WTF Are These Things??? Pics Included.. Please, please help!

[Skunklover]

I made another thread about this a few days ago but didn't have pics and got few replies. I was able to capture a few of these little critters and take pics. These were found crawling around in my Root Riot Clone blocks, on clones that I was about to pot. I need to know what to do now... What are these bugs, spider mites?

 

[DiscoBiscuit]

mites, try an advanced search by title and check the latest activity.

 

[pearlemae]

You got the BORG !!!!!!

 

[Skunklover]

You got the BORG !!!!!!

So pissed. I'm 99.9% sure these were in the damn root blocks. Even more of a reason to move over to the bubble cloner.

 

[Skunklover]

Is there anyway to kill these things now or do I have to scrap all the clones? Probably a stupid question but if I were to submerge all the plants in water for a few hours would it be possible to drown them?

 

[Fear]

Can't drown the mites might wash em off. The eggs will get you in the end. Typically ever 1 you see lays 100 to 200 eggs which hatch every 7 to 10 days on an average for mites and other bugs. You need to attack three times. Once to kill the crawlers, second to kill the hatchlings and three to kill any scragglers. Is that what the borg really look like or you just fucking around? Borg is bad one of the worst. I use Avid to kill all things flying or crawling. I had to use it to fight friggin thrips the first time and spider mites the 2nd. kill em before they spread. Oh yeah get that ez cloner or build your own. So maintenace free.

 

[Skunklover]

Can't drown the mites might wash em off. The eggs will get you in the end. Typically ever 1 you see lays 100 to 200 eggs which hatch every 7 to 10 days on an average for mites and other bugs. You need to attack three times. Once to kill the crawlers, second to kill the hatchlings and three to kill any scragglers. Is that what the borg really look like or you just fucking around? Borg is bad one of the worst. I use Avid to kill all things flying or crawling. I had to use it to fight friggin thrips the first time and spider mites the 2nd. kill em before they spread. Oh yeah get that ez cloner or build your own. So maintenace free.

Ugh! This sucks! Beware of Root Riot cloning blocks.

Well, the clones are now quarantined, hopefully nothing has transferred into the flowering area. I looked through it thoroughly and saw nothing. I will obv keep a big time eye on that.

I think I might have caught these things within a few days of them hatching so hopefully they stayed in the humidity dome. Weird thing is everything I've read says these things hate high humidity... my humidity in the dome at the lowest was 65%, I've now boosted it back up to 90%, maybe that will help.

I also just ordered a bubble cloner, should be here by mid next week at the latest.

So now I have to figure out my options here as far as my clones are concerned, and would really, really appreciate any input you all might have. Here is my situation...

Obv my clones in the dome have the mites, flowering plants look safe but are now close to week 4 and have already started putting off buds. Even the lowest branches where I would consider cloning again have nice size buds forming, so I'm not sure how these would handle being cloned. Would I be able to do it at this stage?

I've looked at the leaves of the clones with the mites and saw nothing. It really seems like they are at the surface of the blocks, and crawling inside the blocks, but not on the leaves. However, I did witness one of these little bastards go from the root block to the stem, and then crawl up, so I am sure some are somewhere on the plants.

What I plan on doing tomorrow is going out and buying some neem oil, then mixing it in some water, bathing the clones in it, root block and all, and will leave them submerged for an hour or so. I just read on another site that it is possible to drown them, but not the eggs. Maybe drowning them and having the blocks and plants soaked with neem oil might do the trick?

Another possibility is cutting the clones at the base and trying to clone them again, but leaves are starting to yellow and I am not sure if they will be able to survive long enough for me to get this bubble cloner.

I would just start all over from seed but it has taken me over a year to find the perfect hybrids for me, and I really, really don't want to lose these.

Also, has anyone heard of using No Pest Strips made by Hot Shot? I'm reading these can be effective.

Again, any responses here are greatly appreciated, thank you.

One last thing... Is the borg just a nickname for the mites or is this a certain breed of them that is worse than others?

 

[One Love 731]

bro ya don't need to loose anything, there are ways to fix everything. I've had every problem, see they come in on your cloths/hands/air intake. Get busy spraying everything in veg, research and do what you can live with. IF you choose something like floramite or forbid wait 30 or so days before flowering. You can fix this, it may be a setback but rarely is there ever a reason to toss genetics that you cant get back. Do you have pets? Hope all works out well for ya. Peace, pot and karma. One Love

 

[Skunklover]

bro ya don't need to loose anything, there are ways to fix everything. I've had every problem, see they come in on your cloths/hands/air intake. Get busy spraying everything in veg, research and do what you can live with. IF you choose something like floramite or forbid wait 30 or so days before flowering. You can fix this, it may be a setback but rarely is there ever a reason to toss genetics that you cant get back. Do you have pets? Hope all works out well for ya. Peace, pot and karma. One Love

Thanks for the response man, makes me feel a little better. Maybe this reassurance will help me sleep better tonight... I've spent the last few nights tossing and turning having nightmares about mites...lol. No joke.

