Alchohol for spider mites

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chazmaine420

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I read an article on a gardening site (not weed specific) that recommends Mixing equal parts rubbing alcohol and water and spraying it on the plants. supposedly it kills them instantly without harming the plant. I can see this in veg stage but not sure about putting this on bud. First off wouldn't this be harmful to smoke? And secondly alcohol drys things so I would think it could destroy the trycomes.

Anyone tried this? Have any thoughts?
 
It wont work, if only it were that easy.......but it is not.
 
If it were that easy it would not be called The Borg.
 
Your in good hands now, I have been lucky enough to not ever had them so I truly don't understand your pain, and gosh I sure hope I never get them. I'm sure you will have both and organic and an inorganic solution soon, I hope for the best.
 
Will knock down numbers for a short period. Will not eliminate. Best used when you have nothing else and are waiting for the good stuff to arrive.


That was funny zem :rofl:
 
why not just get some rosemary extract and mix with some water, worked for me. seems the main ingredient in sns 217 is rosemary extract. you can get it at places like gnc.
 
why not just get some rosemary extract and mix with some water, worked for me. seems the main ingredient in sns 217 is rosemary extract. you can get it at places like gnc.

If this worked for you, you were probably lucky. SNS 217 is 10% Rosemary oil and 90% other things and is formulated to kill spider mites. But I have had several times where SNS 217 just didn't do the job. Spider mites are nasty things and can often be very very hard to eradicate. Just like alcohol not really doing the job, just a rosemary extract and water will probably not work for many, especially if the infestation is not caught early. Ineffective treatments can often be worse than nothing as they just come back stronger.
 
Ineffective treatments can often be worse than nothing as they just come back stronger.

so true, i noticed that when i sprayed them with stuff that doesn't eradicate them, that i knock them over and spread the infestation. however by letting them munch, the damage was limited to a certain area as they move slowly through the plant budsite after the other. i now most of the times do a preventative spraying before flowering and never seen them for a long time, however sometimes like now for instance, i am transplanting regularly and i cannot nuke the flowering room at all. i think that the mite attack is imminent and i am glad that you reminded me that i must take precautions against pests. I think that i did something in the design of my growroom unintentionally made it much harder for crawlers' infestation. the entire veg and flowering tables and shelves are touching the ground only with 2 legs, the rest is iron pipes drilled in walls. the sides are sealed tight from all sides and the intakes and exhausts are restricted to a certain area. it will be much harder for a crawler to go in and i haven't seen but flies once in there, although i was not using pesticides.
 
i may have got lucky then. i did bomb with bengal roach and flea bombs as well as wash everything with bleach. i had just one plant and used the rosemary mix. haven't seen them since and never want them again. there's a 3 in 1 soap spray i want to get but i can't think of the name. thanks for the info.

(safer3n1)
 
The soap stuff does not work either. Over the years, I believe that I have tried every remedy that is out there. We all wish there was some cheap effective means with dealing with spider mites, but there simply isn't. Glad that you had the good luck you did--you must have caught them very early.
 
Hello MP'ers, first post ;) I have tried everything from soap and dish detergent to the BAD chemical BOMBS even the little lady bugs by the thousands!! None worked as I see others above have mentioned... So, as a Colorado arid weather grower, we have spider mites (eventually) on every grow but for every crop I use Pure Rosemary Oil (Sun Pure Botanical - 100% pure and natural) - 32oz maybe $20+ and I do not know who owns it nor am I endorsing the company but approve of that product, it has worked for me for over seven years, no mites! but concentrated to about a tablespoon or so per home depot pump sprayer bottle/tank (- than $25) that which I believe is 2 gallon. I individually test each girl with magnifier glass 100x on the underside of leaves every few days across the canopy, to be sure. Look for eggs or the mites themselves. REMOVE ALL DEAD LEAVES TOO. It will not kill the eggs in soils or medium before their incubation time again, I heard 30 days, so you need to remove that dirt and clean the "Fabric AIR pots" with bleach dilution and if any are found then start over with fresh clean room including new soil.

This is not an option but daily routine, to spray every plant through all life cycles from about two-three weeks old (4 sets of leaves) , til harvest UNDER THE LEAVES and all over plant.
Id suggest that you stop spraying about 1-2 weeks prior to harvest but it has not altered taste of final product a couple of days before the clippers. FYI - have not seen mites or any trace for years now while prior to this necessary part I would see mites on every crop. OH a big one here -- BE CAREFUL WITH USING HID LIGHTS AND TIMING OF SPRAY- If you spray right before lights turn on (HOT) the OIL will BURN THE LEAVES and will most likely NOT be retrievable and the plant dies with no leaves for root nuit uptake... I would take advantage of using 18-6 cycle from here on, since plant really only needs this amount of light in a day and you save electricity too, if mites are found, so the oil can dissolve into plant before lights heat them up. Just lessons learned and trying to help the community :) I hope this helps :) Peace Out!
 
I read an article on a gardening site (not weed specific) that recommends Mixing equal parts rubbing alcohol and water and spraying it on the plants. supposedly it kills them instantly without harming the plant. I can see this in veg stage but not sure about putting this on bud. First off wouldn't this be harmful to smoke? And secondly alcohol drys things so I would think it could destroy the trycomes.

Anyone tried this? Have any thoughts?
I've tried alcohol at 80/20 and it slowed the mites down quite a bit then before flower, I laid the plant on its side and sprayed the leaves down with the kitchen sink sprayer, I dont use netting or a water table so it was easy enough for a small grow operation. I didn't seem to have anymore mites in flower.
 
I read an article on a gardening site (not weed specific) that recommends Mixing equal parts rubbing alcohol and water and spraying it on the plants. supposedly it kills them instantly without harming the plant. I can see this in veg stage but not sure about putting this on bud. First off wouldn't this be harmful to smoke? And secondly alcohol drys things so I would think it could destroy the trycomes.

Anyone tried this? Have any thoughts?
i believe neem oil will do the work
 
I've use neem oil but only in veg usually two treatments to three treatments works great. I also usually wait about a month before I put into flower to ensure that the mites are gone.
 
I never use neem oil. I have not found it to be effective, it coats the plant with a nasty film, and there is some evidence that cannabis hyperemesis syndrome may be caused by neem oil.
 
I never use neem oil. I have not found it to be effective, it coats the plant with a nasty film, and there is some evidence that cannabis hyperemesis syndrome may be caused by neem oil.


By the time you're done flowering all the leaves that you sprayed are all gone. It's not on any of your sugar leaves or anything. But I understand what you're saying.
 

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