Hi there,

What to do if you find a lot of spider mites and their eggs around 5th week of flowering? I have the impression that it is now way too late to stop them from spreading everywhere, but fortunately most of the upper buds are still intact. Should It be harvested right away? I know it's not entirely ready but there are quite a few trichomes already. Nothing amber tho, mostly clear/white. (see pic)

I'm just thinking perhaps it would be better to harvest what is possible to save right now, rather than wait until the whole plant might be more potent, but infested by spider mites? What do you think should be done?

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have to tried neem oil? it is safe to use still and will keep those little fuckers down until u harvest.

Unfortunately where I am there is no way I can get my hands on that on time. Also by the looks of it, and from what I read online, I'm skeptical about the chances of getting rid of them buggers at this point. There are a lot of tiny curled leafs in the lower buds and they seem to each host tons of small bitches and their eggs... Even tho I would like to crush them all it's just not accessible without touching the trichomes... and even then I wonder if I could reach them all. They're just everywhere, ready to multiply..

So I'm really afraid that in a few days it'll be just covered with mites if I just leave it like that...

do u have webs forming on the buds? can u take a pic?

No webs yet, and even if I took a pic all I could show is the white spots on some leaves. Most of them seem to hide under the leaves which is hard to photograph. Most leaves at the bottom now seem to host perhaps 1-2 adult mites with a lot of white little tiny dots that looks like eggs. But you've got to look under the leaves to seem them. That's on my most intact/hopeful plant.

I have another plant which is more infected but then again all u would see is just many white spots on the top of the leaves. No webs or anything crawing on the top of leaves. So I guesss It is not THAT bad yet but I really see it coming... I'm slightly panicked, just want to take the best action before it's too late...

if i remember right spider mites life cycle is 3 days they lay eggs and die pretty much so if u can go in and clean leafs off by hand for three or four days u should really slow the problem down that is if u dont have access to neem and are trying to stay natural organic ect... i always have pest problems, probably because i work at a hydro store and am surrounded by people carrying there problems (pests) and after work i can never change ect before entering the green room and neem oil controls everything i have problems with.

IF you work at a hydro store you should be aware that recommending neem oil on a plant that is within 3 weeks of harvest is questionable advice. The residue has an outrageously rancid flavor and odor, and will RUIN your product if used too late. There are other, better options. For sprays, I use SMC on my flowering plants up to about 1-2 weeks before harvest and STILL try to avoid getting it on the buds, even though coriander oil is nontoxic (and smells lovely). For use in that sensitive time right before chop chop, you can fight mites by dropping temps, adding wind, and removing webs with a small vacuum. But within 3 weeks of flower, options for dealing with them are VERY limited, which is why it is important to knock back all pest populations before then. A good method for this is a set of pyrethrin bombs set off 2-3 days apart- bomb twice at least, but three times is much better. Pyerthrin breaks down quickly in intense light, and kills pests instantly.

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Contacting Her Dankness: stinkyattic at hushm4il-please use the same discretion you do on the boards, thanks.
I don't claim to know the first thing about growing anything; hell, I can't make a Chia pet sprout.

If at all possible give er a shower!! LOL

I have one of those adjustable presure shower heads that works wonderfully...As long as you can thouroughly dry er afterwards you can knock them off with water.

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YEA

Ok here's a pic of a bud from another plant that's been more damaged by the mites. You can see the white spots on the leaves caused by the spidermites...

It doesn't have much THC on leaves as you can see but the seed pods are well swollen with it. So what to do with a bud like this one? Harvest now or wait longer?? By looking under some of the tiny, curled bud leaves, and seeing many eggs sleeping there, I'm afraid if I just sit and wait I'm just giving them the chance to live, spread and do more damage. As some said I think It's now too late into flowering and a shower wouldn't reach these tiny curled leaves and would probably endangered my plant with fungi/mold, no? I've had that in the past... Awful! Lots of nice bud wasted. Quite frankly, I don't think it's realistic to think I can get rid of them (mites) at this point. Look at the pic and judge for yourself.

As nobody seems to think I should harvest now, let's just suppose I do, would I get any good smoke or at least a little high from a 5 week flowering plant? Is it still gonna be worth it or am I better to wait to let THC mature while taking the risk of smoking hundreds of spidersmites? Or will they kill my plant If I let it mature like that? Which is best?? Wait or harvest??? Help!

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If you have smoked for a long time you have already smoked thousands of spider mites...That being said I hate the little bastards but when I do catch a case of them I let my plant go all the way to harvest.. A 5 week plant will produce a weak ass buzz, I would rather let it do its thing and when you harvest cut the whole plant and hang it upside down. The spider mites do not like being upside down for some reason and they all gather at the top end of stick...

I have done this a few times and it tends to work...

