Spider mite prevention. Your organic method?

[starwatcher]

My main method of spider mite prevention is to avoid gifted cuts. I got mites twice in 20 years both were from "clean" clones.

Other than that 2 simple things....

1. Keep a VERY, VERY, clean mother room. Clean pots, tools, walls, and floors periodically with a light solution of bleach and warm water. The same goes with the flowering rooms. Paint your rooms every few grows.

2. Spend as little time in your grow areas as possible, if possible shower and wear a clean pair of clothes before you enter. Always be wary of your shoes as they can carry hitch hikers.(yellow and red colors attract bugs big time, avoid those colors)

The following above works for me. I don't dip cuts, use pest strips or any other pestacides. Cleanliness is key for prevention IMO, treat your grow area like a surgeon would his operating table.

Also if you own pets, be wary. They pick up all kinds of microscopic bugs outside and can bring them into your home without you knowing.

 

[mg75]

unhelpful ratings for the two posts recommending chemical poisons for mite control in an organic soil forum.


no further comment.

unfortunately, most of the soil and tap water we use has some kind of poison (and other substances) in it already. perhaps in trace amounts, but it's in there non-the-less.
i am all about keeping it organic, but when you have webs... no organic solution will rid of them. you will have to start from seed and really clean out your room, new soil etc...
as a farmer, i learned that at times you must use some drastic measures to save your crop. i have genetics which i will protect using "store bought" poisons. i have lost many beautiful plants due to me "keepin it real" with organics and not treating un-affected plants. i now, hit everything in the garden, inside the house and even my outdoor plants. i always have to be diligent in the summer!

prevention is key and is achievable using organics, but i was talking about an infestation. do you really want to spray anything on your buds past week four or five?
i give IMID to clones and none to flowering plants. i place a no-pest hotshot strip in the flower room for a minimal amount of time. i understand the ingredients are not good in the said products, but i have too much to lose and i speak from experience.

 

[mad librettist]

look people, to anyone but a stoner mites are not hard to beat. The key absolutely is sticking to your schedule for spraying. If you make no scheduling mistakes you can beat them with soapy water 90% of the time. If you can't put down the bong long enough to stick to the schedule you will feel your efforts are fruitless, get desperate, then resort to poisons. Then, you resort to sophistry like this to avoid feeling guilty:

unfortunately, most of the soil and tap water we use has some kind of poison (and other substances) in it already. perhaps in trace amounts, but it's in there non-the-less.

...


I'm still not convinced about using lavender indiscriminately until I know what it kills and what it doesn't. Which beneficials are not being killed? What about soil mites and spiders? Are there simple steps you can take to protect non-target organisms?

I know it seems over the top to worry about an FPE, but here we have headband spraying peppermint. I can see someone reading that and starting peppermint spraying outdoors, then wondering where all the bees have gone. Well, peppermint kills bees and everything else in that family on contact. I have personally cleared away a wasp nest using a mint spray. The larvae actually jumped out of their cells to get away from it.

 

[heady blunts]

Heady, what brand of lavender are you using?

i use fresh french lavender.

chop it up, put it in a container, fill with 2x as much water, leave extra space for expansion, leave the lid on loosely.

then it does its thing for a week or two.

strain out the plant material, collect the serum, store in a cool, dark, dry place.

when i'm ready to use it i dilute it a lot, then i apply it as a foliar. sometimes i spray the walls and floors of my cab with it too.

 

[rrog]

I'll be damned. So you grow lavender?

 

[jaykush]

I'm still not convinced about using lavender indiscriminately until I know what it kills and what it doesn't. Which beneficials are not being killed? What about soil mites and spiders? Are there simple steps you can take to protect non-target organisms?

ive sprayed ladybugs, lacewings, hoverflies, and the larvae to all of those. wolf spiders, jumping spiders, crab spiders, predatory wasps, all sorts of native and honey bees, predatory mites (yes i use it as a soil drench too) and more. never saw any die from it. and im VERY observant of whats going on in my garden.

like i said before many times. i used to use the lavender as a general foliar spray. with no intent or knowledge of its mite killing effects. after spraying the lavender as a foliar spray without knowledge of the mites i always saw increase in health of plants( all types of plants) and increase in beneficial insects.

like ive also said though, its not one of those things you should use once a week every week forever.

and TO GO WITH THE MINT KNOW THE FUCKING PLANT YOUR MAKING FPE OUT OF!!!!!!!!!!! mint also takes FOREVER to break down as its a water plant. i have a mint fpe that i made 2 years ago. i can still distinguish individual leaves. things like this should be a sign that there are better alternatives.

 

[heady blunts]

its used a lot as an ornamental around here.

but i got this from the farmers market from my favorite edible herbs farm. for $1.50 a bunch, i can make a quart of concentrated FPE.

i'd say if you can't get it fresh, look for dried lavender sold for tea. i have a chinese herbalist that i've sourced some things from in the past when i couldn't find them elsewhere. it's a bit more expensive, but it won't break the bank.

 

[jaykush]

go buy a plant, pretty much every nursery sells lavender plants unless you are extremely far north. if so find something else to use locally.

 

[mad librettist]

I hear you Jay, but then I go to ehow.com and they have a recipe for spider repellant.

It's lavender essential oil and water,

I still have some of those orb weavers I brought in (spotted a second one). Would a lavender FPE affect them? Can I mitigate any effects?


I'm not saying not to use the stuff, but I'm saying we should be cautious. For one thing, I think lots of people read what Jay says, and he gives EXACT instructions, and they do something else. For instance FPE vs. lavender oil. Maybe FPE places a limit on concentration?

