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Just Sacrificed A Plant To The Borg...


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Doing my daily plant maintenance and noticed that Power Kush #2 (PK) had a bunch of leaf spots. Looked at under a loupe and saw THE BORG. Spider mites all over leaves. Grabbed a garbage bag, wrapped it inside, and took it into the garage. 

 

PK shared a shelf on the VEG side with a different strain and the leaves were intermingled. But there was NOTHING on the other plant. 

 

Nor were there any mites on the plants on the lower shelf. Those mites certainly have a taste preference!

 

But I did a neem spray on the plants everything just in case.

 

After everything was cleaned up & closed up, I quickly checked the flower side and thankfully nada.

 

Now PK had been vegging in a 3 gallon kitty litter container (mentioned in another thread). Quite short even after 3 months (very root bound), kept it mostly as a source of leaf for raw eating and figured I'd get it into the flower chamber as soon as the current ones are done just for the hell of it. So I did not hesitate in my decision to scrap it. Into the compost it goes. 

 

Guess I should be prepared should the borg return to infest the other plants. (The dog is the prime vector suspect.) Any consensus at this point for what to use during veg? No nasty poisons.

 

- Power Wash?

- Monterey (Spinosad)?

- Cold Water Spray?

- Hot Pepper Spray?

- Refractorized ionized crystal magic vibrational energy infused water?

Edited by zachw
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these scrumpin cant fly right? so they must crawl.

 

get diatomacceous earth and sprinkle it everywhere, especially on the top of the dirt around your plants.

 

then get tanglefoot and rub that all on your stems. catch them "in the act" as it were. so even if they somehow fly onto a leaf, you've covered the stems from them spreading?

 

 

i dunno. its tough.

 

 

middle of winter is an odd time for your dog to get spider mites.

 

what soil are you using? probably eggs in the soil.

or maybe you visited grow store and didnt change your clothing?

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Looked into Tanglefoot when I had a fungus gnat issue (veg side only) because the yellow stickies were not cost effective. Don't know what happened, but it went from $10 to $70 or so! (Got the problem licked.)

 

I like to blame the dog but wife says unlikely mites used it to travel and they were more likely from me! Haven't been to a grow store or anywhere else that I can think of. Soil in this container was not sterilized but has been used for three months old and spider mite have <3 weeks life cycle. Other plants introduced into the room recently used only dead, sterilized soil.

 

Lotsa folks like Mighty Wash but nobody knows what's in it! Some have speculated that it's only neem.

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willy wins!!!


did you take in a clone?

my dogs ran freely through my indoor garden for years, no mites. is your dog treated? I park my lawn tractor in the same building as my indoor grow room, dirt floor too. no mites yet. clones cause mites I think :judge:
If willing to dunk the plant anyways, go dig it out of the compost this morning , those mites are all dead, guaranteed.
A dip in cold water kill them. cold water spray kills them. spinosad keeps them away I hear, and kills the worms of other pests when before seen even.

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Doing my daily plant maintenance and noticed that Power Kush #2 (PK) had a bunch of leaf spots. Looked at under a loupe and saw THE BORG. Spider mites all over leaves. Grabbed a garbage bag, wrapped it inside, and took it into the garage. 

 

PK shared a shelf on the VEG side with a different strain and the leaves were intermingled. But there was NOTHING on the other plant. 

 

Nor were there any mites on the plants on the lower shelf. Those mites certainly have a taste preference!

 

But I did a neem spray on the plants everything just in case.

 

After everything was cleaned up & closed up, I quickly checked the flower side and thankfully nada.

 

Now PK had been vegging in a 3 gallon kitty litter container (mentioned in another thread). Quite short even after 3 months (very root bound), kept it mostly as a source of leaf for raw eating and figured I'd get it into the flower chamber as soon as the current ones are done just for the hell of it. So I did not hesitate in my decision to scrap it. Into the compost it goes. 

 

Guess I should be prepared should the borg return to infest the other plants. (The dog is the prime vector suspect.) Any consensus at this point for what to use during veg? No nasty poisons.

 

- Power Wash?

