Mite Eradictor (also destroys Powdery Mildew)

[badboyg]

ya had them awhile// TOO LONG// this is the second or third grow like this// only this one well little worse than the last.... oh well// I have a new tool/// soo ;look out.. I have been trying the organic ways BUT I think I left the time between sprays too long and not regular enough,.... my bad!!! BIG BAD

SO>. so you think to wash off the bugs just before harvest, will this work without killing the buds??

I mean to be honest. they are due to be pulled tonight.... so I want to clean them up a bit... ya know,,,,,,,

 

[badboyg]

OK all .. I am not sure how it had worked for you all,,, I tried this on all my plants.. it seems to wipe out alot but I still had bugs after.. maybe there is too many... only prob I had was not washing it off a few plants after 20 min.. did like 40 and they lived.. shows stress but looking "OK"..... (note,, no bong hit during this)


IF this does not keep them down soon,, I will resort to a bug bomb,......

 

[badboyg]

bump??

 

[Guest]

If you just treated once and chopped, ISO can rinse off any debris from the treatment, if that was your question.

Reading back I think you said you chopped on the 10th. You asked if it got them all, but you indicated that you sprayed and chopped? One bath doesn't get them all. Normal treatment is 3 days of application and another at 10 days to make sure no eggs made it.

Why are you worried about mites the night you chopped - damage has already been done. A sudden change in climate from flowering to drying should kill off the borgs but you will be smoking the eggs. Not sure how much more harmful that would be to smoking sulphur nugs.

If I had chopped colas being attacked by mites, I'd nuke them or bake them to burn off any bugs. I've examined nugs under the dopescope and witnessed trich damage by vinegar, and shaking the cut colas hard enough to knock off bugs will probably knock off a lot of trichs too. Tough call.

Someone posted about using ISO mist as a sub-treatment rinse to blast off any body parts left by the Eradicator mix.

Did that help answer?

 

[badboyg]

OK,, first off that advice of using 3 days in a row and then after 10 days... I missed that in the directions,,,,, SHIT already behind then,,, shit....

ok sorry I am fighting several battles...... here my take..

I understood this would melt the mites and the eggs,,, I took that to be fairly final... did not relise it was not a "quick" fix.,... (needing fequent re-apps) so my thoughts were to melt the bastards off (totaly and not kill the tric's).. I did the treatments and all but still have some bugs crawling up the stem base... SHIT!!

heres the issue using ISO... in early flower and veg I guess it would be ok.. but ISO is used to MELT trics and make oil.. so I would not want to try that to late in flower..


ok so I did cut and I hosed down the worst of the bunch.. a few just got hung as is.. hope the borg hatch and leave home while drying...... mind you I did trim the SHIT out of them... ....so not too bad ,, i hope//

 

[badboyg]

just gave the treatment to my ladies,, BUT 3 days of treatments in a row????... not sure all my ladies will servive that../. a few looked burnt or wilted after my one aplication.. soo any repeats will have to wait,.... shit.... looks like the BOMB is looking better ......

 

[OHenry]

ya had them awhile// TOO LONG// this is the second or third grow like this// only this one well little worse than the last.... oh well// I have a new tool/// soo ;look out.. I have been trying the organic ways BUT I think I left the time between sprays too long and not regular enough,.... my bad!!! BIG BAD

SO>. so you think to wash off the bugs just before harvest, will this work without killing the buds??

I mean to be honest. they are due to be pulled tonight.... so I want to clean them up a bit... ya know,,,,,,,

Why havent you cut them yet????

 

[badboyg]

O henry... I HAVE,,, I just have clones and my plants in VEG that are covered.. STILL....

 

[Guest]

O henry... I HAVE,,, I just have clones and my plants in VEG that are covered.. STILL....

You applied a full strength of the mix or diluted? You made sure to get under all the leaves and any cracks that may hide eggs or borgs?

If you only have clones and veg to treat now, and they look stressed from it, ISO can be used to knock off any you see daily until they have all died off, trich aren't a concern on them yet.

If your infestation is full blown and the plants look stressed, apply a mist of the recipe minus the vinegar & baking soda. That should have done its' job, only worry now is killing off any that made it through your treatment, citrus mist should do the trick for now, then another treatment at 10 days to catch any eggs that may have been missed, depending on the health of the plants. Keep a close eye on them fer couple days - if you see indications of more web then a few borgs made it through and laid eggs and a diluted treatment is in order to clean them out.

Sounds like you had a full blown mite factory going..... I'd tweak the environment with 24/7 ventilation and get the RH and temps up until they die. I'll review feedback and suggestions to double check the RH and temp that keeps them out.

