spidermites are eating my plant

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an interesting tid-bit on their lifecycle,

A female lays about 100 eggs during her lifetime. Depending upon climate conditions, the eggs hatch in as little as 2-3 days, and the adult stage is reached in 7-10 days. The females reproduction is greatly affected by climate and humidity with a significant difference in the days till their maturity dependant upon the temperature i.e.) egg to adult. For instance at 60 degrees Fahrenheit, it takes 30 days for the egg to become an adult, at 70 degrees 14.5 days and here is the astounding number - 90 degrees Fahrenheit they reach adulthood in just 3.5 days! So now imagine those populations increases over a month when the offspring start to reproduce less than a week after hatching - at 70 degrees she and her offspring number 13,000; at 80 degrees she and her offspring represent a staggering potential of 13,000,000 individuals over a single month - huge population increases!

Mites evaporate large quantities of water from their bodies, so they must suck juices from the plants. This is easier for them to do in a dry environment. Humid environments (above 60% RH) slow down their metabolism, life span and reproductive rate. Mites may be controlled somewhat by lowering the temperatures (at about 50 degrees Fahrenheit they start to hibernate), thus slowing down their life process considerable. Even if you only decrease the temperature during the indoor dark cycle (when it is easier to lower temperatures), the progression rate of the infestation is slowed considerable

I was recently doing a bit of online research on mites and came to a site at the university of indiana or something.
These folks said that mites need to transpire almost continually. They suggested using a bit of "wilt proof" on them as it slows the transpiration process down.
They also said that they have been successful using a mixture of 1/2 isopropyl alcohol to 1/2 water and spraying it directly on the plants making sure to cover entire surface top and bottom of leaves. let dry and then 15 minutes later hit them again with the same solution.

The site went on to say that they have seen very little harm to the plants treated and have had 100% success in killing the mites on the plants treated with this method.
 
I hate those creepy crawlers..I battled them for 10 months spraying every 3 days.. cayenne pepper/cigs/ dishsoap/wasabi powder/chili powders.....then I tried the chemical crap made out of chrysanthumums...which I dont think is too healthy to use. anyway I kept them under control for 2 buddings..but they eventually won.out of 25 plants i have 2 sickly hopefuls left..and i cant clone ! I am clone ability challenged
 
Ladybugs are the natural predator of spider mites. I ordered some online. They arrived in two days. In about a week all of the mites had been eaten. Once the mites die the ladybugs will die off as this is their source of food.
 
I haven't tried this particular product, but did have it highly recommended...http://www.spidermitecontrol.com/index.html

AVID is an excellent product for eliminateing them..and I do mean "eliminate"! But it is difficult to aquire and a li'l dangerous to work with. "Follow the label instuctions" to the letter, includeing the precationary statement, and they ARE gone.
 
MissMolly said:
and i cant clone ! I am clone ability challenged
MissMolly! You can clone! Nobody has taught you how, is all.

If you save up for one of the Botanicare cloning machines, you'll be cloning before you even know it! It works every time. Keep a Mother and no more seeds. No more worrying about males, no more worrying about postal rip offs and seeds not germinating.

Good luck to you. By next year, I'll bet you're cloning like crazy! We just have to get you past that "can't" thing.
 
I hear lady bugs only eat aphids .Im not giving up on the cloning yet 2 mothers left and lotsa shoots
 
Flora-mite will take care of mites no problem. It is neither cheap, organic, or safe to expose yourself to, but it works. You don't have to keep using it unless you have a problem. It works for clones too. Do not spray plants with any flowers on them allready and use all the precautions that come with the stuff. Serious infestation was totally stopped in several larger situations in a matter of days.
I've always had good luck with good old fashioned clone-domes. Warmth/humidity ad it goes in about a week and a half. I even got rid of the machines I had. Rapid rooters and Olivia's clone gel.
 
You are correct miss moly, ladybugs won't eliminate mites. They will aid in the control of them, if there is no other source of food available. But mites are not on their menu.
 
go with hicks advice 100% effective i had them last month checked each day since and not a one........

it works














pkj
 
Yeah Hick is 100% correct, it is not lady bugs that feed on spider mites, it is actually another mite that does this. It is a predatory mite called Persimilis mites. These are canivoires so they do not eat any plant matter. Although they will get rid of your mites, it still takes time, like around 4 weeks, depending on your infestation.

