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Hemp russet mite eggs?

Raw710

Member
Hi i have recently found out I have hemp russet mites and literally makes me wanna call it quits. But I do have a couple of strains I would really like to keep around. I have read a lot of articles and forums about the matter. No where does it give a clear answer of how to kill the eggs. One article was saying the mites plant their eggs inside of the cannabis plant and many others never even mention that and just say it’s on the petioles and under side of the leaves. And it’s a stupid question but avid is a systemic so does it keep on killing the mites for 45 days or just the initial spray? Is there anything that wipes out the eggs? Thanks guys and girls!
 

Raw710

Member
Sorry I forgot to add this question. But they say the russet mite can only travel short distances without air movement. What the hell is a short distance? A foot or a meter, seems like it could be anything?
 

2011rex87

Member
I am a licensed pesticide applicator in Colorado and I am a licensed grower as well. I can shine some light onto this issue for you...

How do you know you have hemp russet mites? You need to scope your plants under at least 300x. Unless you have done that and have made a positive identification, you should not assume you know what the issue is. Forgive me if you HAVE DONE THIS ALREADY.. then we can move forward... but believe me a lot of issues can look like a hemp russet mite attack even though it's not.


If you truly really do honestly have hemp russet mites... You are in trouble and need to take immediate action. If you can afford it - just throw everything away and start over by cleaning your grow space. This sounds harsh but it's the most effective way to move forward without using pesticides.

It sounds like you only need to keep a few plants as backup genetics and you are willing to get rid of everything else... If you do keep a few plants - you need to guarantee they are free of mites. This could be achieved if you take very small clone cuttings to reduce the overall surface area of infected plant matter. A small clone has less surface area than a large mother plant. Surface area needs to be small because you are going to need to clean the clones to get rid of the mites and eggs.

How can you clean your clones? That's a matter of debate... There are plenty of commercial pesticides that I can recommend to you.

Some use enzymes that degrade chitin. These product use the enzyme chitinase to eventually destroy the body of the mite and cause it's death. http://www.doctorzymes.com/

Some products use neem oil or other plant based oils. SM90 is a popular product that is claimed to kill mites. In my experience, these plant based horticultural oils are not effective in most circumstances however they do work on occasion. You can try a DIP into a horticultural oil product that kills mites (make sure you read the label and dilute the concentrate). Rosemary oil is a common ingredient in miticides. Dips allow for more uniform coverage. Fill a solo cup with the product in it's properly mixed form and then dip the clone including the stem but AVOID the rooted area or the area that is to be rooted. You can test a few clones with different time frames. Some clones can handle 30 seconds in dips some can handle only a quick in and out before suffering.

There are other forms of bio controls such as predatory mites (ex. neoseiulus californicus) and bacteria and fungi that do claim to work on mites. We can discuss these if you would like..

I can continue if you want. Let me know and I can provide product names for you to try.
 
Hemp russets like to hang out around the apical meristems and lower part of the plant at first. Galls can form on the plant as a symptom of infection and the russets inhabit those as well. I don't know about them living inside the plant but they are hard to kill and the eggs will hang around your environment for years causing reinfection.

However you treat them spray your area with hydrogen peroxide possibly your whole house if you've been cross contaminating before you figured it out. This will kill the eggs.

There is hope to have a clean grow again, but you have a hell of a lot of work ahead of you. Good luck
 
I am a licensed pesticide applicator in Colorado and I am a licensed grower as well. I can shine some light onto this issue for you...

How do you know you have hemp russet mites? You need to scope your plants under at least 300x. Unless you have done that and have made a positive identification, you should not assume you know what the issue is. Forgive me if you HAVE DONE THIS ALREADY.. then we can move forward... but believe me a lot of issues can look like a hemp russet mite attack even though it's not.


If you truly really do honestly have hemp russet mites... You are in trouble and need to take immediate action. If you can afford it - just throw everything away and start over by cleaning your grow space. This sounds harsh but it's the most effective way to move forward without using pesticides.

It sounds like you only need to keep a few plants as backup genetics and you are willing to get rid of everything else... If you do keep a few plants - you need to guarantee they are free of mites. This could be achieved if you take very small clone cuttings to reduce the overall surface area of infected plant matter. A small clone has less surface area than a large mother plant. Surface area needs to be small because you are going to need to clean the clones to get rid of the mites and eggs.

How can you clean your clones? That's a matter of debate... There are plenty of commercial pesticides that I can recommend to you.

Some use enzymes that degrade chitin. These product use the enzyme chitinase to eventually destroy the body of the mite and cause it's death. https://www.doctorzymes.com/

Some products use neem oil or other plant based oils. SM90 is a popular product that is claimed to kill mites. In my experience, these plant based horticultural oils are not effective in most circumstances however they do work on occasion. You can try a DIP into a horticultural oil product that kills mites (make sure you read the label and dilute the concentrate). Rosemary oil is a common ingredient in miticides. Dips allow for more uniform coverage. Fill a solo cup with the product in it's properly mixed form and then dip the clone including the stem but AVOID the rooted area or the area that is to be rooted. You can test a few clones with different time frames. Some clones can handle 30 seconds in dips some can handle only a quick in and out before suffering.