 

[Guest]

On RH:

----Relative humidity 40-55 constant.
----Water about a half hour before treatment - the plants are less likely to feed on the mix.
----I cover pots and beds with plastic so it doesn't soak into my ProMix-the mix is highly alkaline and will toss your PH.
----Important to rinse after 10 minutes or so! New growth and anywhere it's left sitting can burn!

Shopvac reported burning on some of his plants. TEST ONE PLANT FIRST! Don't lose your whole harvest, if it works you will find out the next day. One day isn't costly and if your strain has problems you can adjust your treatment with citrus (orange peels and water blended) or dilute as necessary.

I've used the mix on Neville's Haze, Sage, Trainwreck, Johnny Blaze and SWT#3 with excellent results and healthy plants. I used it during veg and flower, if you're in flower the hairs will damage but grow back with a vengeance. I've never seen leaf or stem damage.

Good luck in your battle of the borgs - I have been totally 100% mold, mildew, mite and thrip free since using the mix on Thanksgiving 2005!

 

[Guest]

From bartender:

I diluted to 1/2 2/3rd str, tested it on unrooted clones, baby clones, and fully established veggin plants. All of them didnt seem to mind it, sprayed them, then sprayed them with straight water 2-5min after hittin them with the eradicator mix.... Ive tried neem and few other products from the hydro shop..... Ive finnally got rid of those lil buggers and I can thank 1toke and this recipe for it.

thanks again - it works : )
bartender187

 

[badboyg]

hmm it would seem I did not have the plan fully in hand,,, ok.. I will hit them with a citrus blend ASAP.. and ya they are looking POORLY..

ok./.. used full strength. have hydro and small-ish plants,, so I pulled the twats and majorly hosed them down... I mean upside down AND right sideup... then LOTS of clear water to rince.. all in my tub.. (got to love hydro, easy to move)

ok to be honest,, they are not COVERED per say,, much better than they were.. BUT as I was hoping for (exspecting, silly me) a quick fix.. it sounded like it would be... LOL///

as to the webs,, I have LOTS and LOTS of air movent, so I have only been getting webs (semi bad) in the last few weeks of flower...

OK enviroment.. tweek time.. what do you sugest...

my temps run 85-75 d/n and humidity goes say 48-37 .. i would say the adverage temps with lights are 80's mostly lower... and the humidity prob 40-45..

so just what adjustments should I make.?? I have vented hood and 24/7 fanes and venting.. the temps stay up as its a SMALL area,,, the whole deal is only 8 x7 with two 2.5 X 2.5 areas blocked off for grow rooms.. like I said LOTS of ventilation..

ok ISO wash.. how is it made and how offten / much do you apply??

I must be lost.. you above quote stated 10 min soak,, i did 20+ OUCH!! (per what I saw) SHIT after a re-read it looks like I over soaked my ladies....

ok I await your input.. I have to kill this soon.. they have about killed my grow.. and I am all but out of smoke.. and the holidays are near,,,

 

[Guest]

ISo - 70% rubbing alcohol. Some drug stores sell the 10%, watch for the stronger stuff. I misted full strength when needed - just heavy enough so it evaporated in a minute or two. Good for knocking down pests you see crawling.

Citrus mist - just blend up orange peels in the blender with water - I'd add a drop or two of liguid dish soap to help it stick.

ISO should clean up any stragglers from the mix tho. Can you vacuum the web/garbage out, chances are that shit is blocking some mix and shelterin the borgs.

Temps and RH look fair, I'm told that they don't like hotter night temps and damp moist jungle type air.

Soak time??? Spray it and start rinsing off, by the time you finish applying the first plant will already be dry. You don't want it drowning the plant, you want to clean it and avoid the plant taking any in. Are you puttin them back into hydro and could they be dripping into the res? Gotta keep crap out of your res, make sure it's clean with fresh hydro nutes or at least a res change to make sure no mix got into the roots.

 

[badboyg]

DARN IT.. ok I see a few mistakes,, ,, you may want to add some of that info back top.. it reads to soak 20 min,,..

I do not think they are hiding in the webing.. as I have pulled each plant and totaly doused them upside down and right side up. ... I did not get any in the res as I removed each plant and washed it in the bathroom... then replaced,,, OK i have 99% iso I will have to get some lighter stuff.. looks like they all took a beating but ,, I see new life so.. hope is on the way///

now mind you I only have like 10 plants including clones.. which will get picked from .. none of my plants are over 2' now soo.. not a big deal.. lucky me;

ok well I better hit that respray before I loose ground/// I have not done anything since seeing it was hard on them..

ok I need to look at a humidifer..

you know my fan leafs look "dry/baked" any folar feeding recomended to help??

 

[Guest]

Best to ask that question in the infirmary forum where it will be seen front & center.

Infirmary - root directory
http://www.icmag.com/ic/forumdisplay.php?f=83

Good luck, sounds like they will do OK, from this point on I'd attempt the citrus mist or ISO mist - if that doesn't stop them then another application of diluted mix @ half strength.

