Known mites mid to late flower

[Bounce3d]

Hi

All the details of my current grow are in my signature.

Now I know I have mites, have been fighting them since about the last week of veg.
Have been fighting the battle with neem but accessibility has been a major factor for me losing.

In the pics are evidence of the spider mites but some leaves look like they dying off faster than what should be expected in mid to late flower.
I'm still hitting the girls hard, 900ppm mostly PK with some N, I have gradually lowered the N and increased the PK when I went into flower.

Basically my questions are, is the yellowing of the smaller leaf in the pic mainly mites, normally late flower dying off, lack of N(backed off the N too much), lack of light(they are on the lower part of the plant) or something else I haven't thought of?

 

[Listersmeghead]

Hi bounce3d
It would really help see better if you could put some pictures up in white light.
From what I can see they look healthy over all, first picture does look like a mite damaged leaf, the yellowing ones are more of a fade.

 

[bruno12345]

Probably youre plant is using the resources on your leaf, specially those that are low on photosynthesis, for getting those minerals where they are most needed, sugar leaves and buds. Seems normal to me.

Mites do damage similar to that First Photo, and also leave eggs behind.

 

[bobrown14]

You pretty far from MID flower.

Can use bonide Wetable sulfur or Safers 3 in 1 concentrate.

Bud was after harvest but not required.

These products are good for organic growing and hemp/cannabis in WA, OR, CA & CO

 

[Bounce3d]

You pretty far from MID flower.

Can use bonide Wetable sulfur or Safers 3 in 1 concentrate.

Bud was after harvest but not required.

These products are good for organic growing and hemp/cannabis in WA, OR, CA & CO

hi @bobrown14 just interested in how you can tell im ''pretty far from mid flower''

 

[SmokingWings]

hi @bobrown14 just interested in how you can tell im ''pretty far from mid flower''

Will have to see what he says but I suspect his reasoning is that the overall size of the buds & and the amounts of small leaves still forming as the buds grow.

Now I know I have mites, have been fighting them since about the last week of veg.
Have been fighting the battle with neem but accessibility has been a major factor for me losing.

If the mites are allowed to continue eating and laying eggs they will really have an effect on the amount you are able to harvest when it is all said and done. They can end up doing so much damage to any remaining leaves that the plant will look a very pale green to any almost yellow green color within several weeks from now. Taking the photos in white light, normal room light, camera flash or sunlight will give a better idea of the amount of damage already done and also tell some of the more experienced growers if something else is going on.

Be ready to do an extreme spraying session if need be. That means you will be spraying the plant once a day, every day for 3 days and then going to every other day for a couple times and then every third day.

I do the extreme spray sessions while the plants are still in a vegetating stage starting about 2 weeks before I am thinking of putting them into the flowering tent or cabinet. I do it even if I think that the Mites are gone. It is just easier to do it then whether it really needs it than it is to try to fix the problem after the plants are in full flower development.

 

[Bounce3d]

Be ready to do an extreme spraying session if need be. That means you will be spraying the plant once a day, every day for 3 days and then going to every other day for a couple times and then every third day.

Hi @SmokingWings, thanks for the feed back, i would be ready now to do extreme spraying, was just worried the neem will leave a trace on the buds. would you suggest i go ahead with the neem spraying as you said?

i would really hate for the mites to totally destroy my harvest but also would hate for the neem to destroy the taste if i get a harvest, its a catch 22 there.

I did neem once a week in Veg but still got mites.

 

[Roy Growin]

I'd be tempted to cut off all the affected leaves for a start
Physically wiping the undersides of the remaining leaves is very effective, even with just soapy water (nothing oily)
It's a bit of a fag, but satisfying and way better than an infested crop, especially as the mites sometimes stick to the buds and die, resulting in a poor smoke

 

[bluter]

worried the neem will leave a trace on the buds. would you suggest i go ahead with the neem spraying as you said?

neem won't poison you outright but you won't be able to smoke the bud. neem has a 6 wk half life.

it's possible to bring a crop in with mites, but it's a battle the entire way. there aren't many things that are safe to use. maybe check out the products @bobrown14 suggests.

some guys just aggressively spray them down with a strong stream of water on a regular basis in flower. it won't get rid of them, but will curtail them enough to make it. mites hate it wet.

 

[Bounce3d]

Have cut majority of the infested leaves, will give it a round 2 tomorrow, I ran out of time with the lights about to go off.
@SmokingWings @blutmentioned spraying down with water, is that the same extreme spraying u had in mind?
Thanks @blutfor the neem half life, very helpful.
Problem is accesibity, to remove the plants from the box, spray with water at the regiment @SmokingWings said, will be near impossible, plus the added humidity it would at once returning to the box.

Let me mull over the suggestions

Thanks everyone

 

[Bounce3d]

Ran around catching ladybugs, only got two though....and still, the mites

 

[bluter]

they'll vacuum up a pile

 

[SmokingWings]

I did neem once a week in Veg but still got mites.