There are other forms of bio controls such as predatory mites (ex. neoseiulus californicus) and bacteria and fungi that do claim to work on mites. We can discuss these if you would like..

I can continue if you want. Let me know and I can provide product names for you to try.

Let's talk about this. Spotted hemp russet mites, for real. Single plant infested showing damage on the pistils throughout. However not a single plant throughout the rest of the room has any damage, yet. The plants scoped next to the sick one had some russets here and there on the lower foliage.

Planning on Forbid 4F, Avid, PFR 97, then follow up with Andersonii to take them to the finish.
 

2011rex87

Member
with all due respect - I highly recommend that you do not apply Forbid or Avid. These are untested and dangerous systemic pesticides that May (or may not) effect the health of the individual consuming your product.

That said, there are really "NO" fully tested pesticides because cannabis has been illegal for so long The long term studies have NOT been done to determine if spraying Avid on your cannabis is going to effect your health now or down the line. (Acute or Chronic)

We can discuss other options, but I think I posted in my original reply that you will need to start over by killing all your plants and cleaning your grow space if you would like to avoid using pesticides.

There are biological options for you such as enzymes that control soft bodied insect using chitinase enzymes.

If you absolutely MUST use pesticides - at least consider using organic based contact pesticides first such as insecticidal soap. Hemp Russets have soft bodies and are subject to degradation by the use of soaps which dry out the body until ruptures.

MPEDE is a SUPER SOAP that uses potassium salts of fatty acids - this should be your alternative in case regular strength soaps do not work. There are recipes for home made insecticidal soaps. They could look something like this.. soybean oil mixed with iso alcohol mixed with dish soap. There are endless combinations.

And Please... If you use chemicals - wear the proper PPE like gloves and eye protection and a respirator with the correct filters. Usually p-100 Organic Vapor filters from 3m will be sufficient for OMRI products.
 

2011rex87

Member
BTW - I am unfamiliar with "spotted" russet mites.. Normally "spotted" refers to the "Two-Spotted" spider mite. Please try to determine which of these you actually have in your garden.

"Pest Management of Hemp in Enclosed Production
Hemp Russet Mite

Aculops cannibicola

Damage and Diagnosis.
Initial signs of infestation are subtle and easily missed. They can also vary among cultivars. A slightly curling along the edges of leaves is the most common symptom observed, but this is not expressed in all plants. Others respond to having a general dullness of leaves (russetting). As infestations progress
areas of leaves may have visible yellow or brown
spotting. Foliage also may become brittle foliage, often resulting in breaks at the leaf petiole. Ultimately, highest populations usually occur on developing buds, which results in buds that are smaller and of reduced quality.
The hemp russet mite is extremely small – much smaller than the twospotted spider mite - and normally cannot be observed without some magnification."
 
Is it possible to get them with seeds bought?

Id highly doubt they could be inside the actual seed and if you think stuff is attached to the seed shell you can wipe it off with a mild bleach solution before soaking your beans or however you start them. Make sure to wipe them off with clean water right afterwards.
 

2011rex87

Member
Seeds ARE vectors of disease but NOT typically russet mite eggs. Russet mites prefer to lay their eggs inside the tissue of the plant itself. Typical diseases spread through seed would be viral or even fungal. As sad - you can easily clean the outside of your seeds if contamination is an issue.
 
Seeds ARE vectors of disease but NOT typically russet mite eggs. Russet mites prefer to lay their eggs inside the tissue of the plant itself. Typical diseases spread through seed would be viral or even fungal. As sad - you can easily clean the outside of your seeds if contamination is an issue.

Yeah i figured thatd be strange if they were on the seeds somehow. Dampening off fungi can be though like you said though i rarely get it when germing in straight perlite and i dont wash my seeds.
 
with all due respect - I highly recommend that you do not apply Forbid or Avid. These are untested and dangerous systemic pesticides that May (or may not) effect the health of the individual consuming your product.

That said, there are really "NO" fully tested pesticides because cannabis has been illegal for so long The long term studies have NOT been done to determine if spraying Avid on your cannabis is going to effect your health now or down the line. (Acute or Chronic)

We can discuss other options, but I think I posted in my original reply that you will need to start over by killing all your plants and cleaning your grow space if you would like to avoid using pesticides.

There are biological options for you such as enzymes that control soft bodied insect using chitinase enzymes.

If you absolutely MUST use pesticides - at least consider using organic based contact pesticides first such as insecticidal soap. Hemp Russets have soft bodies and are subject to degradation by the use of soaps which dry out the body until ruptures.

MPEDE is a SUPER SOAP that uses potassium salts of fatty acids - this should be your alternative in case regular strength soaps do not work. There are recipes for home made insecticidal soaps. They could look something like this.. soybean oil mixed with iso alcohol mixed with dish soap. There are endless combinations.