Don't have any pets, and I am very careful about keeping my room clean. I really think these were introduced inside the Root Riot cubes. Who knows, at this point I guess it doesn't matter how they got there, I still have to deal with the problem regardless.

How did you deal with a mite issue? Does the neem oil sound like a decent idea?

This whole deal has me highly considering ditching soil and moving over to hydro.

 

[Str8Dank]

#1 get your grow environment cool, as cool as possible. this slows the growth of new mites drastically
@ Temperature in oF 60 # of Days (Egg to Adult)30
@ Temperature in oF 64 # of Days (Egg to Adult)21
@ Temperature in oF 70 # of Days (Egg to Adult)14.5
@ Temperature in oF 90 # of Days (Egg to Adult)3.5

#2 get multiple methods of attack. i have never had luck with hot shot no pest strips but some people swear by them. i can recommend Floramite its $20 a oz on ebay and that makes 10 gal of sprayable fluid. get neem oil, aza max, a soap, or even a 50/50 alcolhol water mix as that's been known to work.
#3 attack repeatedly! dont just spray them once spray them and respray them every few days for a few weeks.
#4 when you think they are clean, spray them again. after that get a scope and check every inch of your plants for more mites.

if you do that you have a good chance at beating them.

a few facts.......

Spider mites are sensitive to day length and are capable of diapausing (hibernating) within cracks and crevices of your structure.
Spider mite populations can explode under conditions of high temperature (above 85° F.) and low relative humidity (below 60% RH).

i had a SMALL breakout once in my flower room and near the end of flower i tend to take my humidity as low as possible. well doing this with big dehumidifiers creates a lot of heat so my temp went up and rh went down and in that last week of flower i got more mites then i had the entire flower cycle.

 

[edgey]

plant vitality works on young plants too

 

[Scrogerman]

I was gonna mention Plant Vitality plus, but edge beat me to it. n1.(reminds me of paint stripper)
I was reading something very interesting the other day about Linilool' the Terpene, this stuff is supposed to be really effective at killing Spider mites & their Egss, ticks, fleas & other insects too. I know you can get Linilool as a concentrate & from the lit i was reading, low 1%-5% concentrations were effective against mites & their eggs. its natural, & non toxic as far as i know. heres a worthy read:http://www.google.co.uk/patents?hl=...epage&q=linalool terpene concentrates&f=false. (see #2, line #50/51-dose/mix info is further on).

Last time i had mite i found Eucalyptus oil to be an effetcive deterrant, just left(lid open) so fumes could evap. The Borg didnt like hanging around by that part of the growroom at all,(Thanks Guais). I think Guais was trying to perfect an actual dose of Eucalyptus in one of his home made/DIY mitecides, which is also supposed to be effective if you can get the dose correct(im not recommending this method myself, can cause plant damage/burn etc if dose is too high iirc). But i know they hate the vapour & that in itself can be usefull info.

Major Attack is the best policy, when it comes to Borg! So get something that will nuke them & their eggs. Im going to try & aquire some Linilool concentrate. Worth looking at.

Predator mites are also very effective ime. esp with a minor outbreak, prolly not viable for you at this time with minimal numbers, but they work well in veg period.

Best of Luck!

 

[greenmatter]

Thanks for the response man, makes me feel a little better. Maybe this reassurance will help me sleep better tonight... I've spent the last few nights tossing and turning having nightmares about mites...lol. No joke.

Don't have any pets, and I am very careful about keeping my room clean. I really think these were introduced inside the Root Riot cubes. Who knows, at this point I guess it doesn't matter how they got there, I still have to deal with the problem regardless.

How did you deal with a mite issue? Does the neem oil sound like a decent idea?

This whole deal has me highly considering ditching soil and moving over to hydro.

hydro will not make you mite proof !!!!.... kill the fuckers ASAP there are many ways to do it .. decide on one and do it

 

[Skunklover]

#1 get your grow environment cool, as cool as possible. this slows the growth of new mites drastically
@ Temperature in oF 60 # of Days (Egg to Adult)30
@ Temperature in oF 64 # of Days (Egg to Adult)21
@ Temperature in oF 70 # of Days (Egg to Adult)14.5
@ Temperature in oF 90 # of Days (Egg to Adult)3.5

#2 get multiple methods of attack. i have never had luck with hot shot no pest strips but some people swear by them. i can recommend Floramite its $20 a oz on ebay and that makes 10 gal of sprayable fluid. get neem oil, aza max, a soap, or even a 50/50 alcolhol water mix as that's been known to work.
#3 attack repeatedly! dont just spray them once spray them and respray them every few days for a few weeks.
#4 when you think they are clean, spray them again. after that get a scope and check every inch of your plants for more mites.

if you do that you have a good chance at beating them.

a few facts.......