As Hick said, there are sprays that will work during veg, but please do not spray a budding plant with any of them, because the majority of them are actually toxic and you do not want to smoke them, well I dont anyways.:eek:
 
I have mites on my clones... I hate mites on my clones... Actually these are my first clones so I am really upset about it..

Where is a good place to get the Flouro-Mite? Can it be ordered online? I live in Alaska so we are grow store ignorant, that's what I'm finding out anyways..

The site that Hick spoke of is in the UK, would like to find some place in the states to order it from..

Thanks for the info dudes...
 
I'm gonna say try safers end-all for help in controlling... this can be used during flowering.... after a week it breaks down...

But for destroying all the mites... dip your clones in a avid solution.... avid is a nerve toxin... so be very careful.... and it takes up to 6 weeks for the poisonous properties of avid to dissipate. So it CAN NOT be used during flowering whatsoever.
 
Wow, flouromite is expensive...

How do you think this method would do:

Isopropyl alcohol and water at a 50% dilution with a few drops of dishwashing detergent to a quart is an effective mitecide. It’s best to spray it in early morning or late in the day when evaporation is slower. If possible repeating the application 15-20 minutes later will ensure complete control.

I think someone else mentioned this application... does it work?
 
I'm gonna go with the alky will hurt the leaves... it is worth a try on one plant to start tho imo... cuz mites will kill all the plants if u dont get them neways!
 
....
I was recently doing a bit of online research on mites and came to a site at the university of indiana or something.
These folks said that mites need to transpire almost continually. They suggested using a bit of "wilt proof" on them as it slows the transpiration process down.
They also said that they have been successful using a mixture of 1/2 isopropyl alcohol to 1/2 water and spraying it directly on the plants making sure to cover entire surface top and bottom of leaves. let dry and then 15 minutes later hit them again with the same solution.

The site went on to say that they have seen very little harm to the plants treated and have had 100% success in killing the mites on the plants treated with this method.
 
Heres the report... Clones are two weeks old, found spider mites.. They trippled over nite. I used the 50% iso and 50% water with a few drops of dish soap... I treated about 20 hrs ago... Plants wilted a little bit but not bad.. Kept a fan on them with flouro's just off the tops.. I found a half dozen mites this morning and the plants look great.. They seam to be coming back...

I think you guys maybe plant savers..

I'll send another update to let you know the progress
 
Mr. Bud said:
Heres the report... Clones are two weeks old, found spider mites.. They trippled over nite. I used the 50% iso and 50% water with a few drops of dish soap... I treated about 20 hrs ago... Plants wilted a little bit but not bad.. Kept a fan on them with flouro's just off the tops.. I found a half dozen mites this morning and the plants look great.. They seam to be coming back...

I think you guys maybe plant savers..

I'll send another update to let you know the progress

Keep givin it to them!!! u need to get them all =) Keep us updated on the status report.
 
Checked the baby's when I got home from work.. Mites are back!!.. Not nearly as bad as my first spraying with the 50% ISO and 50% H2O. I hosed them down again so we will see how it goes...

Heres another question.. Has anyone ever heard of a product called DOC'S Simple Solution? It was made in Palmer Alaska. I stopped at my local grow shop. I got to talking with the girl who's husband ownes the place. I told her that I was having a spider mite problem on some of my house plants. She gave me about half of a bottle of Neem PestSoap made by DOC'S. She said that he moved to Ca. and for one reason or another he kind of fell apart. I tried the website on the bottle, www.docsproductsalaska.com didn't look like a site for plant products to me.. The lady at the grow store said that these products were increadable but she can rarely get anything from him anymore. She said that if I spray my clones with DOC'S neem pestsoap they will go away.. I just sprayed them with the ISO so I think I will give them a day and spray one with this stuff to see what happens.. I guess you can also put it in the watering water and the plant will soak it up.

I'll post my findings soon... Also have a little baby growing from sead.. Check the journal thread to see photos..
 

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