And Please... If you use chemicals - wear the proper PPE like gloves and eye protection and a respirator with the correct filters. Usually p-100 Organic Vapor filters from 3m will be sufficient for OMRI products.

Thank you for your feedback. I did already spray. I was surprised to see great results with Green Cleaner. Almost certainly, more eggs lay in wait. Who knows if I will get rid of them, but I haven't seen a mite anywhere since spraying. Will be spraying every 3 days for a while.

I will look into the enzymatic products.

Have you heard of PFR-97? I have a 5 pound bag I have yet to try.
 

MJPassion

Observer
ICMag Donor
Veteran
The hemp russet mite is extremely small – much smaller than the twospotted spider mite - and normally cannot be observed without some magnification."

I can attest to this.
While a two spotted spider mite can be seen & identified with the naked eye, russets cannot be seen without magnification.
With the naked eye, Russet mites appear to me microscopic worms that can barely be seen moving.
I identified Russet mites with a cheap microscope set at 60X.

If you don’t remove those plants from your grow space immediately, you more than likely will be chopping down a failed grow in the future.
 
I can attest to this.
While a two spotted spider mite can be seen & identified with the naked eye, russets cannot be seen without magnification.
With the naked eye, Russet mites appear to me microscopic worms that can barely be seen moving.
I identified Russet mites with a cheap microscope set at 60X.

If you don’t remove those plants from your grow space immediately, you more than likely will be chopping down a failed grow in the future.

I can attest to this they are no joke i just lost half a grow and am struggling to save the other half. Mine was broads though both will screw, blue and tattoo you if you got em shut down and remove all plants then throughly clean the room.
 
Thank you for your feedback. I did already spray. I was surprised to see great results with Green Cleaner. Almost certainly, more eggs lay in wait. Who knows if I will get rid of them, but I haven't seen a mite anywhere since spraying. Will be spraying every 3 days for a while.

I will look into the enzymatic products.

Have you heard of PFR-97? I have a 5 pound bag I have yet to try.

Its mentioned in one of jorge cervantes videos on youtube go check it out. Not sure how well it works but he goes over it and a few other things. If you type "jorge cervantes russet mites" in google you should see a link to it on youtube.
 
I can attest to this they are no joke i just lost half a grow and am struggling to save the other half. Mine was broads though both will screw, blue and tattoo you if you got em shut down and remove all plants then throughly clean the room.

Did you do anything to try to combat the issue during growing or did you just immediately shut down with no battle? At what point did you realize you had them, what was the level of damage like?
 
Did you do anything to try to combat the issue during growing or did you just immediately shut down with no battle? At what point did you realize you had them, what was the level of damage like?

This is my first encounter with them so wasnt doing anything before. I had two big kandy kush ladies start showing severe symptoms as soon as flowers showed up. This pistils turned dark purple and shriveled and the flower growth appeared mutated. This all happened immidately as the flowers showed up and i thought it was a nute def or hermies at first. After 2wks of trying stuff i pulled out my 60x magnifier to see if any trichomes were growing and thats when i found the lil fucktards eating away. They spread like wildfire as soon as their favorite food aka flowers were around.

It was bad every flower was roached i doused them with straight 91% iso then chopped them. I have 2 NLxSSH ladies that were in a adjacent cab they are lightly infected but super healthy with minimal damage. Im using big time exterminator and green clean till they finish then nuking the room.
 
This is my first encounter with them so wasnt doing anything before. I had two big kandy kush ladies start showing severe symptoms as soon as flowers showed up. This pistils turned dark purple and shriveled and the flower growth appeared mutated. This all happened immidately as the flowers showed up and i thought it was a nute def or hermies at first. After 2wks of trying stuff i pulled out my 60x magnifier to see if any trichomes were growing and thats when i found the lil fucktards eating away. They spread like wildfire as soon as their favorite food aka flowers were around.

It was bad every flower was roached i doused them with straight 91% iso then chopped them. I have 2 NLxSSH ladies that were in a adjacent cab they are lightly infected but super healthy with minimal damage. Im using big time exterminator and green clean till they finish then nuking the room.

Ah I see. 2 Weeks, wow. That turned into a big infestation quick. I caught mine when they were barely infesting one plant. I think I am going to be able to make it through harvest, with treatment with Avid and Forbid as soon as I saw them (well out of the residual window) and frequent treatments with Green Cleaner, Nuke Em, and PFR-97.

We will see.
 
Ah I see. 2 Weeks, wow. That turned into a big infestation quick. I caught mine when they were barely infesting one plant. I think I am going to be able to make it through harvest, with treatment with Avid and Forbid as soon as I saw them (well out of the residual window) and frequent treatments with Green Cleaner, Nuke Em, and PFR-97.

We will see.
Yep they exploded it was crazy,sounds like a good plan i'm trying green cleaner and big time exterminator lets pray to the cannabis gods that we both can get a good harvest still.

You heat treating and cleaning your room down after this run? If not you should good luck dude
 

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