Bugs!!

[chantoosy]

I am growing some girls outside and they have friends. I've got little black spider mites invading!! I am looking for an organic home remedy to my plight. Any ideas?

[Pharm Girl]

Outdoor spiders eh?
K, get some bone meal and sprinkle it around the base of your plant.
Then when the sun goes down get sone 70% ISO. Use 3 parts ISO to one part water. Spray the plant well with a spray bottle. Repeat every second day after the sun goes down..............If this doesn't work, I'd be super surprised.
I think I have another solution if all else fails............... .........keep us informed............ ..!

[smallarmsfire]

Jenna posted a nice bit on Yahooka awhile back. I've seen it elsewhere too.

Here's a mite eradictor. It can also be used for powdery mildew. (shamelessly grabbed from 1toke -- Thanks!!)
http://oregongreenfree.com/forums/i...?showtopic=8038

"So far one formula has come out ahead and there are some instruction changes:

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

Take a cup of very hot water and desolve the epsom salts,take rest of ingredients and place in a clean 2 liter bottle and let work out. Add epsom solution. Add water to fill to 48ozs(3/4 full).Shake well.

TO USE: Cover soil/medium with plastic,with lights off mist plant all over,especialy under leaves,
Wait 20 mins,then spritz off with clean fresh water shaking as much water off plant as you can.
The fresh water spritz rinse will remove the solution along with the desolved remains of the mites and their eggs.

Have fun with your new "Mite Eradicator"

Note by MrFixit: Water plants 1/2 hour before spraying. This will help keep your plants from absorbing the spray.

This solution has been tested and used as directed will not burn plants,the rinse is very important though as it removes the spent solution before it can concentrate and burn the plant. It also removes most of the dead mites and eggs so you don't end up smoking them.

The formula can be diluted further,to 1 liter and it will still kill the mites but isn't as effective at dissolving and removing the mite parts.
Since removing the mite debris is desirable,I recommend the stronger solution,just remember to rinse and shake.
This formula is alkaline(about 7.8-8) so please remember to rinse.

Mite irradication is absolutely assured and guaranteed if used as directed.
I've never seen ANYTHING work this well for mite irradication!!
I used to gas my booths for mites,it worked but they came back,I haven't seen a living mite in a long time now.They haven't come back,partly because of cooler weather,partly because I hosed the Roses that were infecting everything with the formula and wiped out all the mites during testing.
The only thing I wish I'd done different is,I wish I would have done sections of the Roses and preserved
some of the mites for later tests.I've had to go searching for victims to test it on and there just aren't any left!! I did find some victims for my final tests in the park where we have meetings,the plants by the river are pretty sickly and infested(were I should say,I walked around with ONE pint bottle and cleaned up most of the area.LOL)
If news of this formula were to become widespread,mites would become an endangered species!!!

USE A CLEAN CONTAINER !! Do not use realy strong vinegar or any with SULFITES in it. NO SULFITES"

Important: 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!

Reported burning on some of mj 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!

and just for the sake of info, Avid or similar/identical offbrand miticides are not organic and not to be used anytime in the last 6-8 weeks, but will absolutely work 100% to kill and sterilize everything that is present, with only 1 or 2 applications.

[chantoosy]

Thank both of you very much. I am wondering if this recipe is too strong for my babies. They are only about a month old.

I think the bone meal might be better. Am I on track?

[Pharm Girl]

Bone meal..............wo rks quite well.
Take the advice from an expert, Jenna.
I can guarantee you that Jenna has tried and tried this method. Very reputable member at that too.

[NewbieFarmer]

Predatory mites are, in many new age gardener’s opinions, the best way to control spider mites. Predatory mites are mites that do not feed on plants but on other mites, like the two-spotted mite, for instance. Predatory mites can usually be mail-ordered from a horticultural warehouse or purchased online from any number of online gardening vendors. For the sake of brevity, we will cover just three of the most common predatory mites used to kill and control spider mites:

Phytoseiulus persimilis is referred to by the Cornell University Extension office as “ one of the mainstays of greenhouse integrated pest management.” The great thing about this species of mite is that it cleans up after itself once the spider mite population is gone—cannibalizing on each other, thus decimating their own populations.

Metaseiulus occidentalis is another common predatory mite used to kill spider mites. It is an effective biological control only if temperatures are on average between 44 degrees and 89 degrees Fahrenheit.

Phytoseiulus longpipes is essentially a variant of the Phytoseiulus persimilis mite brought in from Africa which can stand warmer ambient temperatures than its North American cousins. Longpipes is seeing a gain in popularity among gardeners who would rather deploy a biological spider mite control agent than a chemical or physical control.

[Pharm Girl]

Newbie Farmer, this grow is outside.
So, introducing preditory mites won't do the trick.


Stick with Jenna's recipe or mine.

[smallarmsfire]

hardly seems right to spray such a lovely gal down with such a wicked concoction for several months on end, but you may very well end up having to do as much, as there is really no reason to think the bugs won't keep coming back.


when growing outdoors, could be a worthwhile consideration to find some genes that may have been selected in part for their resistance to pests. indoor gardeners will sometimes come across phenos that the bugs seem to entirely avoid for whatever reason, even while they ravage an adjacent plant in the box. i suppose these particulars could obviously make for some ideal outdoor beasts if they also have a few other desirable qualities?


honestly, around here would just use a systemic like avid. apply it at the right time.. shouldn't be even a trace of it in the final product.

anyone who smokes street bags has probably smoked plenty of sprays & other foreign nonsense in their time. not to say we should all lose our standards, but when its a matter of battling mites endlessly throughout a grow (they don't call them the borg for nothing) maybe its reasonable to use absolutely anything at your disposal if you feel it can be used in a safe manner.

just another .02 in the bucket

[Pharm Girl]

I know for fact that one doesn't need spray plants for months on end with Jenna's concoction or mine for that matter. A few shots does the trick.

[smallarmsfire]

i would have a difficult time imagining if you were to eradicate a small mite infestation from some seedlings with a "contact spray" that you wouldn't have to worry about the same mites (potentially some tough resistant/evolved buggers as well) coming back to feast during flowering.

it happens indoors all the time, i can only think it'd be worse outdoors. if you apply them right, these ISO/acid sprays are probably doing a great job killing the existing eggs & adults sure, but they aren't giving the plant lasting resistance to new batches of pests that come along.


i don't mean to downplay their effectiveness at all, because i know plenty of folks turn to them during 12/12 and have success.. but i think the potential user should understand the battles they're facing here.

[generic_hippie]

Lost whole crops to this organic ideal.

Snap out of it hippie.

If you are serious about controlling this infestation go with a miticide, or the ISO and water mix.

Honestly the bone meal won't hurt, but it isn't as imprtant IMHO as the spray.

Lasting resistance is something better left for the likes of Monsanto and Pfizer.

Predatory bugs are NOT THE ANSWER, well not for me.

Voice of experience here.

[uptowncowtown]

dishsoap/ H2O then rinse them off.

[chantoosy]

Kudos to everyone. Thank you for sharing. I'm new to this and well... Sorry to sound naive but what is ISO?

[Pharm Girl]

Rubbing Alcohol............. it usually comes in 70% strength but I've seen it at 50%.
I've tried and it DOES work.