Spider mites are sensitive to day length and are capable of diapausing (hibernating) within cracks and crevices of your structure.
Spider mite populations can explode under conditions of high temperature (above 85° F.) and low relative humidity (below 60% RH).

i had a SMALL breakout once in my flower room and near the end of flower i tend to take my humidity as low as possible. well doing this with big dehumidifiers creates a lot of heat so my temp went up and rh went down and in that last week of flower i got more mites then i had the entire flower cycle.

Thank you. After reading more about the Hot Shot I think I am going to avoid it. Don't like introducing anything that is potentially harmful. I will definitely look into the Floramite. I will also keep the temps as low as possible.

I was gonna mention Plant Vitality plus, but edge beat me to it. n1.(reminds me of paint stripper)
I was reading something very interesting the other day about Linilool' the Terpene, this stuff is supposed to be really effective at killing Spider mites & their Egss, ticks, fleas & other insects too. I know you can get Linilool as a concentrate & from the lit i was reading, low 1%-5% concentrations were effective against mites & their eggs. its natural, & non toxic as far as i know. heres a worthy read:http://www.google.co.uk/patents?hl=...epage&q=linalool terpene concentrates&f=false. (see #2, line #50/51-dose/mix info is further on).

Last time i had mite i found Eucalyptus oil to be an effetcive deterrant, just left(lid open) so fumes could evap. The Borg didnt like hanging around by that part of the growroom at all,(Thanks Guais). I think Guais was trying to perfect an actual dose of Eucalyptus in one of his home made/DIY mitecides, which is also supposed to be effective if you can get the dose correct(im not recommending this method myself, can cause plant damage/burn etc if dose is too high iirc). But i know they hate the vapour & that in itself can be usefull info.

Major Attack is the best policy, when it comes to Borg! So get something that will nuke them & their eggs. Im going to try & aquire some Linilool concentrate. Worth looking at.

Predator mites are also very effective ime. esp with a minor outbreak, prolly not viable for you at this time with minimal numbers, but they work well in veg period.

Best of Luck!

Thanks man.

I like what I am reading about Plant Vitality, sounds solid. I only see UK distributors so far though. I will check my Hydro store tomorrow to see if they possibly have it. I also like what I've read about the Linalool, but where the heck do you buy the stuff?

The idea of using a predator is definitely something I am considering as well. Kind of creeps me out, but if it works then it's worth looking into.

hydro will not make you mite proof !!!!.... kill the fuckers ASAP there are many ways to do it .. decide on one and do it

It's not that it won't make me mite proof, it's that I think it will cut down on the possibilities of introducing these fuckers to my room through root cubes, dirt, etc... Tough call though as I am completely set up for dirt ATM.


So, as of now my plan is to hit the hydro store tomorrow and see what they have for spider mites. At the very least I will be getting some Neem oil. I will also buy a new humidity dome. I am going to rinse off each clone under running water, hopefully knocking all the little fuckers off that are on the plants, then I will submerge the root cubes, obv roots and all in individual cups of a mixture of Neem and water, unless they have something better than Neem at the hydro store. After this I will put the clones in the new dome and see where I stand.

Any other suggestions as always are greatly appreciated.

I am also a little concerned with submerging the exposed roots in the Neem oil water mixture, but am thinking they should be ok. If anyone thinks differently feel free to tell me

Thanks again folks, this is why I love this place.

 

[Hold Your Fire]

Azamax, Floramite, Forbid, and Avid is what I used. Rotate the use of these products.
I started by dunking any clones in Azamax, this assures whole plant is covered.

 

[One Love 731]

https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=137559&highlight=floramite
Floramite and Forbid, get them from ebay in 1/4-1 ounce bottles, ya only need a lil. Spray everything in veg with one then 7 days later spray with the other. Read through Rez's thread about instructions (link'd above)1

 

[Fear]

Seriously neem oil is a preventitive not a cure. Floramite is ok but not that strong and can hurt young plants. Avid is expensive but there are no worry's. Most of my friends who grow big hit it with 3 things just like hold your fire says. You need to irradicate not try to wash them off and neem oil hahaha. That shit doesn't even keep aphids aways. You need something seriously chemical if it's the Borg, Spider Mite, or Thrip. Only spray newly flowering plants or vegging, don't spray your garden if it's a month already.

 

[ImaginaryFriend]

While it is conceivable that you picked up mites or eggs from something like the RRs or your soil mix, it is far more likely that they came on veg matter. Where did the clones come from?

