defoliation as a mite treatment?

[igrowone]

as the title says, mite troubles are in the neighborhood
i've got about 4 weeks of flower left, so it's a bit trickier
been trying this spray which had plant oils(thyme, rosemary, clove, peppermint), it did help, but not enough
i'm really not keen on even organic pesticides on my bud
the mites aren't horrible, so i'm wondering if a defoliation at this time could be useful
i did search for this, but no finds, maybe a bad idea?

 

[kmk420kali]

They tend to prefer the leaves to the buds...but if you take away the leaves...guess where they will go--

 

[igrowone]

They tend to prefer the leaves to the buds...but if you take away the leaves...guess where they will go--

thank you for that point, that could happen i guess
i've looked the bud over, seems mite free, i guess i'd prefer less bud if it's mite free

 

[gdtrfb]

i'm fighting the bastards on a late-in-flower setup currently - i don't know about complete defoliation, but if i see absolute infestation/rows of eggs on a leaf, that leaf goes - typically, those leaves will already show stress they aren't coming back from anyway

 

[igrowone]

^^^ thanks for experience, i don't seem to have them that bad
i'm running a pheno that begins to drop its leaves at this point in flower normally, not sure how that's going to affect things

 

[supermanlives]

snap crackle pop,there goes another mite LOL

 

[igrowone]

^^^ i just vape, so really hoping the impact will be small
mite flavored bud, not sure how that is

 

[schwagg]

They tend to prefer the leaves to the buds...but if you take away the leaves...guess where they will go--

funny you say that. i had a run in with root aphids and boy oh boy!

i kicked their ass in the soil so what did they do? the little suckers climbed up the branches and into the colas! ruined the whole crop.

but yeah, if i see a leaf with mite's, it's gone!

 

[straintester]

Its not a good idea to take off all the leaves since they are still needed as an energy source for your plant.
Why not consider lavender, or mite rid as a natural alternative
Even plain neem oil will help greatly
If you are only 4 weeks into flower you have about a week or so left to treat them and get rid of them.
If you have an air compressor I'd hook it up and blast them off.
Then spray down your plants from the bottoms up taking extra caution to get the under sides of the leaves
Good luck to you

 

[igrowone]

Its not a good idea to take off all the leaves since they are still needed as an energy source for your plant.
Why not consider lavender, or mite rid as a natural alternative
Even plain neem oil will help greatly
If you are only 4 weeks into flower you have about a week or so left to treat them and get rid of them.
If you have an air compressor I'd hook it up and blast them off.
Then spray down your plants from the bottoms up taking extra caution to get the under sides of the leaves
Good luck to you

i've kind of put this idea down for the moment
i do have a spray that has a mix of rosemary,clove,peppermint, and thyme oils, seems to have helped a bit
i did some manual cleanup today with a moist paper towel, which seems pretty safe
the buds still look clear so i'm trying to get though another 4 weeks

 

[Neo 420]

snap crackle pop,there goes another mite LOL

OUCH!!!

 

[StoneElemental]

My thoughts exactly. I'm not sure what else I can add when you're this late in flower. Neem might help but I've always had pretty clean soil and only gnats to contend with so I'm not too familiar in that area. I wish you luck and that someone provides a pretty useful and solid answer.

-S.E.

They tend to prefer the leaves to the buds...but if you take away the leaves...guess where they will go--

 

[igrowone]

^^^ thanks for the 2nd opinion SE, i brought this on myself
i did a reveg outdoors, wanted to save on electric/grow space, and this is what i got for my trouble

 

[BIGGS]

if they do go onto your buds after you remove the leaves, i've seen a few people use their vacuum cleaners to suck the little fuckers off the buds. this saves having to spray anything onto the plants, and hopefully will help control the numbers. good luck with it mate.

 

[igrowone]

^^^ another vote for the vacuum cleaner, must be something to it, i'll have to give this a dry run today
thanks for the thought, seems like i'm seeing mite problems all over the place
maybe the hot dry summer? in my area anyways

 

[JamieShoes]

i'm fighting the bastards on a late-in-flower setup currently - i don't know about complete defoliation, but if i see absolute infestation/rows of eggs on a leaf, that leaf goes - typically, those leaves will already show stress they aren't coming back from anyway

quite right mate

"harbouring criminals is a serious offense"

 

[BigBudBill]

Heat definitely brings them out. I think it increases their rate of reproduction. They hate water too. And remember to look on branches,stalks and stems. You will see them traveling around on the plants. I have found them on the rims of my pots before.

 

[JamieShoes]

and specifically they hate COLD water... I always add ice to my mite spray...

 

[igrowone]

thanks again for the help, my mite 101 education
never again will i put a plant outside, then bring it back in
just about time for another wet paper towel treatment

 

[thinman]

igrowone, instead of the paper towel, get a pair of white cotton gloves (military supply,etc.).....mix up a solution of clear ivory liquid soap (2 teaspoons per quart). pour the mix into a bowl. with gloves on, stick your hands into the solution, wetting the gloves, then gently rub all leaves and stems with your gloved hands. do this just after lights out. then rinse with clear water just before lights come back on. you'll be killing all the eggs and many adults. you can monitor how many you're killing by looking at the gloves from time to time. that's why you want to use white, but any soft gloves will do the trick. not a lot of options late into flower, but i have used this technique with some success in the past.