Once a week works great to keep the mites from becoming a problem as long as they are not yet a problem. However, if the mites are already a problem then spraying once a week will not work.

The idea is to 'break the life cycle' which means having to kill all the mites and come back and spray again the next day to kill any newly hatched mites and then the next day to do the same. That is why the best thing is to spray every day, spray every leaf top and bottom and spray till the liquid is dripping off the plant just like after a heavy rain.

It is easiest to take care of a mite problem before the plants start to flower. Once they start to flower they grow larger because of the 'stretch'. The stems and branches are also getting top heavy as the buds grow and become a bit heavier. It is just a mess trying to fix the problem that late in the game.

Extreme measures include daily spraying for 3-4 days in a row and then going to every other day. Also consider mixing at the maximum recommended dosage.

You do not have enough Lady Bugs to really help out at this stage of the game.

I suggest doing a major search on mite control using your favorite search engine. The links that will pop up will be from all over including some leading back to 420magazine. Read through the suggested links for details on the daily spraying routine. It is a real chore doing it but it seemed to be the only thing that worked.

I use Neem before the flowering stage as a preventative measure to keep the mites from coming back. The problem I had was that I let the mites get out of control. Since I was running a perpetual style of grow I had a couple of clones going into the flowering cabinet every week or two and several being harvested every couple of weeks. I was forced to end the Mite Invasion before the plants went into flower. In the end I had to try another product and still had to do all the every-day spraying for awhile and then slowly go back to once a week.

Mites are gone. Fungus Gnats are gone. I wiped out the Russet Mites. Lately I have been trying to figure out what to do about a possible Mosaic Virus, how to get it out of the flowering tent, out of the vegetating closet and possibly recover a couple of plants which are now outside on the patio.

 

[Pat Puffer]

I have repeatedly used Neem up to 3 weeks from harvest with no ill effects or flavor imparted by the foliar applications.

 

[SmokingWings]

I have repeatedly used Neem up to 3 weeks from harvest with no ill effects or flavor imparted by the foliar applications.

I have too. But, I found that it did not work for major infestations as well as I wanted so I had to find other products.

What I think is that some people do not like the smell, especially before the oil is mixed, so they suggest not using Neem once the plant starts flowering. I can go along with that even though the smell does not bother me.

 

[Pat Puffer]

I concur, Neem is a preventive measure. If it is not used throughout the entire grow, the impact on an infestation is not as great as an insecticide could be.

Smell? Oh yeah...kind of like an Indian Cuisine. As potent as it is, my harvests have not had their terpene profile altered as long as it is cut by 3 weeks to harvest.

 

[Bounce3d]

Thx @SmokingWings and @Pat Puffer
think tonight when i get home i will remove the remaining damaged leaves and heavily neem spray for the next three days.

im almost at the cut point of three weeks as pat said so im going to act

again thx everyone for the options and suggestions

 

[Pat Puffer]

@Bounce3d

Be sure to spray with LIGHTS OFF. Otherwise you risk burning your leaves. Spraying after lights off gives our plants a chance to absorb the spray before lights come back on.

If using cold pressed neem (needing to be diluted before use), be sure to get your mixture correct. I use 1 tsp / 1 liter of warm water with a few drops of plant based soap (surfactant) to help the water and oil to mix. Be sure the soap is perfume and dye free.

 

[bluter]

I have repeatedly used Neem up to 3 weeks from harvest with no ill effects or flavor imparted by the foliar applications.

as a spray neem breaks down really fast. i think it's only a few days at most. though there may be fatty acids still around for a wk or two after with the possibility of flavouring the bud. the fatty acids are harmless other than the taste.

as a soil drench it can stick around for up to 6 wks.

the stuff got banned here as a pesticide about a decade ago, but is still available for other uses if you are careful how you order / purchase it.

@Bounce3d

Be sure to spray with LIGHTS OFF. Otherwise you risk burning your leaves. Spraying after lights off gives our plants a chance to absorb the spray before lights come back on.

If using cold pressed neem (needing to be diluted before use), be sure to get your mixture correct. I use 1 tsp / 1 liter of warm water with a few drops of plant based soap (surfactant) to help the water and oil to mix. Be sure the soap is perfume and dye free.

that's the perfect neem mix.


quick tip : make sure to spray the plants from the bottom up, pointing the spray nozzle at the undersides of the leaves.

also spraying a 50 / 50 iso and water mix will take a bunch out. plants will take a bit of a beating, but it's an alternate if you don't have neem on hand, or want to alternate treatments. only use it in veg though - not for flower - as the iso will melt trichomes.

 

[Bounce3d]

Thx @Pat Puffer not sure if the neem I'm using is cold pressed, googled now but no mention on the site.
Heavily sprayed now just before lights off, had a extra fan blowing after spraying to help reduce the humidity.

I add a touch of normal dish soap, know it's not ideal but I'm making do with what I have for now