Hydrogen Peroxide and Molasses for killing MITES

The sugar as an insecticide was new to me, thought it was my research skills. I am dealing with a mite issue with alternating sprays of mineral oil and pyretheum, with rosemary, lavender, or orange and lemon oil added and spinosad and regalia for other reasons. Will probably try alcohol and water as well if they persist.

They are only on a few leaves on a couple plants, but I'm still seeing eggs here and there

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Hello Everyone,

LOTS of great Post's here and THANK YOU.

I am going to address a few Posts here as well as whats going on right now.

I have used the Dr. Doom foggers when I was operating a Medical Triple Bay Growrage in Maine. At present, I am in a different State in MUCH smaller place where the Mothers are not in as isolated a space as I would like them to be. I also have rescue Pet's and worry about their health and the use of Foggers even if the room is sealed off. If ALL Plants were in a basement or ALL in the Attic I would not have such worries.

I almost was going to experiment with the Alchohol and h202 or water mixture. As I have read VERY positive results regarding this but cautionary tales about dosage and frequency in regards to burning foliage.

I just read an interesting study on how lots of the Corn Farmers are spraying there crops with Sugar and that they are getting increased Yields in their Corn! This practice is quickly spreading to other area's of agriculture.

Also, Bee Keepers are also spraying a form of powdered sugar in their Avieries to kill a mite that is specific to Bee's and Bee Keeping. There is even a rather expensive contraption that you can order from Italy for this practice.

I could not wait until tomorrow and have done my second spray on all the Ladies. IMPORTANT CHANGE. I have added a 1/2 cup of Molasses instead of a full Cup as I agree with Bear about fear of Stomata clogging.

I think I am leaning to every other day applications until the 10th Day of this infestation and then every three days spraying for Plant Maintenance and everyday Spraying gently with h202 and Water. In nature Plants in their natural environment receive some sort of dew in the morning, mist or rain and I have been negligent with that practice.
The Mites seem to be decreasing but we shall see.

Massive hugs to all,

Pippa

PS I have used predatory Mites in the past but that was BEFORE I had an infestation. I agree with the Post that they are best as a pre-cautionary measure or during light infestation. If you have no mites then of course its a good idea to remember to have a feeding Program for them. A little extra something for them to munch on.

Tynehead Tom said:

interesting... thanx for posting.
I use a solution of H202, alchohol, and detergent mixed in water (for nearly 20 years now) as a bug killing frizz. I also use scotts bug b gon but only when things get rough.
Molasses wasn't on the radar back when I was paying attention to the grow scene so this is new info for me. Might just try this out as I have some pests on some plants I brought in from outside.

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Hello Tom,

Would you be so kind as to Post your Isopropyl Alcohol Foliar Recipe? Also, please post frequency of usage?

Did your foliage Burn?

I have read alot of IPM (Integrated Pest Management Agricultural and Greenhouse threads) threads regarding this sort of spray being very successful in destroying Aphids, Mealy bugs and Spider Mites. Also, bed bugs and other pests that Humans and Animals have on their bodies.

The ISO was my other choice besides this one so I am CURIOUS regarding your experience!!!

Hugs,

Pippa

PS I even ended up on the Orchid Society Web site and they use this sort of spray! Talk about a fragile and sensitive plant. Thanks.

BubbaBear said:

Also my two cents on using predator mites, trying to eradicate a out break is usually near impossible. They can help by preventing a out break if there inplace before plant sucking mites come BUT all insects that live on your plants shit and piss on your plants. Ive seen videos of it on YouTube. The mite squoze out a drop of piss nearly as big as the damn mite. A buddy of mine is a total organic enthusiasts and uses predators and also believes in not spraying your plants with anything once flowors are formed but his damn weed always sparks when l smoke it, l never know if the spark is from a mite egg or skeleton or from its excrement its fucking gross though when you think about it

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Hey Bubba,

There is a growing Movement of Growers using an h202 and water Bath for ALL Harvests whether they have been infected or not. Many report mostly unharmed Trichomes and a VERY clean Plant for their Patients to Smoke. Please anyone or you Bear, Google this and you will see links to this Forum as well as others regarding this Practice. This sort of soak not only cleans but disinfects as a pre emptive measure to PM, bud rots, insect carcass's etc.
(I suggest that if you would like to see if this works. Take just one branch and do a dunk and rinse and see for yourself, this way you do not have to be shaking in your boots when trying this.)

It is a gentle dunking method and also considered organically approved.

The use of h202 as being a positive benefit to the health of Plant Physiology has many Studies to back it. Everyone you can google this and see for yourself. University funded studies etc.

Hugs again,

Pippa

"the eradication of Spider Mites with Hydrogen Peroxide and Sugars or just Hydrogen Peroxide and Water."

"I would humbly like to request that the scope of this thread stay on track to this Subject."

hi vert2go! do these statements mean that you would prefer to not hear of another extremely effective, simple routine for keeping your crop free of all pest and mold for the duration of the grow?

