Spider Mites- need advice please?

[growgrrl75]

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Hi, so I have 1 RQS Bluematic 27 days old- she's not in flower yet the slowcoach, 1 RQS Jack - 2 weeks, and 3 Think Different on day 3, so basically they are all quite small.
My problem is that i just noticed a spider mite on 'daily inspection' on the larger 1and as I don't drive and have no 'local' hydro shop, I buy online from one which usually delivers next day. However... this is a weekend so I'l be living with spider mites until Monday.
I ordered canna cure and plant-vitality-plus, the latter aimed at SM's after a chat on the phone with the store I use.
Atm the babies are in a DR60 (2ftx 2ft) with intake and extraction with control fan for out - take.
I've reduced temp from 26c to 21.5c, currently humidity is at 70% and I believe SM's like high temps, low humidity?
I'm growing in canna coco, with all canna products following the chart online. MarsHydro 300w LED.
Given the whole tent a good clean, and the area around it. I have not used bleach yet- should I?
As all my seeds were germinated, and there hasn't been any other grower near them, so hopefully its not the 'borg'.
What would you do whilst waiting? I have some AN Rhino Skin ready to go, that might help a bit.
There is little to no damage done to the young plants , a tiny bit of discolouration on 1 leaf , so I hope I have caught it early. I've never had pests before, what a bitch!
Thanks for reading, any advice welcome.
P.s- I do have a cat and dog- i wonder if they caused them..., the grow area takes in air (filtered by ladies pop-socks which work well, a sm wouldn't get thru the fine mesh) My out -fan has gone from 10% power to 80% to keep the air cooler and more movement. I have a 6" fan blowing right on the girls also, It had been up higher previously. Even went out with a pill bottle searching the hedges for lady-birds (bugs) but no joy and I felt like a nut job doing it too
P.s.s.- I have some budgie sand, I was thinking of putting a layer of this on top of the coco- but don't wanna mess things up either. Any tips gracefully received, cheers. Also i increased my temps from an avg of 24c up to 26/ 28 c in the past few days and this could also have an influence i reckon.

 

[Waira]

Hi GG'-- Hmmm, taking you literally, you saw a single mite, or a small patch of them? I want to confirm it was mite(s),... they are very small, less than 0.4mm, nearly translucent, and really difficult to see,... have you looked up a pic of one? Color may vary, but this is typical-->

.... did you find it on the upper side, or underside of the leaf? Mite's stay under, until the infestation becomes more massive, but well before then it's obvious by the damage they cause-->

... mass feeding creates a super finely stippled, silvery looking surface appearance->

>>>> if it was larger, and had an elongate body, (color alos varies) it likely was a thrip, which would make more sense given the isolation of your plants (thrips can fly)-->

------ typical damage is patchy, and usually on the upper surfaces more than below-->

...
...note the black specks- turds- on older infestations->

>> I looked PV+ up, and it's fierce stuff,... contact killer, plus systemic... I don't know what the active ingrd. are- Contains thiamethoxam (0.1 gram/litre) and abamectin (0.015 gram/litre) ... but anything systemic means it's in the tissues itself, so don't use it on budding plants is my recommendation,... They are lots of safer pesticides that work well for both; a common 1-2 punch is with Azamax and a product with spinosad in it (check out labels for it), alternating treatments,... Now that said, pending your response, your infestation sounds small, so the more drastic measure probably aren't necessary,... you did right by tent cleaning, and dropping the T, upping RH, as mites love hot and dry,... Thrips don't really care as much, but a stressed pant (not that your are) literally stands out to them, becoming favored targets! Get me a pic of the leaf damage, that will likely be the tell,...

 

[growgrrl75]

Hi , thanks for your reply. Yes, they are tiny, hardly visible to the eye, and I'd only see one or 2 at a time. First a single, could hardly believe it, then one in the underside of another plant. They have a red hue to them.
I used a damp cotton pad with ph.ed ro. water to wipe the leaves gently, and caught a few of the little specky buggers that way a while ago.
I was trying to take pics earlier, but got distracted, ill stick one or 2 up now. Cheers bro.

 

[growgrrl75]

The damage - limited so far- is mostly on the smaller plant.
I even caught the blighters on me baby TD's with damp cotton.
There is no webbing or anything, but every time I check- well- under leaves etc, i can usually see one. Hopefully 20.5c /68rh will chill them them out.


I know what you are saying about the PV being heavy duty, I've been reading about it just this afternoon. I've read a few posts where it was the final solution and it worked. I'd rather just go nuclear. Had a few issues with me last lot and hate the stress. And that was just Ph, not even bugs.