Too many unknowns. Let's get to know some of them.

 

[jaykush]

I still have some of those orb weavers I brought in (spotted a second one). Would a lavender FPE affect them? Can I mitigate any effects?

we have orb weavers as well. they of course get the spray like the whole garden. i dont sit there and spray specific areas, its all broadcast sprayed when i do do it. and hell i have orb weavers that have a web between lavender stalks sometimes. essential oils are VERY concentrated, that may be why. im too cheap to buy that crap.

I'm not saying not to use the stuff, but I'm saying we should be cautious. For one thing, I think lots of people read what Jay says, and he gives EXACT instructions, and they do something else. For instance FPE vs. lavender oil. Maybe FPE places a limit on concentration?

that does drive me a bit nuts sometimes. i say what i say for a damn reason. mostly because ive tried and failed many many times doing other "tweaks". im not going to post shit that has failed me, that's just silly. but i do see it happen all the time with other information.

 

[rrog]

Anyone heard of PyGanic? http://www.mgk.com/Crop-Protection/PyGanic_1_4.aspx Someone commented that it works well and works well with Neem.

I read yet another interesting testimonial from a fellow who uses a foliar feed of liquid Sea Weed and molasses every two weeks. The Seaweed, as the story goes, will allow the plant's cell structure to become healthier and tougher slowing the Spider Mites from boring into the plant's outer layer. Seems optimistic, but I think a great number of problems with people and pets are due to weakened immune systems, so this perspective is interesting to me. Boost the plant's immune system so it can resist.

 

[greenluv707]

this is how i do it, avid dip everything (clones) that come in the house. and right be for you start a crop dip the cut befor you plant,put in hydro, or anything worrie free after that.

 

[mad librettist]

this is how i do it, avid dip everything (clones) that come in the house. and right be for you start a crop dip the cut befor you plant,put in hydro, or anything worrie free after that.

please check which section you are in before posting. You have forced me to rate your post unhelpful.

 

[headband 707]

Lavender is a great idea anything with oil is great they hate oil and they actually hate water so these two things can distupt their cycle and this is what you want lol peace out Headband707

 

[headband 707]

ive sprayed ladybugs, lacewings, hoverflies, and the larvae to all of those. wolf spiders, jumping spiders, crab spiders, predatory wasps, all sorts of native and honey bees, predatory mites (yes i use it as a soil drench too) and more. never saw any die from it. and im VERY observant of whats going on in my garden.

like i said before many times. i used to use the lavender as a general foliar spray. with no intent or knowledge of its mite killing effects. after spraying the lavender as a foliar spray without knowledge of the mites i always saw increase in health of plants( all types of plants) and increase in beneficial insects.

like ive also said though, its not one of those things you should use once a week every week forever.

and TO GO WITH THE MINT KNOW THE FUCKING PLANT YOUR MAKING FPE OUT OF!!!!!!!!!!! mint also takes FOREVER to break down as its a water plant. i have a mint fpe that i made 2 years ago. i can still distinguish individual leaves. things like this should be a sign that there are better alternatives.

I will tell you what I put together but it's a bit hard to find.. I got natuaral tobacco because of it's natural pesticide properties and I combined this with cyanne pepper and garlic and this seem to do the trick. I let it sit in water over night and I found the mother leaves and removed them. I do like the idea of lavender but I can't say I have used it. I used spearmint from the garden and peppermint but in very small amounts.
So far the most effective was the tobacco but I don't buy the cig from the stores as one cig contains over 2000 chemicals and this defeats the whole going organic idea lol peace out Headband707

I have a tendency to try it all .. orange peels , lemon peels, peppermint, garlic, or whatever combo I think might work out.. You just never know until you try..

 

[mad librettist]

Lavender is a great idea anything with oil is great they hate oil and they actually hate water so these two things can distupt their cycle and this is what you want lol peace out Headband707

very true, but I think we want to avoid lavender oil because it can kill beneficials compared to the FPE jay is recommending.


very very true about mites disliking water. that's why I posted my method of using water only as a prophylactic in the fall around the time RH drops and the air gets chilly.

 

[mad librettist]

I will tell you what I put together but it's a bit hard to find.. I got natuaral tobacco because of it's natural pesticide properties and I combined this with cyanne pepper and garlic and this seem to do the trick. I let it sit in water over night and I found the mother leaves and removed them. I do like the idea of lavender but I can't say I have used it. I used spearmint from the garden and pepermint but in very small amounts.
So far the most effective was the tobacco but I don't buy the cig from the stores as one cig contains over 2000 chemicals and this defeats the whole going organic idea lol peace out Headband707

tobacco is a very strong general insecticide and miticide. however it has the same problem as pyrethrin: it kills everything.

I use tobacco as an absolute last resort, and for germinating 20$ seeds I can't afford to lose to an errant gnat.

 

[jaykush]

I have a tendency to try it all .. orange peels , lemon peels, peppermint, garlic, or whatever combo I think might work out.. You just never know until you try..

pretty much, ive tried so many random things its not even funny. but its still important to know the materials your dealing with, and the properties they have. so really you can know sometimes even without trying.

that said the best teacher is failure.

 

[Kcar]

please check which section you are in before posting. You have forced me to rate your post unhelpful.

Oh my, the Organic Police!

 

[rrog]

very true, but I think we want to avoid lavender oil because it can kill beneficials compared to the FPE jay is recommending.

Geez. So is lavender OK to use or not? Jay and others say it's great and doesn't kill everything indiscriminately. MadL feels it is an added risk...