get those eggs off! new gardening trick...

[mad librettist]

ok, I am pretty excited about this one. A friend showed me a neat trick for getting mite eggs off your plants. She had a home hair dye kit that came with an applicator that is soft bristles on opposing surfaces that squeeze together to apply hair dye.


the applicator that comes in the kit can be used to wipe mite eggs right off your plants. by keeping a jar of hot soapy water with you, you can effectively clean the fuckers right off.

this means you can spray today to kill adults, then come back in a day to remove the eggs. the next generation is greatly diminished and this should reduce the spraying required.

you can also wash eggs and mites right off bud leaf without touching the hairs or causing any splashes.


I'll get a pick up of the applicator and find out the brand name of the dye tomorrow.

 

[Jungle.Microbes]

im listening

 

[gingerale]

Honestly bro I'd rather just buy some predators and turn them loose, let them deal with the fuckers. If I only had one or two plants it might be a different story.

 

[Jungle.Microbes]

have you had any experience using predators in an unsealed room? I'm at my end with these fucking bugs

 

[gingerale]

Nope but check out 40AmpsToFreedom's thread...apparently predators cured all his ills. Here is where he recommended to buy from:

http://www.rinconvitova.com/aphid control.htm

I'm pretty sure having an unsealed room isnt a problem....they go where the prey is, and they eat the bugs and their eggs right off the plant.

 

[TB Gardens]

Cool tip, thanks buddy

 

[h.h.]

Any tips on matching the eyebrows?

 

[mad librettist]

predators are great but work best when used proactively


predators also work best when the gardener begins by reducing numbers. throwing predators at a population already well into exponential growth will have little effect as far as your crop is concerned.



love the predators, but I also love the little trick learned here

 

[h.h.]

Picking off eggs when I see them is the 1st thing I do. Easiest, simplest, and very earth friendly. Even with "large" plantings, it along with a little diligence is the best method. Of course my predators are already in place and I'm just helping. While the predators keep it down to a manageable degree, they don't get them all.

 

[Jungle.Microbes]

I'm really interested in the predator mite. I grow perpetually, 600w in veg and 2 600w in flower. I typically have about 25 plants in flower all the time in different stages, I harvest every 2 weeks, so there are new plants going in constantly from veg.

My mites are typically a problem in my flower area. veg isn't really ever affected, I will see a few signs of them, but after treatment, fresh leaf growth resumes. In flower however, they have been ruining my yield as I'm constantly battling them. I have been inconsistent with my sprayings, so I knock their population way down and then they come back, once I see signs of webs starting I get pissed and spray them again. I've gotten myself on a strict schedule lately of spraying every 3 days religiously. I'm only on my second spray, but I've stuck to it so far.

Predators might be what I need to fully finish them off.

The spray I use is a mixture of soap, lavendar, and rosemary oil, I use a pump sprayer to get better coverage, but I use this every 3 days. Will this be harmful for the predator mites? The reason I'm using these oils is I've read the oils practically melt the cells of the mites and they die. I don't want to kill the predators though.

 

[mad librettist]

I'm really interested in the predator mite. I grow perpetually, 600w in veg and 2 600w in flower. I typically have about 25 plants in flower all the time in different stages, I harvest every 2 weeks, so there are new plants going in constantly from veg.

My mites are typically a problem in my flower area. veg isn't really ever affected, I will see a few signs of them, but after treatment, fresh leaf growth resumes. In flower however, they have been ruining my yield as I'm constantly battling them. I have been inconsistent with my sprayings, so I knock their population way down and then they come back, once I see signs of webs starting I get pissed and spray them again. I've gotten myself on a strict schedule lately of spraying every 3 days religiously. I'm only on my second spray, but I've stuck to it so far.

Predators might be what I need to fully finish them off.

The spray I use is a mixture of soap, lavendar, and rosemary oil, I use a pump sprayer to get better coverage, but I use this every 3 days. Will this be harmful for the predator mites? The reason I'm using these oils is I've read the oils practically melt the cells of the mites and they die. I don't want to kill the predators though.

biological control is a great option for your situation!

 

[Crusader Rabbit]

I've gotten myself on a strict schedule lately of spraying every 3 days religiously. I'm only on my second spray, but I've stuck to it so far.

 

[hades]

I know it's not exactly on topic, but my experience with mites is to wipe out the room and clean the shit out of it. I fought them in a flowering room for a few cycles and tried everything, Diatomaceous Earth, pred mites, Neem oil foliars/root soaks, changing temp/RH, HotShot strips, everything except chem sprays. They never went away completely and if I missed a spray or something I would open the doors up to webs again.

I ended up wiping out the whole room and all the soil. Bleached everything more than once and let the room sit for a few weeks.

I'm really just asking this because I am interested, but have you all ever heard of someone who got mites in a flowering room and got rid of them completely without wiping the room out or using chemicals?

 

[GanjaRebelSeeds]

not a bad idea for a hobbiest with a few plants.

 

[mad librettist]

the three day spray cycle is essential and usually bang-on in the flower room, timing wise.

spray today, then wipe eggs off the tops tomorrow. by day 3 the numbers will be quite low.

you can do 20 plants in an evening no problem using this method. think of it as detailing a car.

you could probably get away with just one spray, then only wipe off from there, to keep from spraying any tops.

 

[mad librettist]

not a bad idea for a hobbiest with a few plants.

it sure is!

however, this technique was developed in a professional garden with a mite invasion well into flower. it's barely slower than inspecting a plant. definitely faster than tying and training, which no one complains about.''

when you spray you are trying to keep it off the buds, and that makes you less thorough. mites wind up moving across the tops, and then they web up more than usual to avoid the sticky parts. or, you take the time to shield buds as you spray, which is just as slower or slower than wiping the leaf clean with this little device.

