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SPIDER MITE CONTROL AND PHOTOPERIOD

Mikell

Dipshit Know-Nothing
ICMag Donor
Veteran
In Veg only. Cannabis is a hyper/dynamic accumulator and the Hot-Shot no-pest strips are toxic to mammals as well as mites.

Explain how the plant absorbs dichlorvos from the air, dingbat.

Ah yeah, you blocked me and half the rest of the forum.
 
G

Gr33nSanta

Tetranychus urticae, The two spotted spider mite is a common problem with Cannabis.
An often used control is Phytoseiulus persimilis (predatory mite).
It is commonly known that the two spotted spider mites prefer higher temperatures with lower humidity, while the controls prefer and reproduce better at lower temperatures and higher humidity.
I recently did an experiment with 4 small identical HK clones in my window, they had gotten mites from my wife's misc house plants in the same window, so I bought 1000 Phytoseiulus persimilis and dosed all 4 HK plants equally in Oct. After a few weeks 2 of the plants were all cleared up while the other two still had problems. The only difference was the two cleared up ones were under lights each night to keep them veg, the other two were under natural short photoperiod, and flowering and the Phytoseiulus persimilis while not going into full diapause do stop hunting for the most part.
Lesson, use Phytoseiulus persimilis in veg cycle because they are not very effective under short hours used for flowering.
And use predators that are not negatively effected by short photo periods during flowering.
Like most below:
Feltiella acarisuga (Therodiplosis persicae) A cecidomyiid gall midge.
Stethorus species Three species of tiny ladybeetles (S. punctillum, S. punctum, S. picipes)
Macrolophus pygmaeus (predatory bug)
Dicyphus hesperus is an omnivorous generalist predator that can help control mites.
Orius insidiosus, also called the minute pirate bug, a generalist predator, Orius feeds on many pest species, such as mites, aphids and moth eggs for food.
-SamS
would flowering under 13 hours of light help the persis survive longer?
 

Mikell

Dipshit Know-Nothing
ICMag Donor
Veteran
So, that's not true?

Are they effective and/or safe to use?

Dichlorvos will effect our nervous system in a similar way and proper precautions must be taken.

But last I read, it disperses readily upon removal of the strips. If anyone has information to the contrary, please do contribute. I've been wrong before.

I've used them twice. Personally, it just knocked them back very well. I still follow up with direct sprays of a contact or residual.
 

Douglas.Curtis

Autistic Diplomat in Training
So, that's not true?

Are they effective and/or safe to use?
The loud and obnoxious one is actually one of the 5 (yep, there are 10 people on icmag and I'm blocking half) garbage dumpers I prefer not to read.

Dichlorvos is not good for mammals, as I previously stated. I don't recall mentioning cannabis absorption rates. Now that you mention it, cannabis sucks up everything else so it wouldn't surprise me there's some mechanism of capture it can use to taint itself. :tiphat:
 

Sam_Skunkman

"RESIN BREEDER"
Moderator
Veteran
I do not and will not use pesticides to control spider mites on any plant to be flowered.
If people use poisons they should dip instead of spray very very small 6" or less veg plants.
Then grow the plants very large veg and make clones, grow and flower off the new clones.
You do need to maintain clones mite free. But it can be done by being careful, and using prevention like predators to avoid any real problems. It is much easier to prevent mites with predators then to cure a mite problem with predators. It is easy to control a mite problem with predators but almost impossible to eliminate them 100% with predators.
-SamS
 

Andyo

Active member
Veteran
continious growing cuttings from mothers, eradication

continious growing cuttings from mothers, eradication

I do not and will not use pesticides to control spider mites on any plant to be flowered.
If people use poisons they should dip instead of spray very very small 6" or less veg plants.
Then grow the plants very large veg and make clones, grow and flower off the new clones.
You do need to maintain clones mite free. But it can be done by being careful, and using prevention like predators to avoid any real problems. It is much easier to prevent mites with predators then to cure a mite problem with predators. It is easy to control a mite problem with predators but almost impossible to eliminate them 100% with predators.
-SamS

Sam 24 x 1000w bad infestation
also on mothers my pickers where itching
i took fresh cuttings after the infested crop picked and dried
I ordered phytoselius
started applying them 2 weekly to vegging cuttings as soon as leaves touching
i paid attention to temperature and humidity! im 100% certain conditions made the difference in rate phytoselius bred = 40 x faster at 30 c as opposed to 60 c and 75/80% humidity with adquate food
no mites buy picking time no mites on successive crops for 4 yrs

The original mites came from a cutting from a friend
The cutting i had dipped in torque = fenbutin oxide.A
 

Mikell

Dipshit Know-Nothing
ICMag Donor
Veteran
Now that you mention it, cannabis sucks up everything else so it wouldn't surprise me there's some mechanism of capture it can use to taint itself. :tiphat:

Conjecture. Sorry, I only work with proveable facts, not opinion.
 

