To all the soldiers out there battling that horrid little bug , that has claimed a jihad on everyones plants. if this concerns you drop everything you are doing,and make a mad dash to lows,home depo,wall mart or any equivalent store. go to the plant section and grab yourself a HOTSHOT bug strip .well actually its not a strip like a fly srip it is about 6 inches tall 1/2 inch thick and it comes in a plastic package. this is single handedly one of the most valuable things i have learned in the past couple of years.all you have to do is take it out of the package and set it by a fan or what not,and i am not kidding no matter what level of infestation you have...seeeyaaaaa...in about 3-7 days!!! also a little info for the hard core organic guys the product is actually intended to hang in closets and places of storage to kill reg.spiders so i guess if it is safe enough to hang in little timmiys clothes closet its safe enough for the indoor garden..THEPRO..
NO NO NO. No on those pest strips. They are solid poison and "dissolve" slowly, constanly releasing toxins which fall on and build up on your plants. Those pest strips are banned in places where food is prepared or eaten, or where people spend more than a few minutes/day. Using those pest strips is like spraying Raid on your buds. They clog the plants pores too. Don't use 'em.
There are plain yellow sticky traps that cost next to nothing ,enviromentally safe,and are great for monitoring pests with no negitive consequences.I researched those hotshots and to many warnings to ever find a home in my garden.One of the warnings was not to place where people reside;enough said.
The best way to prevent mites is to not bring them into your growroom in the first place. Spider mites don't travel far. The #1 way they get into a garden is when you introduce an infested plant inside. Whenever I bring a plant into my growroom I always "quaranteen" it. I put it off to the side, away from my other plants, for 2 weeks, examining it closely. The 2nd most common way pests get into a grow room is hitch hiking in on your clothes/hair, etc. That's why it's a good idea to change clothes/wash up before going into your growroom. Lastly, I spray my plants every 2 weeks with a homemade pepper/garlic/soap concoction to help prevent an infestation.
Sounds like everyone here has it figured out.....all but me the guy who has been poisoning my self and my plants for the last half a decade.. I think you all are a little extreme with your beliefs. it harms nothing putting a hotshot in the corner of your growroom it is simply a precaution so you can have one less problem to worry about i know countless people who use them.here in the n/w if you dont pay attention to your room for one second your infested anyways all to their own..thanks for responding.... THEPRO ____________________ its not a war on drugs its a war on personal freedom-the late BILL H.
Why not place yellow non-toxic sticky traps in your room which still allows you to monitor pest probs?I have many med growing friends in the portland area who maintain there pest probs using non-toxic methods.Peace
oh i agree there are many ways to get rid of mites. i just wanted to post a for sure way. those stupid things financially saved my life a while back they are if nothing else a last resource. tell everyone in the p-town THEPRO sais hi and to stay away from the grow shop on 92nd and stark wow that place is a zoo. instead try the new one on 202nd and burnside it is allot more private...not everyone is med.....wink wink
I had a major fungas gnat prob one time and never again.I bought a wholesale lot of 6oz pyrethrum bombs should i run into again as well as 50 yellow sticky traps.My prob is I re-use my soil of which that cycle I threw out followed by 3 bombs 3 days apart in order to get the larvae and pupal stages after they develope, never the less I have not seen 1 in over a year and a half.Pests are a product of organics.I have friends there but I dont reside there.
My problem is I have a small herd of cats. Everytime i turn around I find one sneaking in the grow. I have been using SM-90 a natural plant oil spray. I find it expensive as hell to use- but it actually improves the plants overall health, and cleanses them making them shiny and green. It also works against fungal attacks- so if you have a problem with mildews or fungus- this will combat- as opposed to compound the problem like other products may do. It's expense has me toying with the idea of utilizing it's properties in the budchamber. (you see i run perpetual) I have heard of a product called "Avid" It is chemical but breaks down in a couple weeks. It is used as a dipping solution- has a ten day life (kills mites and eggs for ten days) and literally melts the spidermites away. Im going to do a little more research on it's breakdown abilitys and whats left behind if anything. But it seems it may be the solution for someone determined enough to get rid of mites they would use mild chems. Like me. I am at that point. In regards to the herd of cats, they are the worst F%$# thing imaginable. Not only do they go in and out of the house and grass at will- bringing hitchhikers along the way. But they crawl around underneath the plants- giving the little spidermites a ride from plant to plant. The cats are a curse- never again will I have a grow with a catdoor anywhere in the vacinity. But for now i must. So the pet supply store has a flea and tick spray that claims natural control without pyrethrians, and it says it works for mites... So the growrooms have been drywalled over the wood paneling recently, im taping- mudding and painting titanium white when done im putting down linoleum. Then i'll be getting avid and the pet spray. This should all occur within a couple weeks. I'll letch know how it goes. Total annialation is about to occur.
Just a quick note to thank the Pro for his info on Spider Mites. I've been fighting them for two weeks now, and losing. Happy mite-free growing to all !!!! mIu4ea
"those stupid things financially saved my life a while back they are if nothing else a last resource." You sold poisonous buds that hurt the people who smoked them. Why do you think they're outlawed around food?
You guys are going to kill folks that way, including yourselves. And poor Timmy will have a cancer by the age of 40..... Mites are an indication of overfertilization, most likely with ammonia sources of nitrogen. Your bud probably tastes like shit as well. Get your calcium levels up, try and use composts and a third of the nitrogen you are currently using. If you are buying commercial blends, they almost always are made using linear programming, which basically means the cheapest source possible to get that those elements N-P-K. With no magnesium, you get no calcium uptake. Calcium is weight, production, flavor. As the plant gets older and begins to flower, calcium requierements in the plant triple. Put on potassium heavily and you get no calcium uptake. The result is shitty bud, bite, bugs, fungus, bad buzz....
PS Organic controls like soap and oils work just fine, provided you have a healthy plant! And don't overwater. Dope roots like to dry out before they are watered again. Learn to take the plant almost to the wilting point. This maximizes calcium uptake as well!!!!