__________________
YEA

Hi guys,

Here's an update on the situation... Strangely (but fortunately) my most mature plant seems to resist the spider mites invasion much better than the others... I found a couple of mites on it but I always kill them right away and it seems under control. Wish I had cloned it!!! My other plants however, I'm not sure if I'll get anything much from them... Not many trichomes are visible (they are only on pods, and tiny) and the buds look pretty ugly now, with lots of red/dead hair. Are the mites gonna completely destroy/kill them If I let them grow any longer?

As for the more mature plant, it's now looking quite nice and smells absolutely amazing. Very strong, sweet and fruity/slightly skunky smell. It's lovely and I get the feeling that harvest time is very near? I'm attaching the picture to let you see it. When I look simply with my eyes the trichs looks mostly clear/white but as you will see, the picture seems to make them look more white with some/many amber ones already. So my question is, Is this baby ready for harvest or what?? It's been about 6+ weeks now... What do you think?

Thanks for the help

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Here's another perspective that shows more of the main top cola, perhaps it can give you a better idea:

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P8290023.JPG (1.33 MB, 98 views)

Be patient wait a week or two.

What is this SMC and where can i find it....

here's some advice from my friend Opie Yutt's.



i had a mite problem myself a few months ago and i tried several of the things
suggested on the web. then i followed Opie's advice and went to the local
hardware store and bought a couple of 'Hot Shot' No-Pest Strips for about
$8.00 each.

i only used one of them and the mites have been gone ever since and they disappeared almost overnight

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The Complete guide to Sick Plants,pH, and Pest troubles! MynameStitch

SMC = coriander oil. Buy at hydro shop.

__________________
"Careful what you carry- 'cause the Man is wise- you are still an outlaw in their eyes" -Steely Dan
"Multiple pieces of anecdotal evidence do not equal scientific fact." -Rhizome
"If the Queen Bee ain't happy... the hive isn't happy!"-Dutch Pimp
http://boards.cannabis.com/basic-gro...e-harvest.html<-It's a grow guide! Enjoy!
http://boards.cannabis.com/plant-pro...hy-how-do.html <- all the boring stuff about soil chemistry you never wanted to know
http://boards.cannabis.com/grow-log/...ml#post1837597 <-how to make canna caramels
http://boards.cannabis.com/grow-log/...ml#post1820481 <-illustrated cloning guide permalink
Contacting Her Dankness: stinkyattic at hushm4il-please use the same discretion you do on the boards, thanks.
I don't claim to know the first thing about growing anything; hell, I can't make a Chia pet sprout.

No-Pest Strips work. Without question the easiest, fastest, way to get rid of them is with the no-pest strips.

if you can use pyrethrin then you might be able to use Permethrin. it is a pyrethroid. it is commonly used to kill insects. it i have used it to kill spider mites that my snakes have gotten in the past. it is commonly used in lice treatment too. it is the active ingredient in equate bedding spray. that's the walmart brand of lice treatment. it can be found by the pharmacy. it's should be under $4 a can. i'm not saying it will work but it might be worth looking into by someone with well more experience then my own.

for the treatment of snake tanks you remove the reptile and waterdish and spray over the bedding and let dry before returning said reptile. i usually spray a couple of times to make sure everything gets it. it is kinda of a dusty, dry spray evaporates pretty quckly. i used it once and the next day, maybe two, all spider mites were gone.

....or you could get some lady bugs. they eat spider mites. when you are done you can vacuum them up and keep them in the fridge.

where are do you get lady bugs you ask? well that wasn't the question!

hope this helps.

-shake

most growers won't use chems late in flowering so we use our tube-type vacumn cleaners when control of mites is needed. just put a couple fingers over the nozzle to act as a screen to keep the leaves on the plant and gently pass it over the affected areas, including webbing. do this every couple of days and you'll see far fewer critters running around and no more webs, altho it will do nothing about the eggs...

yeah, but doesn't that usually pertain to things fed to the plant? this is an aerosal, that is basically like a smoke, that dissepates. you can always spray them with some water. just a thought, something that should be looked into with someone with more experience than i.

what's one plant of someones grow in the name of science? i'm pretty sure it won't kill you and the worst that will happen is that the taste would be altered. i'll pay for the can of spray!

any takers?

-shake

Being a Noob, and not very experienced, I rarely give advice. But when it comes to no pest strips I have gained a little knowledge. I read what Oppie Yutts posted about them and tried them myself. I had Mites or Aphids or some other pest and used no pest strips and got rid of the problem in less than a week. Its not an Organic Pesticide, and I try to stay Organic, however pests can ruin everything and I recommend no pest strips.

you can get organic spray for spider mites.

-shake

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Try diatomacious earth. Basically it is a fossil that has a high liquid absorbtion capability and when the insect walks on it, it absorbs the water from their exoskeleton and causes them to die. Chemical composition is silica sodium magnesium and iron so likely will not overfert by adding it to the soil surface. Just be careful applying it maybe wear something over ur mouth (bandana, painter's mask) because it can be harmful to inhale or ingest certain types.

Edit: Hmm I guess they lay their eggs in the webbing so I don't know how well this would work but very good preventative method. However if they walk on soil sometimes this would be good.