Proper way to decontaminate room after russet mite invasion without breaking the ban?

ambertrichome · Feb 17, 2018

Id clean the room, bake the room, and use Avid 1st, then 2 weeks later Forbid. Wouldnt use on flowering plants. Veg is ok.

Avid has a 4 week duration. Mites have a 3 week gestation period, so the Avid lasts longer than the breeding cycle of the mites. Then when you hit them with another miticide, it wipes them out, and makes sure any survivors of the Avid, wont build up a resistance to the chemicals.

beta · Feb 17, 2018

ambertrichome said:
Id clean the room, bake the room, and use Avid 1st, then 2 weeks later Forbid. Wouldnt use on flowering plants. Veg is ok.

Avid has a 4 week duration. Mites have a 3 week gestation period, so the Avid lasts longer than the breeding cycle of the mites. Then when you hit them with another miticide, it wipes them out, and makes sure any survivors of the Avid, wont build up a resistance to the chemicals.

Why do all of that when 120F for 1 hour is 100% effective against all life stages of HRM and Broad Mites? It's even safe for plants as long as they're well watered and don't have fans pointed at them.

EsterEssence · Feb 17, 2018

My green house is shade cloth sides, it is not possible to heat it like you say...

ambertrichome · Feb 17, 2018

beta said:
Why do all of that when 120F for 1 hour is 100% effective against all life stages of HRM and Broad Mites? It's even safe for plants as long as they're well watered and don't have fans pointed at them.

No such thing as overkill in a crisis situation. :help:

And if anything thinks about coming back in the room after being baked ect, the miticide will help keep things in check for a few weeks.

Vanilla Phoenix · Feb 17, 2018

ambertrichome said:
Id clean the room, bake the room, and use Avid 1st, then 2 weeks later Forbid. Wouldnt use on flowering plants. Veg is ok.

Avid has a 4 week duration. Mites have a 3 week gestation period, so the Avid lasts longer than the breeding cycle of the mites. Then when you hit them with another miticide, it wipes them out, and makes sure any survivors of the Avid, wont build up a resistance to the chemicals.

That’s what I would do too. Matter of fact, that’s exactly what I did months back when I had them. I think I used Forbid first then Avid. Supposedly, Forbid kills the eggs as well. Either way, those two miticides together are russet’s/broad’s worst nightmare! It works great.

Bird of Hermes · Feb 17, 2018

beta said:
Heat treating is a LOT easier than all of this bleaching / cleaning / wipe down nonsense. 120F for 2 hours, done.

My room needs a good cleaning anyways but no reason i cant do both. I dont mind baking my room in a few weeks after theres no plants left. I guess the only issue is how do i do this? Most space heaters have thermostats that i can find and will shut off before this temp. My room is fairly small maybe if i turn off the ac and turn on my 400w hps and string up 30 cfls they'll get it hot enough?

Any ideas on how i can do this? Thanks for all the help btw guys ive been at this for many years and this has been by far the worst thing thats happened. Ive delt with thirps before but they got nothing on the borg.

Bird of Hermes · Feb 17, 2018

ambertrichome said:
Id clean the room, bake the room, and use Avid 1st, then 2 weeks later Forbid. Wouldnt use on flowering plants. Veg is ok.

Avid has a 4 week duration. Mites have a 3 week gestation period, so the Avid lasts longer than the breeding cycle of the mites. Then when you hit them with another miticide, it wipes them out, and makes sure any survivors of the Avid, wont build up a resistance to the chemicals.

I would but those chems are expensive and questionable for using in a space you live and sleep in according to a lot of people. I have nothing vegging so after this run i will bleach it all down, heat treat the room if i can figure out how, start over from seed with sterile mediums and release predatory mites into my yards and on new plants. I figure if nothing is alive in my room for 6wks after its scrubbed they should be gone.

Im going to also get a uv light fly trap i keep getting small flies and moths in my room somehow. Im going to hang it over the doorway and hopefully stop any hitch hiking borgs making it in.

Bird of Hermes · Feb 17, 2018

I got the big time exterminator and green cleaner take down sprays today will post the results in a few days after i scope for any live adults. Lol i was screaming "DEATH" like that scene with the horses from lord of the rings as i doused them with green cleaner. Gonna alternate between the two products until 2wks before harvest.

Bird of Hermes · Feb 17, 2018

Dont mean to knock or demean anybody suggesting avid/forbid but other then price the fact that they say only to use on ornamental plants scares me away from them. Web searches turn up a lot of people saying they are not safe to use on plants that will be consumed.

Big time exterminator and green cleaner are on the otherhand so im good there. Just gonna clean the room, remove all plant matter and grow media, bake the room if i can figure out how and start from seed in 6wks.

Bird of Hermes · Feb 17, 2018

ambertrichome said:
Id clean the room, bake the room, and use Avid 1st, then 2 weeks later Forbid. Wouldnt use on flowering plants. Veg is ok.

Avid has a 4 week duration. Mites have a 3 week gestation period, so the Avid lasts longer than the breeding cycle of the mites. Then when you hit them with another miticide, it wipes them out, and makes sure any survivors of the Avid, wont build up a resistance to the chemicals.

That 3 week gestation info might be really helpful now that i think about it more ty for that tip. I read that adults only live for about 4 wks so if theres nothing in the room for 8-9wks for them to feed on that should kill them no matter what. Instead of 6wks I'll wait 8-9wks for good measure thnx dude

Bird of Hermes · Feb 18, 2018

Im betting a good heat treatment like beta says would do the trick though. I might still wait 8wks but might not need to after i heat treat the room several times over a week and hopefully fry em. I got a old magnetic hps i can pair up with my other 400w hps so hopefully the two of them and some cfls will raise the room temp up after i turn off the ac. Could get some heat lamps too i suppose instead of cfls.