- Monterey (Spinosad)?

- Cold Water Spray?

- Hot Pepper Spray?

- Refractorized ionized crystal magic vibrational energy infused water?

 

you sure you dont have mites in your flower tent?

in the second picture of the bud in the other thread you started last night i immediately notice white dots on the lower fan leaves that appear to be mite damage..

there does appear to be tell tale signs the borg have made it into your flower area...

 

that's the thing about these basturds..  i am still fighting them now after 2 or more frikkin years.

 

brought in a clone from a friend... woops...don't do that.

 

they still rear their ugly heads every now and again... i am again currently this very week in the middle of an outbreak.

 

i have been using Safers brand organic soap spray and it for sure kills them and within seconds they are done moving.... however that being said.. it must have no bearing on the eggs because they will come back later with a vengeance.

 

i am trying a spray once every week right now to keep them under control but once you have had mites it seems that you always from now on will have mites.

 

they say break down the room...

clean or replace everything..

start from seed.

then you will finally be rid of them.

 

in my experience this may becoming true.

 

i eventually reluctantly tried some wicked chemicals last year... didn't help.

 

if one single egg finds a place to hide....your reinfected months later.

 

this must be what continues to be happening to me.  they become under control... don't see them or any damage for weeks or months.. then all of a sudden.. conditions are prime again and bam there is white spots on my leaves..

 

i have gotten so good at spotting the white dots its almost not funny.

 

i am so f u c k i n g tired of dealing with these impossible creatures.

 

i am going to go to my local shop today and try this mighty wash..hope he carries it.

 

heard about it b4. 

 

i have tried several other types.. maybe this one will have better luck.

 

any which way things go for you Zach my only advice is to start a weekly treatment now and try to prevent them from getting the upper hand.

 

good luck.

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Oh, those white dots are a few little paint flecks from the wall.

 

If there are mites there they are few and far between.BUT I have a week or so more of plain water before harvest. I'm going to play it safe & take the flowering ladies out to the shower for a cold wash now...

Spray your flowering plants with cold water at least once a day. If you have the time do it three times a day. Even if there are a few mites they will not be able to cause any damage. You can wash your buds, dunk then in a bucket of water just before you trim them to make sure no bugs, scat or eggs are in your finished buds. 

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mighty wash does kill mites, not sure about eggs. but so does cold water, neem oil, peppermint oil, dlimonene, hemp oil, etc, anything to starve them of air or shock them. Those using mighty wash before they got mites remain mite free I believe, as long as they stopped introducing new ones to their girls.

 

I know only a few growers well enough to visit their gardens and two have employed me to rid them of mites. Both got the borg on clones. I brought my c02 generator and you know the rest. That was years ago and both are mite free today. I never had mites, ever. I have c02 saturated my room once when those thrips  scared the crap out of me, and again during a spring clean up. Killing the spider hurts, but the collateral damage is soon replaced with new predators. I often work with the door open when moving between the building and the rooms.

When a single plant needs to be saved it can be bagged, vacuum'd, and c02'd with ease for a cheap save and the live mite death show with a clear sealed bag. This needs a c02 tank though, not a generator.

 

Zach, please tell me you are the first person to get mites that did NOT invite them in on a clone? please?

 

houseplants are a common vector, I see mites at the grocery store flower aisle most often. flower shops must be loaded with them.

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you sure you dont have mites in your flower tent?

in the second picture of the bud in the other thread you started last night i immediately notice white dots on the lower fan leaves that appear to be mite damage..

there does appear to be tell tale signs the borg have made it into your flower area...

 

that's the thing about these basturds..  i am still fighting them now after 2 or more frikkin years.

 

brought in a clone from a friend... woops...don't do that.

 

they still rear their ugly heads every now and again... i am again currently this very week in the middle of an outbreak.

 

i have been using Safers brand organic soap spray and it for sure kills them and within seconds they are done moving.... however that being said.. it must have no bearing on the eggs because they will come back later with a vengeance.

 

i am trying a spray once every week right now to keep them under control but once you have had mites it seems that you always from now on will have mites.