 

[badboyg]

yup got you,,,, going there now,,,

 

[Rosy Cheeks]

I tried the mite eradicator, here's my verdict.

But first, let's put things in context.

I had spider mites in my growroom for almost a year. Not the first time, probably not the last. Running a perpetual garden makes it very difficult to deal with, since you don't want to spray or gas your buds with dangerous toxines, and since the flowerroom and the vegroom is in the same facility, the mites travel from one to the other. If you manage to get rid of them in the vegroom, they'll soon be back from the flowerroom.
Once they appeared, I took a resolution not to use any heavy pesticides this time around. No pyrethine, just ecological, biodegradable stuff. I ran Biobizz Buzzoff in veg, it kept the numbers down conciderably, but it didn't wipe them out. Same thing with neem oil, same thing with Chrysanthemum oil and a few other bio pesticides, all shit expensive and in tune with nature, but inefficient as a final solution. I also tried ladybugs. They had a tendency to fly into the extraction and get splattered by the rotor blade. They also couldn't figure out that you can't sit on the bulbs, I found their burnt-out bodies all over the lights. They basically killed themselves and not the mites.
The mites kept getting more and more agressive, probably from developing resistance to the pesticides, a radical solution was needed. I closed down my flowerroom, stripped my motherplants of all the foliage they could spare for a better chance of success, and decided to go ahead with the mite eradicator, according to the recipe on the first page:

1/4 cup Baking Soda
1/2 cup Apple Cider vinegar
1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice
2 drops dish detergent
1/4 Teaspoon Epsom Salts

I asked myself how much a cup was. Less than a mug? More than a glass? I decided to use a plastic cup, which takes about 1 1/2 dl of water.
I thought the recipe didn't make sense. The post mentioned that the solution was alkaline. How could it be alkaline with all that vinegar and lemon juice?
The post mentioned that you had to rinse the plants to get the solution off, so that the plant didn't absorb it, but it was also clear to me that the 2 drops of dish detergent was included in the recipe to function as a wetting agent, which makes it easier for the solution to penetrate the plant. So what was it; penetration or no penetration?
I took great care to get the right ingredient. I opted for the most expensive biological Apple vinegar with no whatsoever additives, pure baking soda (hard to get a hold of without additional substances), filtered lemon juice without pulp, etc.
I wondered why you had to use a 2 liter container for much less mixture. Well, I found out (lol). The whole brew spilled over on the kitchen floor the first try.

I decided to go for a two week operation, with 3 or 4 days between treatments. It's clear that the plants reacted negatively to the solution. No burns, but the leaves kind of wrinkled and curled. But if it kills the mites and not the plants, I could live with ugly leaves.
I did see a clear difference after the first treatment. It took care of quite a lot of mites, but there were still a few around. After each treatment I checked with the microscope. They weren't doing very well, but they were still there, and just one is one too many. After a forthnight of treatment, and a vegroom that stunk of vinegar, I still had a few of them bastards running around under the leaves, and I realized I had lost the battle.

But not the war.

I took off to horticultural garden depot and picked up a bottle of Bayer Forbid 4F, a miticide in which the active ingredient is spiromesifin, a tetronic acid, which blocks fat synthesis so the mites dry out and die. It kills the eggs, larvae and adults indiscriminately.
The mites were already trying to repopulate my vegroom. I gave it one treatment with the Forbid 4F.
It's now one week after, I check the leaves carefully for mites or slightest movement, but there's nothing. Total absence of mites, after one treatment (I figured I'd had to use up the whole bottle).

So there you are. The mite eradicator probably laid the groundwork for the Forbid 4F, but the fact is the chemical treatment was the only thing that did what I wanted; wipe out the mites enirely.

 

[Guest]

Thanks for the feedback! We have to make sure to bookmark your results with Bayer Forbid 4F. I'll make a note to grab some for testing.

It's not the ingredients that determine the alkalinity it's the final reaction.

The detergent breaks the viscosity so it doesn't just run off the leaves. The cautions involve heavy build up in nodes, etc. I haven't seen any problems with normal even mist on surfaces, other than your mention of funky growth, some strains just seem to shrink from it, others don't seem to be bothered much.

As you say, hard to tell if the mix treatment was working when you applied the F4, or what at this point. I'd like to think the mix started working, but glad you got it under control with something that seems to work.

 

[Rosy Cheeks]

As an update on my post, I should mention that the Bayer Forbid 4F did not wipe out all the mites in one treatment (God they're tough to kill!), I found a few adults that survived. I did a second treatment and practically drenched the plants in miticide. It's been almost a week, no signs of mites since.

 

[bigbrokush]

This sounds like a must have for anyone with a garden