Return of the borg aaagghhh!

draco · Jan 12, 2010

Borg rises phoenix like from what?!?!? the fox farm soil? if not that, are they beamed here from orbit?

it's gotta be the soil - i sprayed the whole room(floramite) and let it sit in in the still dark for two days... then drenched the ladies w/ floramite just before moving them in - and now five weeks in hello again you little bastards!!

this is the third attack in as many runs and unless it is the soil, i don't know where they come from!

any ideas?

BurnOne · Jan 12, 2010

They can come in on your shoes if you've been outside. They can come off your pets too.
Get rid of them if you can. Wash all small vegging plants with Neem/water/soap before going to flower. Change your clothes or at least your shoes before going near your growroom. Reuse your soil. Filter incoming air.
Good luck.
Burn1

VerdantGreen · Jan 12, 2010

i find if you use neem oil, that even if you have a few mites they just cant reproduce very well as the neem really messes up their systems. so ive seen mites recently in my flower cab but (fingers crossed) they just dont seem to multiply much.

like burn says - get into the routine of spraying them a few times in veg/early flower.

V.

draco · Jan 12, 2010

yeah i guess i gotta get with the life cycle of little darlins... i know cold kills them but i suspect that the eggs are not so sensitive.

i'll set a pair of old slippers out in front of the growroom -check

filter the air going in - check

now i gotta learn how to reuse the soil - so much controversy around that. soil is expensive and a bitch to haul in and out... makes me want to try aeroponics...

much thanks

VerdantGreen · Jan 12, 2010

hey burn what do you use to filter the air?? i need to devise some kind of pollen filter soon...

optic sizzle · Jan 12, 2010

Maryjohn's dad used to work for a pesticide company. So he was really surprised to find out his dad gets full control when he brings in the houseplants - using soap and water.

guest2012y · Jan 12, 2010

This is an eternal battle,and since I practice what I preach I don't go for anything that is not organically approved.(as far as I know anyway). Yeah Verdant,the neem does seem to mess up their trip and slow them down quite a lot. And as Burn said,they come in on your shoes,pets,etc. If you go to other peoples houses and visit their room you can pick em' up that way as well. Even in samples of herb your "friends" give you to smoke,just leaving an infected bud laying around is enough. THESE BASTARDS ARE A BATTLE!!

mrred · Jan 12, 2010

how many weeks does it take to goto egg to adult? because once you treat the adults you gotta be ready for the eggs they already layed

guest2012y · Jan 12, 2010

mrred said:
how many weeks does it take to goto egg to adult? because once you treat the adults you gotta be ready for the eggs they already layed

The eggs hatch in days to weeks into the first stage,(larvae)They feed for a couple days then molt into the first nymph stage. They feed a few days then molt into adults. I believe the females can lay up to 300 eggs,which of course hatch in a few days. The females and eggs can go dormant through winter,dry periods,etc.....that's what I know,you can Google this I'm sure.

guest2012y · Jan 12, 2010

Have you tried predator mites?..they work if you can keep them around long enough. I have used them a few times. Ooopps...wrong edit option.

treewizard · Jan 12, 2010

I got a bottle of neem concentrate from casa de pot. I've had it for about a year now. Great investment. Anyways spray every 3 days. Make sure to get the underside of leaves. I had a horrible spider mite problem. Kept coming back. The hydro store guy said to spray every 3 days and expect 2 weeks for it to clear up. He was right. I can maybe find a couple with a jewler's loop. That's it though and my ladies are happy.

treewizard · Jan 12, 2010

Capt.Cheeze1 said:
Have you tried predator mites?..they work if you can keep them around long enough. I have used them a few times. Ooopps...wrong edit option.

According to the appendix in The Mushroom Cultivator, in general nematodes can go 6 months without food. So even if they never become "activated" by a pathogen in your soil, they're nice to have around. Another note about neem is that I find that my seedlings are much healthier if I give them a good spray once they crack the surface.

BurnOne · Jan 12, 2010

VerdantGreen said:
hey burn what do you use to filter the air?? i need to devise some kind of pollen filter soon...

The pleated home air filters work great. Two things though...
Make sure the seal is good. No leaks.
Make sure you don't release the mites that are on the outside of the filter when you change it. Spraying it down with Neem can help. Just cut off the air flow first.
Think of mites as H1N1 virus and protect your plants carefully.
Burn1

guest2012y · Jan 12, 2010

I know one thing,If we can't get these bastards out of our gardens,then they are(or actually ALREADY are) evolving right along with our plants and us.....They probably have evolved and adapted to various chemical pestisides,oils ,etc. So perhaps we may have already created a monster smaller than a grain of salt capable of handling whatever we can throw at them.....

Scrogerman · Jan 12, 2010

I'd go for Predetors everytime, they do wipe out the little fuckers sharpish, & i mean completely. they are a little expensive but well worth getting a couple of vials, which are filled with vermiculite containing the Preds. Just sprinkle around the base of ya plants and watch them go running off to do their business, they must be real hungry as they run off pretty quickly to do their business. Borg! Ppphhffff Bye-Bye. Then when you see no action you know there gone. Preds are real good at getting rid of them but then its all about control, prevention is the cure!. Good Luck....
Peace.......Scroger'

guest2012y · Jan 12, 2010

Scrogerman said:
I'd go for Predetors everytime, they do wipe out the little fuckers sharpish, & i mean completely. they are a little expensive but well worth getting a couple of vials, which are filled with vermiculite containing the Preds. Just sprinkle around the base of ya plants and watch them go running off to do their business, they must be real hungry as they run off pretty quickly to do their business. Borg! Ppphhffff Bye-Bye. Then when you see no action you know there gone. Preds are real good at getting rid of them but then its all about control, prevention is the cure!. Good Luck....
Peace.......Scroger'

That's great the way they just take off out of the bottle and run across the leaf surface then ditch under the leaf all in a couple seconds and start munching...Love those guys!

VerdantGreen · Jan 12, 2010

yeah ive released predator mites before - awesome watching that tiny army swarming out of the bottle onto your plants. they can move quick.

if i had any significant mite problem - especially in flower - i would go for then too.

V.

guest2012y · Jan 12, 2010

Another thing I would advise is to change your clothes when you come home,are done doing yard work,etc.before entering your room. ( Yeah I know it sounds a little much,but I have actually practiced this at one point when things were bad)

Esskie · Jan 12, 2010

This is probably a preventative measure as opposed to a cure but growing strong smelling plants like lavender around & amongst your plants seems to keep the garden clear of them

Anything strong smelling.......we've had garlic in the growroom before now

anything strong and citrus smelling apparently works quite well too

anyone else heard of this practice?, I know lavender is a fav

guest2012y · Jan 12, 2010

Esskie said:
This is probably a preventative measure as opposed to a cure but growing strong smelling plants like lavender around & amongst your plants seems to keep the garden clear of them

Anything strong smelling.......we've had garlic in the growroom before now

anything strong and citrus smelling apparently works quite well too

anyone else heard of this practice?, I know lavender is a fav

Never heard of that,I wonder if the strains that claim to be mite resistant have this going for them? I do know of a garden of Lavender that has mites,not bad though.

Return of the borg aaagghhh!

draco

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draco

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mrred

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