There will be no plants left while i do this

Bird of Hermes · Feb 19, 2018

Green cleaner didn't do too much and i hate the idea of them gobbling up trichomes now that they have shown up so im gonna take betas advice(shouldve done so by now). About to water them good, stick 2-400w hps lights in the cab and turn the intake/exhaust off for 2hrs. I'll follow up with a big time ext. mist afterwards to rehydrate the leaves and choke any surviving borgs. I will keep a eye on the temp the whole time and can open the cab door variable amounts if the heat builds up too much and will have a small fan moving air inside.

Got nothing to lose at this point will just put my faith in beta and others who say the plants can take this heat. Either the borg dies tonight or both the borg and my girls do either way these gremlins are getting cooked.

redlaser · Feb 19, 2018

Its important to have watered the plants before the heat treatment, or at least don’t have any dryness to the soil. Keep it under 117 and no breeze blowing leaves and you should be good.
I think there is about 2-3 degree diff per foot of height, thermometers will tell the rest.

It’s fairly stressful to push the limits with heat, the exterminator product might be adding to that stress if applied immediately afterwards, maybe not. I’m unfamiliar with it.

Bird of Hermes · Feb 19, 2018

redlaser said:
Its important to have watered the plants before the heat treatment, or at least don’t have any dryness to the soil. Keep it under 117 and no breeze blowing leaves and you should be good.
I think there is about 2-3 degree diff per foot of height, thermometers will tell the rest.

It’s fairly stressful to push the limits with heat, the exterminator product might be adding to that stress if applied immediately afterwards, maybe not. I’m unfamiliar with it.

Thnx for the tip i had a small fan pointing up just turned it away from the leaves. Soil is moist and been adding a little nute solution every so often. Its been 45min leaves look good and are even praying a lil more. Temp hovers between 115 and 119 ill make sure to keep opening the door to bleed off heat. Gonna let it go another 30min i figure. I'll wait on the foliar bte for a few days just in case and i have several thermometers at varying heights.

Bird of Hermes · Feb 19, 2018

Im checking every couple minutes ill pull the plug at the slightest sign of droopage. The small fan in 3ft under the canopy and no longer pointing up its just barely moving the air inside now.

It wasn't as bad as the kk ladies that died but one of my NL girls had a moderate population and the other had one starting to gain a foothold. It was this or just let them eat the plants anyways lol. Im so nervous i can feel my heart thumping rapidly.

Bird of Hermes · Feb 19, 2018

Looking good.....so far :clock watch:

Bird of Hermes · Feb 19, 2018

Heat treatment done, bringing the temp back down slowly over 15min instead of dropping it by 40F instantly. They look identical as when they went in no canoeing, clawing or drooping occured the leaves just prayed a little harder. Putting her to bed after i get the temp down to 75F and will do the other plant that i put in the 2nd cab in the morning. The pistils dried out at the ends but i expected a little of that. Plucked a small flower and saw nothing scurrying around between the trichs anymore.

I wish i couldve heard them crying out in agony

Bird of Hermes · Feb 19, 2018

12hrs later i just woke up the girl that got heat treated before she went to sleep and she.......looks perfectly good damn good even. About half of the pistils turned brown at the base but are still mostly white and sticking out and even if they shrivel the buds look good and should still grow i imagine. Leaves and buds themselves look good and shes still praying hard so i think it was a success. If they somehow go hermies im far enough in that i can harvest early before any heavy seeding gets underway. Im currently treating the 2nd more invested plant i hope it feels like the sun itself bearing down on those assholes.

If i get any appreciable harvest that can tide me over till i decon the room it'll be thnx to beta and others who told me to do this. Ty for all the help again dudes :tiphat:

Absolem · Feb 19, 2018

Great advice in this thread. Don't let it all go to waste by visiting your local grow store one time. Nothing like standing in line at a grow store waiting to buy stuff only to hear how the person in front of you just found out they are infested with mites and looking for products to help them. Knowing damn well they went right from their infested room to the grow store bringing their pests with them.

After a trip from the grow store change all your clothes before entering your grow again. Get some shoes and set them aside that are only used to go to the grow store. Grow shops are a hub for pests to be shared.

Bird of Hermes · Feb 20, 2018

Absolem said:
Great advice in this thread. Don't let it all go to waste by visiting your local grow store one time. Nothing like standing in line at a grow store waiting to buy stuff only to hear how the person in front of you just found out they are infested with mites and looking for products to help them. Knowing damn well they went right from their infested room to the grow store bringing their pests with them.

After a trip from the grow store change all your clothes before entering your grow again. Get some shoes and set them aside that are only used to go to the grow store. Grow shops are a hub for pests to be shared.

Good point i don't have any stores where im at im too far out in the country and usually gotta order stuff from amazon or ebay.

Found a broad mite moving after the heat treatment on the plant that had it worse. They were not everywhere anymore and this one appeared to be in some distress. It was moving erratically like how most insects do when they are dying and the back of its pear shaped body was distorted and pinched in. Hopefully it was just dying im gonna apply big time ext. once or twice a day and repeat the heat treatment this weekend if need be. If i do i'll up the temp from 117 to 120F and hold it for 2hrs instead of around 1.5hrs.

These bastards can't become heat resistent can they? :frown:

Proper way to decontaminate room after russet mite invasion without breaking the ban?

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