Organics for mites

[Scrappy4]

Do you have to rinse off the dr.bronner soap pray after application? I am seeing a lot of mixed answers on searches.

2GPM, if you think you need to wash it off you might be using too much. You only need enough to make your mix soapy after you vigariously shake the crap out of it. For me that means just a squirt from the good doctor. And I never had to rinse it off......scrappy

 

[2000pm]

Sounds good, thanks for the confirm - will be mixing it up this week.

 

[Amber Trich]

sometimes I use a lot and its really soapy, still never hurts anything

 

[jaykush]

i never use soap, don't ever rinse either.

 

[Amber Trich]

lol hence the dirty black hands...

 

[TanzanianMagic]

I understand neem is organic, or could be, the bug irritant stuff in neem is azadirachtin. It shows up in AzaMax, mite rid and probably more mite mixes. Anyone use these mixes? Were they effective? more so than say dyna gro neem?

I would use neem oil especially as a soil drench (a couple of drops in a quart/liter of water) if you are using chemical fertilizers.

In organics, if you rely on a soil food web or just mycorrhizal fungi, neem oil will kill those too.

Used as a soil drench, neem is also extremely effective against fungus gnats/sciarid fly larvae.

On the other hand, what I have found works very well against mites and completely eliminates fungus gnats, is growing in substantial amounts of worm castings. There is something in worm castings that just takes them out.

I think worm tea works against mites too.

The idea is that if you have one bug that is a pest, you don't have enough other bugs (insects, bacteria, fungi) that compete with it or it's egg or larvae.

You should also look into interplanting other herbs for the same reason. The more different forms of life you have in your grow, the more difficult it becomes for a single bug to establish itself as a pest.

Right now I'm experimenting with 80% perlite, 20% worm castings, mycos and sugar. I've only needed to feed a few drops of biobizz (veganic I think).

 

[itisme]

not sure on the lavender oil, i have only used plant material. from memory that stuff is pretty expensive though. lavender is a good plant to have around, for growing purposes like this, and for using.



simply take some lavender sprigs( sticks with flower buds on them) and strip the flower buds off. take a 1 liter bottle, add a 1/4 cup or so of lavender flower buds. let soak for 48 hours, then strain the plant material out well. dilute 1:50 and spray your plants lightly on infected areas, make sure to get under the leaves. repeat in 5 days. so far everyone i have told it to and has tried it has had success in killing mites, coot said even the eggs die which is pretty cool.

Cool. Thanks

 

[Ribsauce]

not sure on the lavender oil, i have only used plant material. from memory that stuff is pretty expensive though. lavender is a good plant to have around, for growing purposes like this, and for using.



simply take some lavender sprigs( sticks with flower buds on them) and strip the flower buds off. take a 1 liter bottle, add a 1/4 cup or so of lavender flower buds. let soak for 48 hours, then strain the plant material out well. dilute 1:50 and spray your plants lightly on infected areas, make sure to get under the leaves. repeat in 5 days. so far everyone i have told it to and has tried it has had success in killing mites, coot said even the eggs die which is pretty cool.

this was and still is one of the best posts i have ever read on this awesome website...you Jay Kush and my french and english lavender plants have saved my ass more than a few times since youve posted this...so thanks again brother

 

[MoPho]

Tagged

 

[MoPho]

Old thread I know, but I was wondering if any one knows how long the lavendar tea is good for? I made one with dried lavendar that I let soak for 72 hours and it doesn't seem as effective as people say it would be. It does slow them down some, but I don't think it is totally killing them off. Does the tea have to be used right away or can I leave it and save it for later on? Does it have to be fresh lavendar to be effective?

Thanks

 

[MoPho]

I almost forgot, I used 1/2 cup in 1.5 liters of tap water (60ppm at 9.0ph).

 

[TanzanianMagic]

Old thread I know, but I was wondering if any one knows how long the lavendar tea is good for? I made one with dried lavendar that I let soak for 72 hours and it doesn't seem as effective as people say it would be. It does slow them down some, but I don't think it is totally killing them off. Does the tea have to be used right away or can I leave it and save it for later on? Does it have to be fresh lavendar to be effective?

Thanks

If you have wormcastings, here is an extremely effective remedy.

Put some wormcastings in a container, add water, and let stand and swirl or aerate for a day or two. Dilute with more water.