Pippa, I'm happy to share. The recipe I use, which came to me via Graham Reindeers book, How to supercharge your garden, new millennium edition. A book that totally changed the way I grow indoors.

anyhow, in 1 liter of distilled or RO water add:
15ml of 35% H202
20ml alcohol (the original plain ol Listerine mouthwash works great)
2ml detergent or wetting agent.

the spray is applied once a week during the entire grow and works on contact to kill insects and their eggs.

Hello Delta,

So funny you should ask that. As I was sort of regretting that/those statements and appreciate your asking.

So I would say that I welcome other effective ways BUT am most interested in more Natural approaches. I would like the MAIN focus to be on the Evolution of this Foliar Spray and the elimination or addition of other ingredients.

I have read great things regarding the use of ISO and h202 applications and Sugars for Crop increase but no Science to back the application of Sugars as effective Pesticidal measures.

Thank you for asking!

Pippa

Great thread, thank you for posting your information on the subject. I'm looking forward to the results. Should this prove to be as effective as water/iso mixes, I'll switch Iso fumes are still nasty in low concentrations.

Vert2Go said:

There is a growing Movement of Growers using an h202 and water Bath for ALL Harvests whether they have been infected or not.

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I've seen this done with a PM crop and it worked amazingly well. Much better than I expected it to. I'd never heard of the method before.

Unfortunately, this also removes water soluble terpenes, depending on how long the soak is. Just recreational? It'll save the crop. Medicinal? It'll lose a lot of efficacy. Still great compared to moldy cannabis.

Tynehead Tom said:

Pippa, I'm happy to share. The recipe I use, which came to me via Graham Reindeers book, How to supercharge your garden, new millennium edition. A book that totally changed the way I grow indoors.

anyhow, in 1 liter of distilled or RO water add:
15ml of 35% H202 (NOTE from ME, this Food Grade RAtings, Good Stuff!)
20ml alcohol (the original plain ol Listerine mouthwash works great)
2ml detergent or wetting agent. (Any Specific Brand??)

the spray is applied once a week during the entire grow and works on contact to kill insects and their eggs.

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This is VERY interesting Tom and Thank you. I am sticking with the Molasses Spray for the Moment but will also try this Spray in the Future.

I did not realize that Listerine has been around since the 1800's! The Four essential ingredients are
(from Listerine Web site)
The active ingredients listed on Listerine bottles are essential oils which are menthol (mint) 0.042%, thymol (thyme) 0.064%, methyl salicylate (wintergreen) 0.06%, and eucalyptol (eucalyptus) 0.092%.

There is ISO Alcohol in LIsterine. So basically by using the Listerine you are in a sense using

Essential Oils of Mint, Thyme, Wintergreen, Eucalyptus
ISO Alcohol
RO or distilled Water
2ml Detergent (I would be tempted to apply "Dr. Bronners Pepperminst Soap in that Category.) WHAT DETERGENT ARE YOU USING???

Some form of Sugar, either a Saccaroid or Xylitol?? Xylitol is a very interesting subject to me. Alcohol based Sugar that I believe naturally occurs in various Woods, Fruits and Vegetables or is extracted from them. Just learning about it at present.

We all know that the above Essential oils have enormous anti-septic/anti bacterial benefit among their many uses.

THANK YOU for this Post as I am considering a Side by Side comparison of three different applications for future use. Your Recipe , The Recipe I am using with 1/2 not 1 Cup of Molasses, AND your Recipe with some h202 added. This is a very Rough idea for comparison. Just off the top of my head.

Big Hugs,
Pippa

Douglas.Curtis said:

Great thread, thank you for posting your information on the subject. I'm looking forward to the results. Should this prove to be as effective as water/iso mixes, I'll switch Iso fumes are still nasty in low concentrations.


I've seen this done with a PM crop and it worked amazingly well. Much better than I expected it to. I'd never heard of the method before.

Unfortunately, this also removes water soluble terpenes, depending on how long the soak is. Just recreational? It'll save the crop. Medicinal? It'll lose a lot of efficacy. Still great compared to moldy cannabis.

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Hello Doug and Welcome,

The h202 and Water bath SAVED my Crop when I was hit with PM. The soak is VERY brief . Following please find a link to Jorge Cervantes Instructional tutorial on how to apply this for PM (not as a general sanitizing dip) I did EXACTLY what he suggested and it worked FANTASTICALLY. As you know, even a light amount of PM can still spread spores not visible to the naked eye on the rest of your Crop. Well this dip eliminates this problem.

Here is the link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAmVY1-K5kc

With that said, I do believe there are valuable uses to using ISO and Hydrogen Peroxide Sprays for different situations for preventive measures.

Hugs,

Pippa

PS I believe the briefness of the Wash/Dip(minutes not hours or days) had minimal effect on Terpenes and the cured product was great. Notice I stated "believe" not a declaritive statement or statement backed by lab results and repeated applications. I do know that we did a comparison Smoke Test of the same Strain (had buds from last Harvest) and the taste and high did not seem different.) This was tested by 5 people for what that's worth. Maybe nothing. LOL

I forgot to post how all of the Girls are looking since Yesterday's Spray. OOOPS! My apologies. Please understand that I am in the middle of a Harvest, and managing the Flowering, Vegging and Clones Pest mgt.