 

[Fantasy Island]

Good luck brother. I fought those bastards for 3 grows. Treat your house plants as well. And If you have one (you should for checking those trichs) a USB microscope or jeweler's loop and take a close look to make sure you know what bug you are dealing with.

 

[growgrrl75]

I've read horror stories alright. I have a x100 magnifier light from maplins , I'll hunt it out and have a peek. I should have really done this earlier, to know exactly what I was dealing with. No fan of creepy crawlies.
Would any of you consider home-style cures any use till Monday? Nicotine tea, Clean budgie sand on top of coco?
I really can't afford to lose this crop after upgrading to fan controllers and getting a 2nd tent. Never mind the lekky bill *inhales deeply*
Thanks for the input, I will dig out that magnifier thingie, have no houseplants/hanging baskets but funnily enough was just going to get into that in case the relatives call unexpectedly and notice any gardening equip.

 

[Waira]

Gaahhh!! no nicotine tea, it's not worth the risk of getting tobacco mosaic virus!...(.be back shortly,...)

 

[Fantasy Island]

I used azamax rotated with capatin jacks dead bug. both are organic. Besides that do what Waria says he knows his shit.

 

[growgrrl75]

Thanks guys, I have till sunday to change the online order on my account with the shop so maybe I will go with the azamax/ spinosaid approach instead of the PV. Unsure if need canna cure now at all, but i guess it could be handy to have around.
One thing hydro-shop guy did tell me that i didn't understand at the time was that it was the old type PV- 'the good stuff' , which is now off the market apparently- there is 'pro' and plus , haha, madzers-i'm guessing its worse?
Never did bother with the nicotine tea. Even the thought of it... yuk. Or feeding e-cig liquid... wtf do people be thinking ?
Thanks for the sensible advice Waira and everyone else. I'm a bit of a solo stealth grower so I find this forum invaluable. All me friends into more feminine pursuits."Ah yeh, your new jacket/hair/cat is lovely, wanna see me new air pots?".
Also the spider mites seem to be 'gone' now with the temps low the past 12 hours.- yeh, I know, they're hiding, waiting for the heat. This is my 3-4th grow so i'm still a newb. Have High Hopes for the think differents, one is in a very small pot and had hoped o put her into her finishing pot today, but I'll hopefully sort these F- worders first. I swear I think they know I'm onto them and hide on my approach.

 

[Waira]

GG-- great idea mate, the wipe down! I do that on other plants too, when eggs are attached, as well as larvae and adults, allowing you to catch, remove and confirm the vermins!... use a 50/50 alcohol soln. to moisten the pad with- .... thankfully, you seem to have a low level infestation--scattered mites, no webbing, very minimal damage-- Way to catch it early!- ...they can literally explode in population under the right conditions .... dug further into the PV; I see a EU ban on it due to toxicity to bees (might be what the shop guy was referring to),... thiamethoxam is a so called neonicotinoid, and the abamectin is bacterial derived neurotoxin, just like spinosad is- So, when in veg, I think this will be okay, but because the neonic' is systemic, I still say don't use it on blooming/near blooming plants,... *ah--new post just now!*--- okay, the combo Azamax and spinosad product (Capt'n Jack's is one of them) will cover you very well for nearly anything, at all stages of life,... I know the Aza' is spendy, but it goes a long way, so buy small if you like,... There are conc. spinosad products to (Monterey brand; not sure about over the pond though), but some research likely will turn up an equivalent! I like the the low residuals spinosad leaves behind (it organic/food safe, BTW, like the Aza' is) ... Oh!-- Also, be sure to get a water spreader/wetting agent as well(several choices out there; Coco Wet is popular)... this stuff is a neutral surfactant, like a mild detergent; it takes the surface tension out of the soln. you're spraying, so it coats and sticks far better (vs beading up), cutting through the natural water repellancy bugs have,... and any sort of foliar feeding, deficiency treatments, or even rehydrating dry stubborn soil/media, it improves performance-- in the former case case, the more surface area covered, the more absorbed --- (spray pot sides too, just to be safe!)

I'm a bit of a solo stealth grower so I find this forum invaluable. All me friends into more feminine pursuits."Ah yeh, your new jacket/hair/cat is lovely, wanna see me new air pots?".

Cheers to that GG! -- this place is still a sausage fest', for some unfathomable reason! We have some lady growers, others are under "alternative" names, but i total, they are a small minority,... silly, as our Lady-in-Chief, Aunty Mossy, the Bossette, is one of the original auto breeders from way back! Look into Dragons, her creations, which were then bred and diversified by several fine folks,... some are still out there, plus new crosses... I'm not sure, because of your newness, if access to the Dragon Meds Section is open to you.. check it out!
-- thrips are evasive just like that-- I've seen them scurry for cover before when I'm scoping for them!

....