Zeez

---------------->
ICMag Donor
Cool, thanks for the correction.
No big deal, that was a cool idea about the envelopes.

I use a scope and view on a MacBook Pro. About half of the predator deliveries I got from two different suppliers were short or nonexistent. Same deal. If you can't count on them it's a deal breaker.
 

Ringodoggie

Well-known member
Premium user
Hmmmm? I lightly sprayed some Azamax a couple days ago. Today, my beneficial mites arrived.

Will the residual Azamax kill my beneficial mites?
 

Ringodoggie

Well-known member
Premium user
First off, let me apologize to the OP for trashing his thread. It was supposed to be about how mites are affected by the photoperiod and I took it off topic. My apologies.

Second. let me say that after some deliberation and careful consideration, I have come to the conclusion that Persimilis are a bunch of pussies. LOL For a predator mite, they sure got their ass kicked by the 2-spotted. I saw ONE battle in 15 minutes, and the predator lost. The 2-spotted walked away after a first round K.O. You could see stars around the Persimilis head like a cartoon. ;)

I got 4000 Persimilis today. Perky little devils. Nice batch and a terrific count. But.... holy cow!!! Are these mites supposed to be aggressive?

The video is kind of long (15 minutes) but it took me that long to find a "predator" that wasn't either hiding under a rock. Or, busy running from a 2-spotted.

And, these are supposed to KILL my mite problem??? Doubtful. LOL

They seem to co-habitat well with the 2-spotted, simply walking right over the top of the 2 spotted. Well, the small ones. The Persimilis went way around the big 2-spotteds. LOL

It seemed like they fought among themselves more than against the 2-spotted.

Maybe I just got a batch of Persimilis that just got home from a big Thanksgiving dinner and they were not hungry. LOL

It's bad enough that America is turning into a bunch of willy nilly's but..... predator mites??? Et Tu Brutus. LOL

Not sure what's up here for real. Just pussies, I guess.

https://youtu.be/5YFJ16ufZSE

Sorry for the poor quality. It's a little had-held cam and it's a little hard to hold steady at this magnification.
 
Last edited:

Zeez

---------------->
ICMag Donor
Man, You've got allot of TSMs in there.

Californicus went Rambo mode from one kill to the next. Dependable supply and sustaining them was the problem.
 

Sam_Skunkman

"RESIN BREEDER"
Moderator
Veteran
I have used Phytoseiulus persimilis for more then 30 years, when used correctly they work well at controlling or preventing spider mites. They do not work well under short hours like during flowering.
I have also used Amblyseius californicus, Neoseiulus fallacis, Mesoseiulus longipes, Galendromus occidentalis, Amblyseius swirskii, as well as other predators.

Mites are everywhere and unless you shower and change clothes every grow visit, and practice serious prevention and IPM you will get them. Any new clone must be first quarantined and proven to be pest free.
-SamS
 

Ringodoggie

Well-known member
Premium user
Right now, my veg room is 50% RH and about 80F. I do have the lights at 18/6 rather than 24/0 but otherwise the conditions should be OK for Persimilis, yes? I could change the veg to 24/0 if you think it would make a lot of difference.

I can't avoid the flower room being 12/12. Maybe I'll try one more brood of the assortment pack in the flower room.

Only 23 days until harvest... I'm just trying to hold them back. Fortunately, I don't see them in any buds. They are mostly staying on the leaves. A lot can happen in 3 weeks. I'm sure I can't eliminate them at this stage. I only hope to control them until harvest.

I need to make a decision soon. If the mite problem in the veg room is not 100% eliminated, there's absolutely no reason to put them in the flower room because in the 10 weeks it takes to flower, the mite problem will be massive again.

I don't think for one second that I'm going to eliminate the problem 100% without dunking the veg plants in Azamax. There is no way in the world that I would smoke a plant that's been dipped in Azamax. I don't care what stage it's in. LOL I've read both sides of the story and, quite frankly, I ain't smokin' it. Period. End of story. LOL

And, I don't sell. I don't give to friends (well, I would if I had any friends, LOL). I have plenty of personal stash.

I need to put on my big boy panties and grab my clippers and clean out the veg room. Mulch the entire grow. I have 3 nice new, Med Tree CBD plants started. They are clean so far but won't be for long in this environment.

