, clubs included.
As with anything in life, your mileage will vary with any chemical approach. So just skip that step, minimize health problems now and down the road, and let us not help mutate this thing into an even more impossible problem.
Good luck, best intentions, and best regards,
-bm
Its really hard going after a creature such as this that has a very limited amount of information. I've spent weeks browsing the net, speaking to folks, and running my own trials with different approaches to see wtf even works and what is a huge waste of time and money.
I for one have advocated using very strong means to eliminate these things. I've probably created and killed over 200 clones so that I can try different chemical approaches to see what, if anything works. I paid attention to different life stages of these things, what worked, what didn't and if they do develop any type of resistance to chemical applications (I group all things applied as a means of pest control as "chemical" since bottom line is, it's chemicals at work, naturally derived, or otherwise). However I've recently been amazed as I watch the threads regarding this pest explode with more and more growers becoming aware and finding that they're a victim too. At first when I posted about these things I thought it was me and maybe a few other people who were suffering from these things. I never expected so many others to be experiencing the same.
2 days ago, I made an appointment with a friend who sure enough is infested with RA to go help him try to clean house so to speak. I told him not to waste time or money on anything, because I'd be bringing the solution with me. After arriving setting up a game plan and commencing treatment with 15ml/gal of Bayer tree and shrub, as I've found this to be a good initial hit to them. I couldn't believe my eyes that the RA were totally unfaded by the stuff. I mean unfaded to the point were I thought this surely must be some other creature. We macro photographed some, and sure enough they were RA, verified by its features. My ego said fuck that, and I began hitting them with some really harsh chems. We spent nearly 6 hours flooding and re-flooding the 20 plants he had, and I left feeling they weren't all gone. Today he called, and sure enough they're still present.
I'm afraid that this seems like an epidemic of a problem, and god knows how many more people are infested, just unaware at the moment.
Here are my concerns:
-I am fearing that we're going to create a chem resistant super RA.
-Not all fellow growers are mature enough to be dealing with these chems.
-We're releasing way to much synthetic chems into the environment for literally one bug.
-Too many people are using these chems while flowering.
-No one knows what future health issues might arise from pesticide residue consumption.
-Many of the members who have and are wanting to treat these bugs are also medical cannabis patients who might cause themselves more harm by handling/consuming treated plants.
-Many medical cannabis patients donate back to their dispensary, further spreading chemical exposure.
I believe the recent experience where nothing that had previously worked even made a dent, and the fact of reading posts earlier by members asking if 4th week of flowering is okay to be using IMID, or other chems, really made me change my approach to eradicating these RA.
Please remember the regulatory bodies in Gov't do not test any of incendiary properties of these chemicals. I for one know that eating a tomato with Imid residue, is not the same as burning bud that contains Imid residue. I do not know what the burn properties are for imid, because the only crop that I know of that is burnable that Imid is used on is tobacco, and I know tobacco farming is not regulated as other farming.
So what to do?
A lot of the member who originally posted, applied and recommended a simple approach. Cut down, take clones, and start all over. At this moment, I agree 100% with this strategy.
It is the safest (for you and your family[ if applicable]), fastest, and least frustrating approach. I know the frustration first hand of treating and waiting and waiting to see if it really worked, and if it didn't, damn right back to attacking them. I've advocated bringing out the big guns, but now I believe that it is not worth it. In fact it's time to put the guns away and take a more simplistic approach.
The Solution:
In the time that it takes to research, order or buy chems (depending where you live), commence treatment, re-treat, re-treat, inspect, etc, etc...... You can take cuts off your plants, disinfect them, throw them in zip lock bags, throw all the zip locks in rubbermaid shoe box (6 qt size), and put that box in the crisper drawer in your fridge. Cut everything down.
If you have access to an oven great, heat it to 300, and throw all your medium in a large disposable aluminum tray (the kind you use for the turkey), and let it chill in there for a few hours.
If you have access to a dehumidifier run it continuously for about a week. You want humidity levels around 10-25%. (Remember these things live in hydrated environments, no moisture = bye bye for them).
All the mmj patients who obtain their cuttings from mmj clubs. Please pay as much attention to the roots and rooting material as the foliage. Everyone is just looking out for spider mites, and seem to be ignorant of anything else, clubs included.
As with anything in life, your mileage will vary with any chemical approach. So just skip that step, minimize health problems now and down the road, and let us not help mutate this thing into an even more impossible problem.
Good luck, best intentions, and best regards,
-bm