 

[Jungle.Microbes]

I know it's not exactly on topic, but my experience with mites is to wipe out the room and clean the shit out of it. I fought them in a flowering room for a few cycles and tried everything, Diatomaceous Earth, pred mites, Neem oil foliars/root soaks, changing temp/RH, HotShot strips, everything except chem sprays. They never went away completely and if I missed a spray or something I would open the doors up to webs again.

I ended up wiping out the whole room and all the soil. Bleached everything more than once and let the room sit for a few weeks.

I'm really just asking this because I am interested, but have you all ever heard of someone who got mites in a flowering room and got rid of them completely without wiping the room out or using chemicals?

this is exactly what I'm looking for. I'm to the point where I have alarms set to remind me every 3 days to eradicate for an entire month, so I will report back with my results. I've been dealing with them for so long that It's an absolute must to follow the schedule to make sure I get them all..

If it doesn't work, I'm going to just shut it down, clean, and take a couple months off. It will reset my tolerance anyway lol. The only thing I worry about is losing some great phenos I've found over the years. I don't have my best strains in seed form anymore.

 

[mad librettist]

this is exactly what I'm looking for. I'm to the point where I have alarms set to remind me every 3 days to eradicate for an entire month, so I will report back with my results. I've been dealing with them for so long that It's an absolute must to follow the schedule to make sure I get them all..

If it doesn't work, I'm going to just shut it down, clean, and take a couple months off. It will reset my tolerance anyway lol. The only thing I worry about is losing some great phenos I've found over the years. I don't have my best strains in seed form anymore.

man, do you know how many posts I have read saying someone got rid of mites bleaching a room? do you know how many of those posts don't say how long the garden has been mite free since bleaching? almost all of them.

I have NEVER seen a post saying "3 years ago I bleached and I have had no mites since". they can hide behind the baseboards, between walls, and any other number of places you won't reach with the bleach.

long term control with predators really is the best way possible. the tip I gave here is handy for emergencies and unexpected infestations.


also keep in mind that predators are meant to keep pest populations in check, not eliminate them completely

 

[hades]

man, do you know how many posts I have read saying someone got rid of mites bleaching a room? do you know how many of those posts don't say how long the garden has been mite free since bleaching? almost all of them.

I have NEVER seen a post saying "3 years ago I bleached and I have had no mites since". they can hide behind the baseboards, between walls, and any other number of places you won't reach with the bleach.

long term control with predators really is the best way possible. the tip I gave here is handy for emergencies and unexpected infestations.


also keep in mind that predators are meant to keep pest populations in check, not eliminate them completely

I was convinced that the down time was the most important part of getting rid of them, and changing a few things to help reduce the chance of getting them in the future. If they don't have anything to eat or lay eggs in then they can't survive. I gave it 6 weeks and put a test plant in there for 2 weeks, so 2 months total. Typical life span is ~20 days, so I was giving it extra time. I ran three more flower rotations in that room with no reappearance, but can't say from experience for longer times than that. I also did a few things differently like:
-No shoes anywhere close to the room
-If I've been working outside I take a shower or at least changes clothes and wash hands
-HEPA filters on intakes, I had ones that were too big (got to account for reduced air flow)
-Any soil taken from outside like compost sits indoors for 6 month minimum, or is sterilized with heat
-Try to clear out the room for a good cleaning once a year, more if possible

Do those sound like they would help, and you all have any you could add? I'd be very interested in learning any techniques for this or knowing that what I've been doing doesn't help =)

I'm sure the Bleach was beneficial, but I don't think that was what really did it, because like you said, it's practically impossible to get every nook and cranny. It's good practice to Bleach the room every once in awhile for sanitary purposes, but that is harder to do in a perpetual setup.

And I'm not quire sure if I read your post right, but are you saying that it is better to have mites and keep them under control with predator insects than to clean out the room for a lil bit, get rid of them, and start over without them? Honestly, predator insects were the least effective IMO, and it was just one more thing for me to worry about.

Predator insects are another thing that you read about a lot, but I have never heard of anyone using for a long period of time with success. I agree that they won't wipe out the mite population completely, but you also have to make sure that they are reproducing and that their numbers are high enough to keep the mites in check. If they dwindle for some reason you will see webs again shortly, and that is a terrible thing to witness. From my experience, I was told to put way more predator insects in the room than could survive comfortably, they ate a whole lot of mites for a few days, and then when their numbers died down to a sustainable population, the mites came back in full force.

Which have you used with success? I can't even remember the two I picked out, but they were the ones most recommended for spider mites on the most popular sites.

When I see mites it's "OHHH Great! Who invited these guys to the party......Time to go home everyone! Shows Over for now!" They will never go away and I would rather shut it down for a bit than have to fight them foreveeeerrrrrrrr....... Make a choice for which to try and take to maturity and which to cut short.

If I was OK with using chemical pesticides I'm sure it wouldn't be that big of a problem. Not a fan of using Neem oil, especially in flower, and that was what I found to be most effective for controlling their numbers.

 

[mad librettist]

I was convinced that the down time was the most important part of getting rid of them, and changing a few things to help reduce the chance of getting them in the future. If they don't have anything to eat or lay eggs in then they can't survive.

not true! mites can go into dormancy and stay that way with no sustenance for a very long time.

this is why people seem to get mites "out of nowhere".

Predator insects are another thing that you read about a lot, but I have never heard of anyone using for a long period of time with success.

I know of one person down under who breeds his own predators for release, using a bin that holds flour mites to house the predators until they are needed again.

every predator you can order was raised by someone. large gardens especially would save lots of labor and cash raising their own.