SNS-217 is my go-to weapon against Broad Mites, Russet Mites and Spider Mites. These little bugs are so tough that they are extremely hard to eradicate with conventional pesticides, and even harder with natural and organic solutions. Mites destroy plant cells by sucking out their contents and Sierra Natural Science 217’s unique formula works by providing a barrier which is harmless to the plant, but fatal to the mites. Sierra Natural Science 217 kills the mites’ eggs and stops the life cycle by coating the eggs with an oily shield that blocks respiration to the egg; therefore no hatching will occur, and they will just dry out.
Why are spider mites such a terrible problem? They actually are one step higher on the evolutionary scale than a simple insect: they are smarter and tougher, and with their eight legs and lack of antennas they are indeed in the spider family. They go through several life stages from eggs to adult, with each stage lasting only a few days. The larvae pop out of the eggs after 2-3 days and while only having 6 legs they furiously feed for a few days before they turn into 8 legged spiderlings.
In a few days these leaf-eating monsters go through another transformation and become young adults. They can go from egg to adult in as little as a week! The adults then start laying eggs and the cycle continues.
Spider mites love hot and dry conditions. Droughting and underwatered plants are very tempting to spider mites. Over fed plants are also more susceptible to spider mite attacks because excess Nitrogen tends to make the sap sweeter. A typical grow area is a perfect breeding ground for these pests. There are hundreds of species of spider mites, but the most common is the 2 spotted spider mite which has been known to enjoy feeding on over 200 types of plants, all over the world.
Spider mites can attack your grow when you least expect it. They can come in on the wind, on your hair and clothing or on a shoe. Pets are very good at bringing them in. It is very common to hear of spider mite infestations starting soon after bringing a new plant into the grow room, either from a friend or a dispensary. People who move plants from outdoors to indoors are often victims of this pest. A good general rule to follow is to keep your grow environment closed to the outside, or at least filtered. Don’t let pets in the grow room, and use common sense about working outdoors and then immediately going into your grow room. When you do find that you have an infestation, have some SNS-217 ready to deploy!
SNS-217 is EPA Exempt, which means that it poses little to no risk to your health or the environment. It has what is called a 0-day re-entry interval – which means that you don’t have to suit up to use this product. SNS-217 is made to be safe around children and pets when used as directed and it is OMRI certified to be Organic. It is safe to use up to the day of harvest when used as directed.
Over the years upon finding bug problems, I have tried many different methods to rid my garden of mites, spider mites in particular.
The first problem with mites is that they are so small that they are practically invisible, and it is very hard to fight something that you can’t see or react in time to save your crop.
The second problem is that these bugs breed so rapidly that in just a day, they can take over an entire room. By the time you have spotted their classic white pinprick damage to the leaves, it is almost too late to save the crop, and if Spider Mites have gotten so far to have spun webs around your buds, it probably is too late to defeat them.
For this reason, I always keep a couple of packets of SNS-217 on my supply shelves, so that it can be rapidly deployed as soon as the telltale signs are seen.
The third problem with mites is that because they reproduce so rapidly, they will quickly adapt and develop a resistance to many pesticides, with each generation getting harder to kill.
Until I found SNS-217, I tried fighting spider mites with NEEM oil, isopropyl alcohol, and traditional pesticides, all with varying degrees of failure. Even if an outbreak could be somewhat managed, the mites always came back. I was rarely able to break the lifecycle of these bugs completely and some would always stay in the room only to plague me again on the next grow. I searched for ways to eradicate these bugs and did not have a lot of success until I tried Sierra Natural Science, SNS-217.
SNS-217 has saved the day for me a couple of times and has been my preferred method of dealing with these bugs since seeing it work. Its 10% strong natural Rosemary makeup is too much for the mites to handle and totally safe for the plants. The Rosemeric acid poisons the mites when they eat it, and it dries them out and coats their eggs with an oil that keeps them from being able to get the oxygen they need to hatch. When I have an infestation, I plan on 3-5 applications of SNS-217, three days apart as soon as I see an outbreak. I make sure to cover the top and bottoms of each leaf and coat the trunk of the plant. Every time I had to do this, the spider mites lost the battle and I was able to get to harvest without additional problems. No other method that I have found, even commercial pesticides, works as well to stop mites as SNS-217.
Compared to any other method, SNS-217 is by far the most effective way to fight mites. For ease of rapidly attacking any problems, I keep at least a couple of environmentally friendly packets on my shelf, that I can use to immediately mix up a quart of spray when needed. These packets are also economically friendly, and they can be quickly shipped to you via traditional mail services. For larger jobs, there are Pint, Gallon, 5 Gallon, Gallon Case, Pint Case and 50 Gallon sizes available, and the cost per application goes way down in the bigger sizes.
Rosemeric acid is what kills the spider mites through brute force, and the bugs have no way to adapt to it no matter how many generations they can go through. With the levels of Rosemary used in SNS-217, they don’t have a chance if the spray lands on them. Wouldn’t it be nice however, if you were able to give that same protection to your plants before an infestation happened?
Sierra Natural Science has that handled. By adding Rosemary to your water using their SNS-209, you can put this Rosemeric acid protection inside the plant too, in every cell. If the bugs eat the leaf, they won’t like it and they will move on, or at least they will find that they are confined to a small spot in your garden where they are unable to thrive, because they don’t like the food. SNS-209 is a lighter concentration of Rosemary that is designed to be used in your water. If you treat your plants once a week from the very start of the grow, you will protect your plants from the inside, so that they taste bad to bugs. Using SNS-209 as a preventative against all bugs and SNS-217 when it is needed for spider mite infestations, you never have to fear spider mites, or any other mites, ever again.
With Sierra Natural Science you can win this very tough battle, naturally, organically and completely.
420 Magazine Product Review by: Emilya Green
For more information: Sierra Natural Science
