insects 4 weeks into flower....

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xlabarba

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got a killer 1st time grow going on under two 1000 hps-looking great!! ..starting to find signs of spider mites in my flower room and moths in the veg closet..i read the posts but found it confusing on whether or not ill screw up my flowering girls with a treatment..any suggestions?? thanxxx
 
Treating during flowering can be tricky, you can end up with some nasty stuff on your buds and mold can be a concern if the buds get soaked with anything. There are a fair amount of non-chemical treatments out there but none I have used really got rid of them, lady bugs/predators can slow them down and I used about 3000 of them to keep the mites back until they were done.
I finally got tired of it and got some really nasty stuff to break the cycle.
 
Whats up xlabarba! I hope you find a solution to your problem, spider mites are a real drag! I've recently tried using Safers insecticide which seems to work a bit and is safe to use during flowering. Speaking from experience - whatever you use just don't spray it while your lights are on if they're close to the plants..... I did that and burned the crap out of most of my leaves... :( ... but I haven't seen any mites so far ;) (fingers crossed!).... anyways Safers worked alright for me.... you should try it.. You can find a thread titled Spider Mites in the Sick Plants and Problems section, it could help you out.... Anyways.... Good luck with the erradication..
 
I hate to break it to you, but you might lose your entire grow.
During flowering, spider mite (and other bugs) populations skyrocket. Under 12/12 the plants think winter's a-comin and so do the bugs. Their main goal is to eat and reproduce as much as possible to be able to lay lots of eggs to last til next spring.
If you spray insecticides on flowering plants you'll end up smoking that insecticide AND lots and lots of dead bugs and their eggs.

If I were you I'd put the plants back into veg and attack the pests with at least 2 kinds of insecticide, like neem oil and pyrethium for example. Keep this up for 2 weeks AT LEAST. Get rid of 'em BEFORE you flower them.
And keep your growrrom spotless. No spilled dirt, no dust, no dead plant material.
Keep the plants from touching each other. Put double-sided sticky tape around each planter.

P.S. The "moths" are probably whitefly's.
 
thanks for the advice..ill keep my fingers crossed-the mold on the bud thing makes sense as well as smoking dead eggs, but whats this i hear about spraying down with dishsoap? im open to whatever but putting them in veg again after 4 weeks of flowering...wont that screw them up? the problem is very small (i believe) for now ..only see webs and bugs on two or three leave corners..nothing in the buds themselves..but im starting to see crystals on bud leaves.some buds are over 9 inches already..should i really veg again? also if i seperate those plants that are problems, is it likley that the mites will stay in the room?? the local guy here wants to give me some oil type thing that you mix with water and some ivory..im tempted but the mold issue scares me. thanks for the input
 
If possible, you could lower temps to never more than 60F. That would drastically cut reproduction.

Another technique is to "vacuum" the plants. You need lots of suction and need to vacuum all the leaves. Time consuming yes but better than using insecticides.

At this point in the game the mites travel by walking and also by shooting out websilk until it hits something. Seperating the plants can slow this process down.
 
so its been about a week since the mite problem-treated with a spray called smc-seems to be doing the trick. im noticing yellowing and almost "eaten" looking leaves. Is this a backlash of the mites?? i also notice some of my bud hairs are turning brown in a few plants-im starting week five(flower) and its only a few buds-should i stop with the nutes-ive been hitting daily with flower juice and big bud-considering straight water? or is it a "burn" mark from spraying the mite meds-?
thanks
im working on pics but its unlikly right now..
 
No, the yellowing/eaten looking leaves aren't a result of mite eradication.

Is it possible you mixed/used the insecticide incorrectly?

If they leaves have definately been chewed on, then you have a real problem--something that survived the insecticide. Check as often as possible to see if you can find pests at work.

But since it seems to have happened right after you sprayed, I'm thinking it's the insecticide.
Some insecticides need to be diluted before use, so check into that.
And if you haven't already, throughly spray the leaves with plain water.
 
thanks ganga-i dont think i over did the amount of smc. i gallon per containor-but i sprayed water anyway-no sign of pests-

just wondering 2 things-i am giving bloom juice and bud nutes every day-the amounts are below what is recommended-but is every day too much-thus causing leaves to turn and yellow??

also some of the buds hairs are turning brown-isent it a bit early?? (5 weeks in flower) or is this natural-plants are 3 ft all very budded under 2 1000 hps-about 2 feet from top with lots of ventalation. need to know if they are going early so i know when to stop with the nutes..

thanks for anyones input-
 
If you are in soil it may just be over-watering, usually they don't need it every day.
 
You may have a nutrient overdose/imbalance.

To find out, flush the plants. That means water only. If your hydro, empty the res., pour water on each plant's container with lots of water then run plain water for 3--4 days.
If in soil, use 3x water of the container so if the plants are in 1 gal. containers pour 3 gals water (slowly) through the soil. Make sure the plants are situated so they don't sit in the run-off.
If a nutrient overdose/imbalance is your problem you should notice an improvement in new growth in 3--4 days. If so, cut the amt. of nutes you're feeding them by 1/2.
 
just about but at 3/4 strength-ive flushed the ones with the problem..and will go straight water once then 1/2 strenghth--BUT as i said the bud hairs are starting to turn brown-ripen?? im begining wk-5 and the stigmas are also browning.-i went and got that microscope and checked outthe trichomes but im not sure were i should be looking-some are clear as glass some are amber--they cant be ripe yet can they??in wk-5?? or am i right on track-i cant tell, still no pics..maybe go straight water on the browning buds and continue 1/2 nuts on the white haires..wadda-ya think??? ill get some pics in the next couple of days
 
Those hairs might have browned up on you if you sprayed the plants while the lights were on.... happened to me w/1000Whps..... it'll appear theyre ready if you are using the hairs as an indication of ripeness....
 

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