Edit- I wasn’t aware this method is controversial or hazardous. Read the warnings on dichlorvos and use your own judgement.
Good growroom sanitation is pretty important, too. Remove any debris that can harbor pests.
The active ingredient of these strips, dichlorvos, is a gas- and is especially lethal to mites. It will not leave any residue on your plants whatsoever.
(Exotic herp keepers use them to control mites on their reptiles, btw.)
What you do is place one strip down below the canopy, and turn your ventilation system OFF during the night cycle. The basic idea is to allow the gas to build up to lethal levels and destroy the mites.
I know it brought me great joy to open the package and watch those little fkers running around in a panic. (I was hoping they would be screaming and on fire, too. I hate spider mites!)
Now, you want to keep this up for at least 3 days- the longer the better. About a week later, repeat the process. You want to kill any remaining larvae that hatch from the remaining eggs.
You can save your plants. I’ve done it, and I know this process works.
I really wish I could remember which old OG member told me about this method, so I could give them credit.
You shouldn’t inhabit a space with these for very long. (Minutes not hours) It is meant for storage spaces or places where people don’t stay. Crawlspaces, storage units, garages…
It is not supposed to be used near food or where food is stored. Says that on the label.
It deeply pains me to say this but when you have to use No pests strips on your whole garden, you’ve already lost the battle, no pest strips are very harmful.
I’ve had them in my house for years without any issues. I use them to control mites on my houseplants.
You don’t want to make direct skin contact with the actual strip, and you really don’t want to breathe in a concentrated amount of vapor, either. Pure dichlorvos is nasty juju. But the little amount of it in the strip is just about the perfect amount to control mites in a grow tent.
I feel they are effective, and if used properly they are safe. They’ve worked for me, and I will continue to use them.
That’s fine, and you can do as you wish, I’m just making sure people know that it is not as safe as you claim it is.
This is from the packaging : This product can not be used with any pets in the area as this can be harmful. For use in unoccupied areas; not for use in homes except garages, attics, crawl spaces, and sheds occupied by people for less than 4 hours per day.
"People may not realize that overuse or misuse of pest strips could make them or their family sick. There are few warnings on the label. Dichlorvos attacks an important enzyme in the nervous system of insects and humans. People can get sick from breathing too much pesticide vapor in the air. Early symptoms of overexposure in people include headache, lack of appetite, nausea, vomiting, and difficulty breathing. The pesticide can cause more serious nervous system symptoms if exposure continues. Children have higher breathing rates than adults and may absorb more of the chemical vapor.
"There may be long-term health impacts from household use of organophosphates. A number of animal studies have shown that other organophosphate insecticides, similar to dichlorvos, can impair normal brain development and function if exposure occurs early in life. "
I honestly just don’t want to spray my plants. Not the ones I intend to smoke, anyway. Mites are such a horrible pest, and they have ruined a lot of my plants over the years.
I’m kinda surprised at the pushback, but then again so many years have passed and everything is different…just trying to help, y’know? (It’s all good, though. I don’t take offense.)
Some of those old pesticides are pretty nasty. Kelthane would normally be my first choice for a really bad infestation on landscape plants, but I sure wouldn’t want to smoke it lol
That’s actually pretty interesting information. Thanks for posting it. I’m really not trying to promote anything dangerous, I honestly didn’t think these were so nasty since I have used them for so long.
I won’t do a dirty delete, I will accept my lumps lol
The main thing with mites is never to get them in the first place, Safer is actually organic and safe…when you have mites in your grow room it’s best to just start all over…you will never win the battle when your whole garden is infested.
I also spray my houseplants and pot plants that have been growing outside during the summer months when I bring them in for the winter months.
@PhilCuisine Total change of subject but are those Schlumbergera I see?? I have been slowly accumulating a collection of different colors, I think I have 7 so far.
I do not know what Schlumbergera are…but those are my Calamondin and Variegated Pink Lemon citrus trees, pineapple plants and Christmas cactus…I keep all of them outside during the spring/summer/autumn months. I also rooted some cuttings off my fig trees during the holidays…
S. truncata is the earlier flowering one, and the cladodes (segments or links aka “leaves”) have little teeth or points. They’re usually called Thanksgiving cactus, and the flowers kinda look like shrimp.
S. buckleii is the later flowering species that is commonly referred to as the Christmas cactus. Its cladodes are rounded and lack points.
Wouldn’t use it for my plants , in California it’s forbidden to use as pesticide in cannabis, why taking any risks having available other valid methods?
Acute (short-term) and chronic (long-term) exposures of humans to dichlorvos results in the inhibition of an enzyme, acetylcholinesterase, with neurotoxic effects including perspiration, vomiting, diarrhea, drowsiness, fatigue, headache, and at high concentrations, convulsions, and coma .
See, that’s the thing- I actually have a couple of them in my house that I keep around my light racks (I grow hydroponic lettuce and other kinds of plants) and never have had any issues. Maybe it’s because my house is pretty well ventilated? (I know I don’t want to sit a breathe a concentrated amount of it, though.)
I really do like it as a pesticide for flowering plants, because it’s a gas. Once you fire your ventilation system up, that gas dissipates and leaves no residue.
Yup, and growroom sanitation is a big big thing too. Removing all debris that can harbor pests is a huge help. I like to completely clean my room, top to bottom, between grows. I designed it with that in mind.
Mites can be carried on the wind, or even on you/your pets, so anything you can do to prevent them from getting in your room is good. I have a HEPA filter that I run just outside my room, to suck up anything that could potentially get in there and cause trouble.
I think in some instances the no pest strips are useful. I would not leave them around the house.
Couple years ago I had a miserable case of mites. I tried everything to get rid of them. They kept Increasing in numbers. Finally I got a no pest strips. I turned off the exhaust fan and left the strip in the tent for 24 hrs. Then I turned the exhaust fan back on a thru a carbon filter. I removed the no pest strips and stored it in a zip lock. Then about 4 days later, I repeated and again removed the strip. The mites were gone. I was amazed.
I don’t think I would use these all the time, as they ARE pretty nasty, but in an emergency, they do work.
I’m currently going through a cleanup after spider mite induced shutdown. Iv bleached the tents and have also heated to 120*F. I plan another round of both in next few weeks.
This sounds like a great method to add to my process with an empty room and tents.
Just your typical pest strips? I’m thinking two strips hanging just above floor for 24-48 hrs with no air movement till removed and exhaust outside?
, in California it’s forbidden to use as pesticide in cannabis, why taking any risks having available other valid methods? 
