I think every home garden, especially with soil medium will get spider mites at some point. They are actually remarkable creatures and you have to almost respect their ability to survive through what must be cataclysmic situations created by gardeners to rid their gardens of such a mighty foe.
They are a slow lumbering creature that multiplies so rapidly, its a marvel to behold. I've seen plants with full cocuun of webs and writhing with bugs. They can start as just small spots of yellow on the leaves, and every day and every week can see massive explosion in the population.
I've tried every store bought and homemade product recommended by this Internet thing. From garlic mixtures, neem oil, alcohol and water, dishsoaps, you name it. Bug bombs that fill the entire room with chemicals. Automatic mister that sprayed pesticides. I even tried exposing the room to extremely dangerous co2 levels for 24hours.... nothing.... nothing kills them. Except for these guys here.
Better known as predator mites. As I began growing for people who were legitimately using cannabis as medicine, I turned away from pesticides, I tried prevention, new room, new plants from seed, but after a year, I relented and took a clone from a friend and the next 7 years, I've had to deal with the mites ever since.
But, creating balance and resolving the issue can be quite simple. Never spray your plants with anything. Every 6 weeks I order predators, it's about $40 delivered. Cans of pesticides end up being way more expensive and labour intensive to apply.
There is 2 ways to get predators, is in vermiculite or on bean leaves. The bean leaves are far superior. They come with additional mites as food but also come as a colony of troops. From eggs to larvae to adults. The leaves are easy to apply and to lay out evenly among the plants. And wether I need them or not, I order more and apply. Keep them on your moms, on your clones and in your veg room. And then after it's time to flower, the issue is completely resolved. One package of predators pays back their worth on one plant. ![IMG_1052.JPG]
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There's my friends, the bright orange dots, there is no tolerance you can build up against being eaten.
Any questions, please leave them. Any comments are welcome. If anyone has an idea for a story to write about in the dope growing industry, let me know.
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