The Hip

ive had my plants in veg or about 2 months from seed, i want to start buddding but the mites keep coming back! Ive sprayed for mites prob 3 times now and they seem to keep coming back!
i had the mites from my last grow i bleached the rooms floor nice and clean several times as well... and sprayed the avid all over the room as well..the mites go away for just alittle while and come back, how long does it take for a mites damage to shop up on a leaf, is it a really small red dot first?
also the grow shop said i could use a bomb when my room is done and empty..

any suggestions on how to win the war?

buzzmobile

Spraying Avid around the room is a useless waste of an expensive product. Spider mites do not live on walls, floors or ceilings. Direct the Avid spray to the undersides of your plants' leaves and be sure to thoroughly moisten the entire leaf. A quick spray over the leaves is not an effective control measure. Complete coverage of the plants' surfaces is a necessity.

Spider mite damage first appears to me as minute spots that seem to look like tiny "sparkles" on the leaf surface. The "sparkles" eventually grow into the yellow stipples that indicate the beginnings of an infestation. Make a habit of carefully inspecting the undersides of plant leaves. Pay attention to the intermediate growth just below the tops of your plants. Turn leaves over and inspect for tiny specks. Have a magnifying glass handy to confirm the identity of any "specks" that you may discover.

Another method of scouting for spider mites is to use a clean white sheet of paper. With the paper in hand and below the branches of your plants, give the branches a vigorous shake over the paper. Spider mites that are ganging up on your plants will fall to the surface of the paper. Again look for tiny specks and have a magnifying glass ready to inspect more closely.

NEVER spray Avid if there are no mites present. Not only is it expensive to spray but spraying preventatively and indiscriminately can contribute to pesticide resistance in mites. We are all going to be in deep trouble when spider mites develop a resistance to Avid. It is a matter of when and not if. Let's see if we can delay that day.



Edit: This thread is going to the Nursery.

The Hip

so i dont have to worry about any eggs or mites laying around my room? besides on my plants...
thanks what is a good strength magnafying glass to see them i have like a 6X and another really small one that can see the adults but barly the smaller ones...well b4 that is they seem like the might just be gone for now

buzzmobile

A 6x loupe should be enough to spot mites especially if you are using the white piece of paper method of scouting.. 30x is better for identifying. Vacuum your room thoroughly but save your spraying for the plants. Be sure to take the vacuum cleaner well away from the drow room when emptying it. Mites can be controlled relatively easily if they are spotted early in the infestation. They are more susceptible to miticides when they are young, population is fewer, and eggs are not as numerous. Inspect your plants thoroughly at least once a week.