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SO YOU HAVE MITES EH?
Mites happen for few well defined reasons. First of all I want to say that mites are everywhere so the question of "WHO BROUGHT the mites to my garden" is not relevant.
There are different mites for different plants, animals and places..... as example, we sleep on mites every day.... whether your bed has 1 mite or a few billion is irrelevant because they are there. It is the conditions of their environment that decides HOW MANY mites you will have....... it is not necessarily that mites are everywhere but their eggs are...... when the temperature or the humidity reaches certain levels the eggs hatch and proliferate...... when you wash you sheets or spray your plants, you may remove the live mites but the eggs will always remain... waiting for the next appropriate environment to hatch and start the process again......
These are the things that make mites procreate on a large scale.
1. Temperature over 30C (85F) on a continuous basis. When your temperatures vary between 25C and 32C the mites may slow down reproducing when the temperature is low but increase again when you get to 32C.
2. Humidity over 60%. Usually when you get high humidity your temperatures increase as well. I would suggest that you should worry more about the temperatures then about humidity. When you (for example) increase the power of your oscillating fan or the outtake fan you decrease temperatures as well as humidity. In a way, fighting humidity without fighting high temperatures makes no sense.
3. DIRTINESS. Being a dirty person is a big problem. You will have continues problems with mites. Mite eggs can be anywhere and the more dirty you are the more eggs there is. You should be sweeping the area on a daily basis and have no green matter, soil or water accumulating on the floor. The cleanest growers, hand clean the floor or vacuum the floor each and every time they make the smallest mess. This also applies to your living area as mite eggs could be hiding on the soles of your dirty shoes that you never clean (EVER)... or the carper that's never vacuumed...etc. The point is BE CLEAN
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Spider Mites, Pump Sprayer and Bloom Stage ...... and other things |
The most frequently occurring plague in
cannabis cultivation is spider mite. A |
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It is not an easy task but Spider Mites affecting your plants in Bloom can be removed and they should be attached as if this was the worst thing that could happen to you, because it is. Spider Mites leave buds empty if left unchecked.
It is always better to destroy mites when your plants are in the vegetative stage because you can use pesticides and/or Neem Oil (for $20 for 250 ml). In Bloom stage pesticides could not be used but mites can be killed or at worst controlled with a simply formula (recipe included at the end). The can also be kept at bay with commercial product called BANG! (organic formula sold for $25).
1st step is to completely clean your grow space, mite could be anywhere 2nd step is to get a proper sprayer to apply water at high pressure 3rd step is to spray and turn off the lights (for 6 hours when in Veg and 12 hours when in Bloom) see more about applying Neem Oil
Pictured sprayer is the best because of the available water pressure which is used to blast
mites off of the plants and
if you choose not to apply any pesticides or even organic mite formulas (because your plants are too close too the end or you are worried that Bang! or Neem Oil will ruin their taste.... and they will) you can always use the following method.
Mites hate cold temperatures and cold water. Spray your plants once a day with cold water at really high pressure. Add Ice cubes to the sprayer and spray leafs especially from below. This is the only way to keep them under control without using pesticides or sprays. The downside of this is that water may cause Bud-rot.. however having mites is worst then Bud-rot (its a fungus that grows in high humidity) so the priority is to control the mites and worry about other things later.
When plants are in bloom, whatever commercial spray you use will stick to the Trichromes and alter the taste and smell. For medical patients this is a big issue. You can use a product called BANG! sold for $25-, all organic formula to fight mites even in bloom or the method described above. I tried it and I find either method is ok. You buds will still loose weight so try to stay clean and not get Spider Mites in the first place.
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on the stem of the plant.
Spider mites make small webs, which you can detect by spraying with water.
If there aren't to many spider mites, you can try to get rid of them by
removing them by hand. A tedious job
provide even application of whatever
mite-killer you want. Sprayers cost $30 to $100 at Home Depot or Cnd. Tire.
Happy Girl only stocks heavy duty metal sprayer for $159 on request.