 

they say break down the room...

clean or replace everything..

start from seed.

then you will finally be rid of them.

 

in my experience this may becoming true.

 

i eventually reluctantly tried some wicked chemicals last year... didn't help.

 

if one single egg finds a place to hide....your reinfected months later.

 

this must be what continues to be happening to me.  they become under control... don't see them or any damage for weeks or months.. then all of a sudden.. conditions are prime again and bam there is white spots on my leaves..

 

i have gotten so good at spotting the white dots its almost not funny.

 

i am so f u c k i n g tired of dealing with these impossible creatures.

 

i am going to go to my local shop today and try this mighty wash..hope he carries it.

 

heard about it b4. 

 

i have tried several other types.. maybe this one will have better luck.

 

any which way things go for you Zach my only advice is to start a weekly treatment now and try to prevent them from getting the upper hand.

 

good luck.

Eggs from spider mites are impervious.  So are the mites which go into stasis for the winter. Which is why you have to hit them with the bomb 3 days after you spray neem.  this way you get any young that hatch and find spots that weren't sprayed to eat, then spray again on day 7.  That's the only thing that got rid of them for me.  tried neem alone for over 7 months back in NY.  INce I used the bomb it got into the nooks and crannies and killed anything that hatched and was able to live off of non psprayed stuff or wait long enough till the neem washed off.

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Actually you want to raise the humidity, it and not heat it up too much cause the mites like it warm and dry.  It speeds up their life cycle.

sure, but NOT when you bring them in dripping from the ice water dip, they mites are dead ideally. If not, dip again and leave the plant in the water till they are. then, dry the plants quickly before night time at least.

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If the mites are not dead when they are brought back into the room after an ice water dip, the residual water on the plant will not kill them. they must die in the water or failure is imminent.

Water on the eggs helps slow down the reproduction process. You are not going to kill them all so you slow them down until you can harvest. 

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I saw a flowering plant in a garbage can of water over night. there were no living mites to be found, and none hatched when it was dried, harvested a couple weeks later. Mites don't live under water and neither do their eggs. If there are live mites and eggs the dunk was not long enough.

Its is much easier to avoid them in the first place, than to try a hundred internet remedies. Sometimes somethings work better than other times. Like neem, if hit with it at just the right times many find it a cure all.

same goes with any of the oils. but some don't follow through, or miss areas and such so the report is neem does not work for example. There are simple procedures proven over and over again and those are what I advise to anyone infected with the borg. live and learn, try everything once, good luck zach

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Just got back from checking out the flowering ladies.

 

Interesting: ONE plant had a few mites and it's the same strain as the one vegging one that I destroyed. Could find NOTHING on the other three, which are Burmese Kush. 

 

Didn't want to wake the wife & use the only shower with a flexible nozzle. So I opted spraying lots of cold water from a spray bottle on all four plants. (This is the only time I have sprayed while flowering except for some neem a while back).

 

Doesn't get too hot because I'm using LED & T5 but hopefully it will stay humid enough with fan off (but exhaust fan left on).

 

Again, I have less than 2 weeks to go.

 

Grassmatch, how do I physically dip plants in a 5 gallon bucket in water?

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PS - I have NOT introduced any outside clones, all of these were grown by seeds or are later clones of those. At this point I'm not that concerned with the existing vegging plants - they're small and I was going to just throw them into the flower room when the current batch is done. Was going to try to find some clones to purchase for the next grow which I want to get done by early June. (Don't want to maintain an indoor grow during the summer.)

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the dipped plants I saw were about 25 inches tall. one was in hydro and the other in dirt. The guy wrapped the pots to keep most of the soil/rocks in place, roots helped. it was messy. the substrate was not dipped but instead oiled up before he wrapped them.

I wouldn't suggest water without dialed in room controls, but individual bags with c02 injected is a win for single plants.

 

finally, I know of a mite infection without a clone!!!!!!!!!! I am very very interested in how this happened. besides the dog can you think of any other way? house plants inspected? a lot of people treat their dogs for fleas/ticks, is yours?

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