If your garden is not sealed like a lab--with crazy clean rooms and filters and stuff that is pretty cool but outside the reach of most growers--and if you even consider exchanging genetics with other growers always presume you have a mite presence. Acquire your various management materials, but more importantly, remain diligent!

Remove leaf material that has indication of mite presence every time you see it--you're removing the possibility of future generations of eggs as you pull your leaves.

Once you start a treatment program with sprays, etc., DON'T FUCK OFF! Once every three to four days to take out the crawlers, then then next batch of hatchers before they can mature enough to lay eggs, then the next batch of hatchers.

Once there is no more visible presence, you can back off on your maintenance to spraying every week, and/or something bio and systemic like neem oil soil drenches. Neem oil does repel sap eaters, and contains an element that fucks with the digestive tract of any sap eating but that consumes it. And in a root drench application, it is systemic for about 50 days. At least that's what an article in High Times said. So it must be true, right?

If you are dealing with small clones, it is possible to irradiate the presence entirely with maximum diligence, daily inspecting and bug crushing, thorough spraying (outside the room) to wash the mites and eggs off the plants, additional bio or chem pesticides, and never see them again.

The idea that you can't 'wash them away', is false. If you remove the pest, the pest is removed. Keep in mind that the first priority is in managing the breeding population to keep it under a critical mass. If you can keep your breeding population minimized, you can prevent catastrophe, while you work to address the other issues and bring things to a better state.

But always act as if they are in the garden. Always be on the lookout for the white specks on the leaves indicating their presence. And when you see it, move with decisiveness!

If you get behind in a back corner of your garden, and they get established, defloliate the fuck out of the plant. Just killing the crawlers with a surface spray won't deal with the millions of eggs that are in the densest part of the infestation. Do not let them hatch. Get the eggs the fuck out of the garden.

 

[RipVanWeed]

Hey Skunk,

Don't panic, knowing you have the buggers this early helps a bunch. Get them away from the rest of your grow. Dunk 3 times, 3 or 4 days apart, with Azatrol or Azamite. I like to add 5 ml per gal of Neptune's Harvest in there. Your babies will love it. It makes me feel better to spray (or dunk) beneficial stuff along with the AzaWhatever.
I live in SoCal and constantly fight mites. They are a fact of growing. I have Japanese Black Pines in my yard and I've read they harbor the same kind of mites that are attracted to MMJ. There's also a couple of dogs running round here, I don't allow them in the garage, but they run through those trees all the time. I've taken to wearing one of those thin, white overalls every time I enter the flower room. They're about $9 and I can reuse one for about a month before it needs replacing

At first I chased 'em with various sprays and chemicals, even tho I was trying to grow organicly. Did the major bleach wash downs a couple of times.

Now I subscribe to the program of spraying Lavender, RoseMary, and Sage water. Mostly I just add Lavender water to the AACT or Neptune's. Accepting the presence of mites in the garden relieves the stress. Just another step in the process.

Get a loupe or magnifier of some kind and learn/study your enemy. I used to think I could detect mites with my bare eyes, Well I can see some, but not all.

As I tend my plants my eyes are always alert for the telltale white spots. Once you recognize the signs, snip off an infected leave and with some magnification you'll prolly be able to see the whole life cycle of mites right on that one leaf. Eggs, translucent spheres anchored with fine webbing. Tiny white babies, I think they molt their skins on their way to adulthood, and the adults. Be aware that they don't just live on the bottom side of the leaves, it seems that if I've sprayed that plant before, I find more mites on the topside of the leaves.

Oh yeah, while tending, if I see ANY of those tiny white mite spots on ANY leaf, that leaf is removed from the garden. If you leave damaged leaves on your plants, ya can't tell if the damage is continuing. By excising a leaf here and there, as needed, I can go a long time with no spraying.

A plant that is finishing seems to attract mites to the little inter bud leaves, sometimes it's better to pull that plant from the room and put it in the backyard for the last week to protect the other girls.

I don't know where you live, but most likely if you grow long term, mite control will become just another garden task. As is watering, feeding, pruning....

Here's a link on how to control mites with out harming your plants.

http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=192286

Join the War on Mites!

Good Luck,

 

[Skunklover]

You guys are all awesome. Thank you so much for the responses.

On my way to the store in a little bit. I will update as to what I was able to purchase and the steps I take to get rid of these fucks. On a positive note, I upped the humidity in the dome to over 90% and they seem to have slowed down a bit. Studied the clones for a while this morning and saw no mites. While I know they are still in there, this is encouraging.

As far as where I got the clones from, I got them from my plants. These are plants I have been growing for over a year and have never had anything more than fungus gnats, and I inspect them diligently twice a week (fungus gnats came from the FF soil). I was able to get rid of the gnats eventually with no issues. After seeing the mites I looked over the mothers and saw no signs of any sort of infestation, hopefully it stays that way as they are approaching week 4 of flowering and are looking amazing.