Just posting to prove my point as had to do it myself today.
Pre vacuuming
After.
4 Likes
Still fighting them, found this page with useful info and some good tips, cheers … 
2 Likes
AGHH!! I found mites all over one plant. I don’t know how they got that developed, there are many leaves that have bug poop all over them. 
1 Like
So much BS posted here. Disinformation galore. My information sources here are the Mayo Clinic, USDA, Cornell University, Oregon State University, and the University of California at Davis. Also my personal experience growing weed for many decades.
Neem (refined 70%) is effective and it will kill mites. The Azadirachtin has been removed in refined 70% Neem. Near harvest Neem may leave a taste that some do not like though. Spray at a rate of 2 TB per gallon of water. It does not need a spreader. Neem will kill on contact and it will also kill the eggs on contact. Neem also will work for PM, but you need to spray that at a 100:1 rate, or 3.5 TB per gallon of water for PM. You do not want to spray Neem oil or any other oil spray when the temps are above 70 degrees though, or it can burn the plants, especially in sunlight. Spray at night or when the lights are off. Neem is a contact spray, so you need to saturate the entire plant, top to bottom.
Azadirachtin (sold as AzaMax and other brands) is also effective for mites and a long list of insects, including thrips. Aza is not as fast acting as other sprays though. Azadirachtin is one of the active miticides/insecticides found and extracted from raw neem oil. Azadirachtin is light sensitive and breaks down in sunlight pretty fast. So spray it it night or when your lights are off to be more effective. Azadirachtin has a bad rep, and there are web sites claiiming all kinds of evil thing happen as a result of using it. However, if that were the case, the hospitals would be filled with cases, as Azadirachtin is listed as an organic spray, and used on all types of organics, not just weed. There are ZERO know cases of Azadirachtin deaths in the US. One case was reported where a guy used raw neem oil in a salad dressing, and he got sick, but he recovered pretty fast.
Abamectin 0.15 EC (active ingredient of Avid and other miticides) works THE BEST for all types of mites. Broad, hemp and spider mites. It is PROVEN EFFECTIVE for mites. Abamectin is actually a naturally occurring compound found in soil bacteria. But it is not listed as organic by the USDA, whereas Azadirachtin is. Go figure. Abamectin breaks down fast, especially in sunlight. Typically within 45 days of spraying it will be undetectable in tests. I know many that have sprayed it before flowering starts, and their weed tested clean at harvest. Abamectin is translaminar, meaning it will be absorbed by leaves and if you only spray the tops of leaves the mites sucking from the bottom of the leaves will be killed. Abamectin does not work to kill mite eggs though. As it breaks down fast in light, spray Abamectin at night. Also in order to make Abamectin effective, you have to use an activator with it. An activator is an agricultural soap/spreader specifically designed for use on plants. Avoid using dish detergent, as that is a detergent (even Dawn) and will damage plants. Use an ag spreader specifically made for plants available at any farm store.
If you want a cheap and effective spray for mites right up to harvest time, use 3% hydrogen peroxide at a rate of one cup per gallon of water. It will also take care of PM at this rate as well. I just did that 2 days ago on some of my indoor buds here. PM gone! Mites gone! Hydrogen peroxide evaporates and/or breaks down into plan water so it is rendered harmless. It is a contact spray, and so you have to spray the entire plant with it. It helps to use an ag soap/spreader with it as well to break the hydrogen bonds in water so it spreads ‘thinner’. The ag soap itself is an effective contact miticide and will kill eggs and larvae and adult mites. Hydrogen peroxide will not kill mite eggs though. So you have to repeat this spray for a while to be completely effective.
Co2 is also an effective way to kill mites. A concentration of 60% Co2 for about 8 hours is all that is needed. You can put garbage bags over the plants and fill them from the top with Co2 from a canister. Co2 is heavier than air and will sink to the bottom. The hard part is getting the bags over the plants if they are larger, and keeping outside air from circulating into the Co2 air mix inside the bags. This method can be rather expensive and/or unfeasible unless you have a source of cheap Co2 and a way of containing the Co2 gas around the plants for a long enough time.
In general, mites cannot build an immunity to hydrogen peroxide, Co2, ag soap, or oil sprays. Those are all contact sprays/gasses and the mites cannot build immunity to the way that they work. So they can be used again and again and again. Mites can build an immunity to Aza and some (but not all) mites can build an immunity to Abamectin, and so they have to be used in rotation with other sprays. The USDA states that broad mites cannot build tolerances to Abamectin. The USDA lists Abamectin as the ONLY effective spray for broad mites on cane berries in the US. Of the mites that affect Cannabis, spider mites are the easiest to kill. They are large. Hemp and broad mites are far smaller and a lot harder to kill. The signs of spider mites are your leaves look like they have been spray painted with white paint. The signs of broad mites are pinwheeled leaves. The sign of hemp mites are drooping and curled leaves at the tips of branches.
You can wash your buds on harvest to remove a lot of mites and eggs and bug poop, as well as residual sprays. I use plain water, and dunk the tops in water when I cut the buds off the plants. I do not hang my plants whole upside down any more, and I have not found that to be of any benefit over the years. I cut the buds to the desired length right off the plants, dip them in water, shake them gently and let them dry in the sun for a hour or so, then dry and cure them in shade. Bugs and eggs and such are also going to be filtered out later when I make the buds into sifted hashish or extracted into hash oil.
13 Likes
If any of that neem oil comes in contact with bud, it’ll shrivel up the white hairs, and leave the bud with a horrible taste…
Rosemary oil (extracted from leaves of the rosemary plants) can be sprayed easily onto the leaves of infested plants and will kill the spider mites. Make a solution of 1 teaspoon of rosemary oil with 8 ounces of water. Place the solution in a spray bottle and apply evenly. I put a little dash of Dawn dishwashing detergent in the spray bottle, as well. If you wanna get the rosemary oil into the root zone, you can mix up a few drops per gallon for maintenance…
4 Likes
Seems like a lot of people are pretty against neem oil on this site. I’ve used it for years, it works great for me. I’ve sprayed buds with it on both a personal and commercial level without damage or changing the flavor of the final product. Not saying it can’t be used incorrectly, but that’s my 2¢.
5 Likes
If having troubles with bugs try JWA simple to make effective and cheap as hell for the cost of canola oil and a dab of KOH You cant beat it! Plus it’s fun to make !
4 Likes
Starts at about post 98# of this thread
2 Likes
Where the heck are the post numbers I no see them LOL
3 Likes
Kills grasshoppers too!
1 Like
Young Grasshopper It is time for you to leave
2 Likes
I saw that when I was originally going through the thread…but because it was a little ways in, I couldnt find where this recipe and its effectiveness was hiding. Thanks for posting amf sharing again. What is the KOA in your recipe?
2 Likes
OK I found out how to see the page numbers Thks
2 Likes
U mean Koh? Potassium hydroxide, when breaks down another source of potassium a bonus in my book when in flowering stage , one has to use the potassium as opposed to the sodium … sodium bad for plants but from my little knowledge of soap making sodium is used in the process of making hard soaps
3 Likes
Didn’t realize it was the element symbols…thought it was like ‘Keep Outstanding Harvest’ brand or something…lol
2 Likes
No Pest Strips
Not sure on using in flower but in veg give er
I would be sure to read about these before you decide to use them. I will never go near one for any reason whatsoever. Just my 2¢.
2 Likes