Sorry, Hazeman. Grape Stomper is headed for the mulch pile. In 3 weeks, the Cindy comes out of the flower room and I can clean everything up to start all over.

/rant. Sorry, I am trying to talk myself into it. LOL

Just to be slightly on topic, do the 2-spotted mites react to the photoperiod as the others do? This is the first time I have had bugs (other than some fungus gnats) in almost 10 years. Last time I had bugs, I recall simply shutting down... mildly cleaning (not scrub scrub scrub) and let sit for a couple months. It seems, with no light or water, everything dies. Will the 2-spotters die without light? When? Eggs?

Thanks Sam. And, again, sorry for dragging the thread. ;)
 

Mikell

Dipshit Know-Nothing
ICMag Donor
Veteran
One consideration is the boon in cannabis growers using biocontrol. This may be applying pressure to breeders to push out mites overly supplemented with artificial diets, a practice known to breed docile predators.

And also my apologies for the sidetracking.
 

Ringodoggie

Well-known member
Premium user
Well, if I am going to loose my entire crop to these bastards, I'm going to make them hurt on the way out. LOL

I may try a couple things before I mulch them just for shits and giggles. When I was growing up, we learned to use garlic to defray the malaria mosquito. When I lived down South, I used it with my dog to rid him of fleas.

Other than Italians, not much seems to like garlic.

I took a leaf full of mites and chased them around with some wet garlic powder solution. I must have Italian mites because they just climbed on the stuff like they were at a spaghetti buffet. I am mixing some cayenne pepper now. We'll see if they like that. If I find a suitable spice they don't like (Basil is next) I may spray this crop just to see if it kills the mites.

Just so I can make one statement OT, I did pull the 3 Med Tree plants. Only weeks old from seed.

I am also going to clone the Lemon OG that's in the veg room.

I am going to treat this entire room (more a closet) and put the clones and the Med Tree seedlings in here.

On topic, I have a choice.[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]
[/FONT]
I usually clone at 18/6 because I have found the short dark cycle promotes root growth. (When I go to full veg, I go 24/0). However, Sam said the big difference was the photoperiod plants vs the veg cycle plants.

Were the veg cycle plants 24/0 or something other. Like I said, I usually go 18/6 but, just to enhance a cure for the mite problem I could go 24/0

Just tossing this out but would another possible variable to the OP's original statement be related to the different chemistry of the plant in critical vs veg state.

Is there any reason why the predators would act differently (more aggressive or simply live longer) based upon the chemistry of the plant. If they don't feed on the plant, I am thinking, no.

So, we contribute the increased (or decreased as it may be) effectiveness of the predator mites 100% to the photoperiod?
 
ive gotten these about 3 years back, and they just keep breeding and eating in the soil, they might not work well against mites (soil dwelling) but these sure are hunters, if you put your finger on the soil they all swarm!
 

Ringodoggie

Well-known member
Premium user
Well, well, well. Seems that the thread has come full circle after all. LOL

I am seeing an incredible difference in the results between the veg and flower rooms. Only real difference..... photoperiod. How about that.

Both rooms are pretty much the same environment at about 80F/40% (trying to get RH up). One is 18/6. The other 12/12.

The infestation started in the veg room and was the strongest there. However, once it hit the flower room, it spread like wildfire and both rooms were pretty infested and shown in that first video I posted. I noticed that leaves taken from either room were pretty saturated with TSM's.

I have made 3 or 4 releases of predators. In mixed varieties but mostly persimilis. In each case, I released as much as twice as many in the flower room as tin the veg. My thinking was that I would rather save the flowering crop and start over with the veg crop. If I had to loose one.....

So, more predators were released in the flower room.

All this started (saw my first mite) about 6 or 8 weeks ago and just kept getting worse. After trying a couple very light sprays of Azamax (I mean VERY light. Just a short mist under the bottom leaves), I started using predators about 3 or 4 weeks ago.

Today, I was about to give up and (as mentioned above) was going to spend a few days torturing mites before I mulched the crop. I went down and grabbed a leaf from the bottom of a plant and took it to my bench to look at it in the scope.

Hmmmmm? I couldn't find any mites on it. I couldn't believe it. I went and grabbed another..... only 2 small mites on it.

So, into the flower room. Grab a leaf..... OMG!! It's covered. Grab another leaf. Very infested. I went back and forth in different areas of each room and it was consistent.

So, with each of them being equal in infestation 3 or 4 weeks ago. And, the veg room currently showing a major improvement with the flower room showing almost no improvement at all.

Could one say, "We have a voucher"? LOL
 

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