Set the sprayer to large drops to keep as many microbes as possible alive. For the same reason hand sprayers are better than these pressurised sprayers. Then spray it all over the plant until the plant is dripping.

There are so many microbes in there that they are bound to mess with any insect they're sprayed on.

 

[Mikell]

How many applications to gain a measure of control?

 

[Team Microbe]

I understand neem is organic, or could be, the bug irritant stuff in neem is azadirachtin. It shows up in AzaMax, mite rid and probably more mite mixes. Anyone use these mixes? Were they effective? more so than say dyna gro neem?

I ask because I just was gifted some clones/mites. They look great but under magnification the underside of several leafs had mite eggs/babies. I sprayed with pyrethrum right away, and want to start a regular treatment as they grow. These are unrooted clones, so after spraying with pyrethrum about two hours later I sprayed them with water to rinse. My normal routine is to spray with dyna gro neem oil mixed with dr bronners soap and water at two week intervals in veg/early flower. I think finding them right away and the cooler fall temps will help me in my control. Would it be worth it to buy some azamax, or stick to what I have on hand. thanks .......scrappy

Toss the Azamax to the side and pick up some cold pressed neem oil instead, it's got something like 36 fungicide and pesticide compounds in it alone. Spray every 3 days in conjunction with some type of high camphor essential oil - check out www.libertynatural.com

I like spanish lavender oil and spanish rosemary oil for mites because they literally explode their eggs on contact. Spray both at 1 tbsp per gallon of spray for 2 weeks and MAKE SURE you get complete coverage or it will be all for nothing. If you get full coverage I promise you will get rid of them, it was the only thing that worked for me last year. Predatory mites can be useful after the 2-3 weeks of spraying but sometimes aren't necessary, plus they're pricey but it depends on how well you did with coverage pretty much. Goodluck!

 

[MoPho]

If you have wormcastings, here is an extremely effective remedy.

Put some wormcastings in a container, add water, and let stand and swirl or aerate for a day or two. Dilute with more water.

Set the sprayer to large drops to keep as many microbes as possible alive. For the same reason hand sprayers are better than these pressurised sprayers. Then spray it all over the plant until the plant is dripping.

There are so many microbes in there that they are bound to mess with any insect they're sprayed on.

Thanks for the suggestion unfortunately I don't have any.

 

[TanzanianMagic]

How many applications to gain a measure of control?

One or two times. The microbes take care of the insects.

Also, the worm tea feeds the plant a little - insects often take nutrients from the plant whether from the plant juices they consume or repare to the damage they do.

 

[TanzanianMagic]

Thanks for the suggestion unfortunately I don't have any.

I'm sure they're available online. The long route to getting them is to make a worm bin some composting worms.

 

[Mikell]

One or two times. The microbes take care of the insects.

Also, the worm tea feeds the plant a little - insects often take nutrients from the plant whether from the plant juices they consume or repare to the damage they do.

I have often wondered how chitinase and other enzymes from castings play a roll. Chitin may also play a part strengthening plant defenses.

Encouraging a healthy phyllosphere as well, but that's a greasy issue.

There are a few studies, inconclusive, but supporting of your results. I keep meaning to resift a few flash drives. It is there if you look. Convincing people brown and water (Good Gravy!) is on par with conventional contact insecticides is an uphill battle at best. Cognitive dissonance is strong, more so in growers I think.

 

[TanzanianMagic]

I have often wondered how chitinase and other enzymes from castings play a roll. Chitin may also play a part strengthening plant defenses.

Encouraging a healthy phyllosphere as well, but that's a greasy issue.

There are a few studies, inconclusive, but supporting of your results. I keep meaning to resift a few flash drives. It is there if you look. Convincing people brown and water (Good Gravy!) is on par with conventional contact insecticides is an uphill battle at best. Cognitive dissonance is strong, more so in growers I think.

The way I see it, is that the soil is made up of different layers - aerobic and anaerobic, and that the larger insects that live in the aerobic layer have a tendency to stay away from the nematodes and fungi that live in the anaerobic layer. Some of these microbes will actually kill the insects - and having dead bugs floating around could possibly also be a deterrent.

Let me know how it works out.

 

[tree dawg]

I will ave to google lavender see what I come up with