Rosemary plant material is 1-2% essential oil by weight. Guess it’s not even a deterrent for mites, let alone toxic.
I am of the opinion essential oils don’t work for anything but smelling nice.
Still get bit the fuck up right next to a citronella candle.
Mites infest peppermint, too, it’s a big problem. Pine trees, too. All plants with high essential oil content.
I am not a specialist, I only know that since I use it had just 4 or 5 fungus gnats in my sticky traps and never more spider mites, perhaps am I just a lucky man? Just for the fact I am not going to vape any chemicals, yes … 
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Everything is chemicals. Weed is made of chemicals, “organic” pesticides are chemicals, everything is chemicals.
But there are heavy chemicals that you may use outdoors with gloves, glasses, protective wearing and then clean all your clothes and shower yourself. Those you suggest. I don’t know if you read the info sheet but I would panic if I should use them with my plants.
There are people that don’t mind and other more concerned with environmental protection and healthy procedures, It’s like eating a tomato you have grown organic or buy it in a mall in a big city, if you have never eaten one you can be happy with the city ones, but once you taste one you will hate the others, treated with pesticides and chemicals.
There’s no use arguing about this, once you’re concerned about it no one will change your mind. I prefer tossing the plants (as I did) rather than applying heavy and toxical chemicals, because they would end in my lungs, health for me goes prior to effectiveness …
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Don’t worry, vernal. I was once like you - or anyone else here. Putting stupid shit on the plant like hydrogen peroxide, or neem oil or using hardcore poison like dichorvos. You name it and I had used it. I mean, name anything and I had used it. Any stupid shit I’d spray dog piss on there if it would have killed the mites.
OK, I learned. I learned where the mites come from, and how to prevent the mites from ever infesting. This includes anything you want to mention. Just name some pest and I don’t have it. Here’s the thing, using the right protocol you can ensure there is never an infestation. If you fuck it up and get infested - there is a cure that involves no poison, no neem oil, no nothing except water. You wash that shit off. It’s not rocket science. Don’t bring things in from outside the grow room that you can’t cleanse 100%. Construct a basic clean room. The best part is you say goodbye to pests forever.
I know @vernal loves to treat with pesticide, but my claim is you don’t need that shit at all. I mean, I’m sorry if you don’t love to treat with pesticide and that was my assumption… but in that case vernal, my friend, I have a brilliant idea for you!!!
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I doubt you have literally used everything on the market for mites.
You calling it “hardcore poison” suggests to me you don’t have a ton of pesticide experience.
Eliminating a spider mite infestation with…water.
“Hey every farmer and greenhouse operator in the world…you could have just rinsed every pest away! You’ve all been doing it wrong just bust out the hose!” Not sure if you’re kidding.
I’m not kidding. I call it protocol zero for the zero pests that will be alive afterwards. Take your cutting/rooted clone clean everything off including the medium if it has some and get rid of the leaves. Take the stick and submerge it in a sink full of water for 30min then spray it off with the vegetable sprayer. Put that into hydroponics. I can give you more details if you want, but it’s pretty basic, and easy to do.
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Yeah I spray anything incoming with pesticides, I mentioned it earlier. It’s easier to avoid problems than have them. However, I am simply pointing out that if members do get problems with mites, there are pesticide solutions that will easily eliminate their problem.
You cannot clear a full blown infestation with water the idea is ludicrous.
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50% knockdown per application this says. How many times before complete eradication? Eggs too?
Systemic acaricides can beat that.
Almost zero residual effects, desirable for late flowering plants I suppose. I prefer the security of systemics to prevent reinfestation, though.
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yah I know, pesticides and all that, I was like that, yo. You always have to go back to the store and get more. I was looking at a huge infestation, suicidal thoughts…running wild. If I die…my nemesis dies too. Under the microscope the bugs were pathetic little shit heads, easily destroyed. Yet…replicated faster…than ever! faster than they died! OK there I set the scene, I got super mites infestation all over my grow want to kill myself.
Boom toss the infested shit except some clones and used protocol zero on em. Since I was growing in a clean room - once the buggers were dead - they were dead forever. So then I rolled that protocol out to any plant that enters my room. No infestations, no bug poison, just a sink with some water. Each plant that enters my room - and I’ve had some really infested ones come in - never spreads infestation to my grow area.
So no, I’m not talking about something someone told me, or some couple of mites I killed. I killed a full on infestation that was un-killable, using just water. So there is my claim.
I’m telling all you desperate fools out there, that there’s a solution to your problems! Break the cycle!!!
4 DISCUSSION
4.1 Rosemary oil as an acaricide
Our results clearly indicate that rosemary oil can be considered an acaricide against the two-spotted spider mite, causing complete mortality in the laboratory at concentrations that cause no phytotoxicity to host plants (unpublished data). Rosemary oil and most other plant essential oils are environmentally non- persistent, as they readily volatilise from plants and other surfaces. Some essential oils are not toxic to non- target organisms and can be used in conjunction with biological control. Furthermore, most plant essential oils, including rosemary oil, are safe for humans and other mammals, and many are used as flavourings in foods, beverages and medicines.
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For the dish tests, with sections of leaf, you may notice they had to do it 5 times for complete kill. Doesn’t say anything about the eggs I can see, and no trans-laminar activity, like the systemics I use. This is a long one:
https://open.library.ubc.ca/media/download/pdf/831/1.0092479/2
@JoeCrowe I simply don’t believe you. You can’t kill an active infestation of mites with only water. If that worked, no one anywhere would need pesticides. Plants that get rained on would never get mites it’s ridiculous.
No f-in way you’re clearing a room and still getting a harvest. I can eliminate every pest if I just throw out every plant every time I get a problem I guess.
I wipe them out… dead Vern. 100%. It works, and well. You should try it sometime. Throw in some Persimilis and cucumeris… devastating. Your systemics stay in the plant longer. People deserve residue free cannabis.
Oh don’t worry vernal, I didn’t think you would ever believe me. Indeed it DOES mean that everyone here doesn’t need pesticides, that is indeed my claim. But yes, I did get a good harvest after all the mites were dead. Hah even my friends who help me trim didn’t believe me. I don’t actually demand that anyone believe me after all that’s not who I am. Instead, you have to try it. I mean, that’s how it works eh? I can say any wack shit but if I made that up, then it’ll never work, right? Too bad I can’t just invite everyone over to my lab to check it out. Nullius in verba “take nobody’s word for it”
And we circle back to there being no evidence that any trace pesticide residue in Cannabis is harmful in any way.
You eat pesticides every day. If I spray plants in veg, the flower would likely test clean to your arbitrary state standards you’re forced to adhere to.
I haven’t used an acaricide in years, you people think I must be just bathing in the stuff. But if I have a problem, I’ll use them, and won’t think twice about smoking the flowers.
Hey everybody turns out mites aren’t an issue for farmers and greenhouse growers, just rinse the plants!
Multibillion dollar crop losses globally, but hey, water, Joe Crow on a weed forum is telling you he dun figured it out. Silliness.
Just rinse away every pest, y’all…
At least @PlantShepherd’s methods will kill most of the mites jeez.
Vern, it’s harmful. I’m tired and don’t have time to sit and argue right now. I grow mite free plants all freaking day. Thousands of them. You want to go all nuclear and freak out, go for it. Neem, essential oils, predators work. So I guess the question everyone should be asked is, do you want to smoke weed with abamectin or predator mites.
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abamectin.
It’s all natural, maaaan.