Predatory Mites....

[Aksala]

So I was looking up organic ways to fight spider mites and I read an article about how predatory mites are becoming a very popular way to control them...

Anyone know if this is a viable option for marijuana growing? I'd love to be able to just introduce some little critters to my soil that keep mites at bay while not feeding on the plants.

If anyone has experience please share some thoughts.

 

[naturall_mystic]

Yeah a question I can answer ! Yes they are a viable option. Just used then last month and they worked very well. I discovered the spider mites early fortunately. They were still at the bottom of the plants. Under my microscope I was shocked at how many there were. I ordered the predatory mites, followed the simple instructions. I checked each week for a few weeks and after three I could find no evidence of the nasty spider mites. The predatory mites seem to have left after doing their work.

In my mind predatory mites are a very easy solution. No chemicals, mist the plants once, sprinkle predatory mites. THats it.

Best O Luck

 

[Clackamas Coot]

Predator Mites

Predator Mites

March Bio Control carries 8 species of predator mites. Read the descriptions and choose the best one for your situation. 1,000 eggs for $21.00

They've been in business for over 25 years and they only carry the best in beneficial insects and nematodes.

HTH

CC

 

[Aksala]

I don't have mites yet...but I'm just planning for the future...

Is it best to order the eggs and hope you dont need em or once I become infected order them?

How long can they be stored ect...

 

[naturall_mystic]

Hopefully you won't get them as they can be tenacious. If you do get spider mites and choose to use predators then you will need purchase the predators at the time of infestation. Predator mites are living creatures and have a short life span as do their eggs.

I use a combination, their "triple threat" that is conveniently sold by Nature's Control located in Medford, OR USA. This takes some of the guess work out of deciding what you will need killing the spider mites.

Keep the air circulating, keep the grow area clean. THese things help as well as don't play in your garden outside then go directly to the cannabis garden. Mites are great hitch hikers.

 

[kushbanana]

who puts more bugs on their garden to solve a bug problem? some crazy hippie.

 

[naturall_mystic]

A smart crazy hippie !

 

[kushbanana]

or a gross dirty one !

 

[NUG-JUG]

Under my microscope I was shocked at how many there were.

I looked at a mite infested leaf under my hand held bud-scope..and it was quite a show..egg sacs all over the place with the adult mites going to town eating\pooping out eggs...then came the Neem\predatory mites..treatment

I like seeing through the scope mites that 5 minutes before were frolicking about on my plants are dead..

 

[Aksala]

Nice I live in vancouver washington (legal grower) so the shipping from there should be quick...

Whats the best way to spot the mites...I mean I personally have never had problems with them but I always grew inside a house....now I'm growing in a shed and although it is impressively built and the flower room itself is pretty sealed off I still notice spiders and other easy to spot bugs so I'm sure eventually the mites will hit.

Should I just take off random fan leaves and inspect under the 60-100x scope?

Or is that overkill and just use a jewelers loupe?

 

[VerdantGreen]

i would love it if they had worked for me, but i bought them twice, tried to give them the conditions that they needed - both times they werent effective. i also read somewhere that some species also hibernate in less than 14 hours light

i stick to regular neem and starch sprays now.

VG

 

[THC123]

indeed indoors they never really worked , but i have no choice now , i have mites in week 3 and cant spray anymore now , so hoping the prdoators will do something

 

[whodair]

planetnatural sent me some mean aggressive predators !! perfect for late in flower

 

[naturall_mystic]

It is important that you pic the right predators. That is why I used the triple threat as it covers a lot of variables without me having to sort out which predator to use.

Whodair I like the planet natural website. Thanks for mentioning it.

 

[VerdantGreen]

indeed indoors they never really worked , but i have no choice now , i have mites in week 3 and cant spray anymore now , so hoping the prdoators will do something

i spray neem later into flowering than that with no ill effects. use 1tsp/litre, use a hand blender to mix it with a little soap, and spray sparingly from underneath so the underside of the leaves get wet but not too much goes on the buds. let them dry before putting them back under the light.

VG

 

[Clackamas Coot]

Nice I live in vancouver washington (legal grower) so the shipping from there should be quick...

Aksala

I just noticed that you live west of the Cascades and I thought that you should know that using predator mites is virtually worthless in this part of the world.

Especially right now after this past spring and summer where we had laboratory conditions for breeding massive levels of mites and over 300 anaerobic molds (i.e. powdery mildew) to make things fun and exciting.

CC

 

[Aksala]

So what do you suggest?

 

[guest2012y]

I would suggest (from listening to the info. CC has provided me and my own personal experiments) using a 50/50 mix of neem oil and dyna-gro silicone at 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of each per quart of water as a foliar spray. I have sprayed the plants twice a day up and down and under the leaves for up to two weeks with great results on mites. Haven't seen them since. I would follow up with another treatment in a week as well.

 

[SupraSPL]

Neem oil has been working for me also. I use it at half strength ~4ml/liter otherwise it scorches the leaves whether it is in the light or not. A 1 week follow up treatment is usually necessary as capt cheeze said.

 

[jaykush]

i used a homemade lavender extract on a friends plants, they were covered in mites. pretty bad too, the leaves were ALL spotted and crawling with them. one week later and two applications ALL of them were gone. and hes yet to see them return. its been a month at least. cost me less than 1$ to make.