EVERYONE is improving. I prefer the 1/2 Cup of Molasses which is still a heavy application to the 1 Full Cup which I think might be "overkill." (Thank you Bear for that observation)

The leaves are glossy and green and I do not see new yellowing or spotting.

I seriously doubt all mites are gone because I know its just not that easy and I continue to Vaccuum and h202 wash and bleach wash the rooms.

TIP I seriously doubt that I have invented this but its a good idea

YOUR DEFOLIATING GARBAGE CAN OR LEAF CAN

I have taken to filling a 5 Gallon bucket with Water and H202. As I defoliate or sweep any dead PLANT matter they immedietly go into this concoction. I also make sure that my arms dip into the solution as well. This way, any live disease or insects are getting drowned and sterilized and hopefully unable to crawl elsewhere whether it is my arms or hands. I have even taken to spritzing myself with another spray bottle for this purpose.

Once done , I dump the bucket outside in the Forest. If you do not have a Forest or outside area to dump then strain liquids down the toilet and dispose of AWAY from your room(s)

I would also suggest applying Coconut Oil on your arms for remoisturizing. I am a BIG fan of the many glories of Coconut Oil. On my hair which is very long, internally taken and for moisturizing Skin. Organic of course. You can order for cheap on Amazon in tubs. Dogs and Cats love it as well. Internally and externally administered. Get rid of Mites and Hairballs! LOL

Cheers,

Pippa

PS The Sour Diesel seems to be the toughest of three. The other two being Green Crack and White Cookies.

Douglas.Curtis said:

Unfortunately, this also removes water soluble terpenes, depending on how long the soak is.

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doesn't it rain outside like all the time though?

also spraying alcohol on your plants during flower will just remove trichomes. #QWISO #liveresin

The listerine content sounds like a premix.
Always looking for cost effective approaches to ipm.
Neat idea with sugars, looking forward to outcomes and results.

PoweredByLove said:

doesn't it rain outside like all the time though?

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Possibly one reason my indoor is always more terpene rich than the outdoor I've had? You tell me

i was under the impression that terpenes weren't soluble in water and that's why you need an oil or ethanol to capture them.

ter·pene
ˈtərpēn/
nounCHEMISTRY
plural noun: terpenes
any of a large group of volatile unsaturated hydrocarbons found in the essential oils of plants, especially conifers and citrus trees. They are based on a cyclic molecule having the formula C10H16.

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oil+water don't mix.

Vert2Go said:

Hello Delta,

So funny you should ask that. As I was sort of regretting that/those statements and appreciate your asking.

So I would say that I welcome other effective ways BUT am most interested in more Natural approaches. I would like the MAIN focus to be on the Evolution of this Foliar Spray and the elimination or addition of other ingredients.

I have read great things regarding the use of ISO and h202 applications and Sugars for Crop increase but no Science to back the application of Sugars as effective Pesticidal measures.

Thank you for asking!

Pippa

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i just wanted to ask so i didn't appear to be threadjacking.

what i'm doing is so stupidly simple that it seems improbable that it could work.

well, i now live in the willamette valley of oregon. everyone who lives here is fighting something all the time. we have hemp russet mites, broad mites, cyclamen mites, and spider mites.

root aphids, whiteflies, and other stuff that i am forgetting right now. not to mention powdery mildew.

people are the vectors. everyone visiting each other, trading plants, dogs running in and out of multiple grows. I-5 should be called the great mite highway.

so, i have read a lot on ipm principles. most authors suggest regularly scouting your crop, identifying the pest, and then taking the appropiate action.

i think this is the wrong approach in a place where all these pests are rampant. i think you should assume the presence of all of them all of the time.

and take continuous pre-emptive action.

but i also don't want to use any dangerous substances so i had to come up with a preventive routine.

so what we are doing is using pure, cold pressed neem seed oil (dyna-gro) at 1oz per gallon using 1/2 oz dr bronners blue label castile soap as the emulsifier.

we start spraying clones as soon as they are rooted. we spray every 4 days religiously. all through veg right up to the onset of 12/12.

at that point we discontinue the neem routine and hang swirskii mite sachets on the plants changing the sachets for fresh ones every 30 days.

we are not seeing any pests using this routine. we are examining the plants regularly at all stages with hand held 120x microscopes.

we inspect all incoming material as soon as it arrives. today i found hemp russet mites on incoming clones so they will be quarantined and we will start the neem routine on them.

just thought i would share this as i haven't done so yet. maybe with your method, my method, and others we can all get away from using dangerous chemicals on our plants.

PoweredByLove said:

i was under the impression that terpenes weren't soluble in water and that's why you need an oil or ethanol to capture them.

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Quite a number of terpenes are water soluble. It's why ice-hash is also one of the lowest scoring (on lab tests) ways to make hash.

This is also why I do my best to avoid spraying anything during flower. I either let it ride or chop and start over.

I foliar some products to the day of harvest......

I've seen pretty decent results with lavender flower tea... steep a handful or so lavender flowers in a gallon of water for a day or so strain out the flower bits, and spray plants thoroughly... I'm sure a wetting agent wouldn't hurt either... such as yucca extract