Using spinosad during flower?

[JustBlowingSmoke]

I am at the early stage of a spidermites infestation. I was told I can use Spinosad during flower. I was wondering if anyone can offer me any advice before I go about using this. Is it as simple as just spray plant and try to avoid spraying buds best as possible?

 

[sL3xx]

Yes, and the earlier in flowering the better. I wouldn't spray past 2 or 3 weeks into flowering. Youll need to spray every single leaf, top and bottom. Do not apply in sun. Wait until right before 'lights out'

You'll need to reapply 5 days later, since spinosad needs to be ingested by the bugs, and therefore won't affect the eggs. So another generation will be born after the first spraying. Repeat this another 5 days later for a third spray. Hopefully by then you should have taken care of your problem.

If your nugs have webbing, it may already be too late.

 

[JustBlowingSmoke]

I have no webbing just a few affected leaves of one plant. I'll use the Spinosad like you said and see how things go. Thanks for the help.

 

[JustBlowingSmoke]

Might sound wierd but if I have leaves close to the buds would wiping the Spinosad on the leaves with a rag work or should I just spray and pray?

 

[sL3xx]

that would work, just make sure the leaves are 100% covered, however you want to apply it.

get yourself a magnifying glass or LED 420scope for like $10 on amazon and stay vigilant. You can beat this, it sounds early enough.

Remove the plants temporarily and clean the entire area with water/bleach solution. Then after this grow, clean EVERYTHING with water/bleach solution . Tent, all equipment, clean the room the tent is in, etc basically clean fucking everything. And trash all your ducting, unless you want to throw it in the oven on 150. WAy too hard to clean. Easier to buy new ducting.

I just went through this recently and I went through the whole process. I took everything out of the room, wiped it all down with bleach diluted water, put the carbon scrubber in the oven on 150 for 30 minutes,bought new ducting, sprayed and wiped down the whole tent, etc. Then I caulked up the ceiling since there was a big gap going all the way around and brought everything in the room piece by piece. The room was sanitized.

I'm on a new grow now and they havent been back, I'm on day 60 now.

They are little bastards and can stay dormant for like 6 months, hidden in cracks of your tent, or walls, etc. Once they find a nice environment they rapidly reproduce, it's insane.

Once they're gone, clean up the surrounding area, don't wear shoes in your grow room, don't even wear clothes that you've worn outside if you want to be sure. Change your outfit before entering. Try not to let people see your plants or tent, no friends etc. And make sure your intake has mite-proof screening on it if it's going outside. And be sure to keep things clean. These steps will help prevent bugs and mites from wrecking havoc again.

 

[EL Marijuano]

that would work, just make sure the leaves are 100% covered, however you want to apply it.

get yourself a magnifying glass or LED 420scope for like $10 on amazon and stay vigilant. You can beat this, it sounds early enough.

Remove the plants temporarily and clean the entire area with water/bleach solution. Then after this grow, clean EVERYTHING with water/bleach solution . Tent, all equipment, clean the room the tent is in, etc basically clean fucking everything. And trash all your ducting, unless you want to throw it in the oven on 150. WAy too hard to clean. Easier to buy new ducting.

I just went through this recently and I went through the whole process. I took everything out of the room, wiped it all down with bleach diluted water, put the carbon scrubber in the oven on 150 for 30 minutes,bought new ducting, sprayed and wiped down the whole tent, etc. Then I caulked up the ceiling since there was a big gap going all the way around and brought everything in the room piece by piece. The room was sanitized.

I'm on a new grow now and they havent been back, I'm on day 60 now.

They are little bastards and can stay dormant for like 6 months, hidden in cracks of your tent, or walls, etc. Once they find a nice environment they rapidly reproduce, it's insane.

Once they're gone, clean up the surrounding area, don't wear shoes in your grow room, don't even wear clothes that you've worn outside if you want to be sure. Change your outfit before entering. Try not to let people see your plants or tent, no friends etc. And make sure your intake has mite-proof screening on it if it's going outside. And be sure to keep things clean. These steps will help prevent bugs and mites from wrecking havoc again.

Im fighting an infestation and some sort of nute burn or deficiency at the moment, i will make sure that from now on i take all precautions.

 

[sL3xx]

I mean it sounds like overkill to some people, but once you've dealt with an infestation you'll start to think otherwise. They can easily hitch a ride on your clothes, or shoes, or even pets, so it's best to keep preventative measures in check, especially during their active seasons outdoors. For me, it's as easy as taking off my jacket and shirt, and putting on some fresh sweatpants, t-shirt and slippers. I also wash my hands thoroughly. I don't tend to a garden outside, or work outside, or deal with tall grass or bushes or anything during my normal day, so I can be slightly lax. If I did, I would shower and put on a full set of new clothes before I went in there. That's the ultimate preventative measure.

Obviously all this means nothing if your tent is like in the middle of a basement or something. You're not gonna be able to successfully keep insects/mites/etc out of the room. In that case you'd have to try to make your tent as sealed up as possible. Taping all duct work going in and out, filters on intake/exhaust, etc.

Everytime I see a random basement or garage grow in the middle of the open, or grow in a dirty room, I can't help but wonder if they've ever met the borg.

Growing outdoors would give me anxiety. From temperature to pests to humidity, too many uncontrollable variables.

 

[JustBlowingSmoke]

Great advice Sl3xx, I will plan to bleach the room down in the next day or so, xmas is today so prob not going to happen today. On another note I did my first spinosad treatment. I sprayed the whole plant down till it was dripping doing my best to not wet the buds. I have the plant drying off by a fan as we speak. I've been wiping any and all bugs and spots off the plant up to this first treatment. I was able to isolate this plant before it spread. Visual inspection with a magnifying glass showed me about a handful of live bugs which I wiped off the plant before spraying. I'm going to do a few more treatments at 4 day intervals. I beleive the way I got the mites was from topping off my soil with soil I had stored in my basement. I topped off my pots and the next day or two later was when the bugs were there. Unfortunately I have a whole bag of unused soil down there that I will prob throw out. I'd rather eradicate this problem and never deal with this again. Sucks to spend all the time we do on a hobby just to have some bugs go and mess everything up. Thanks and Happy Holidays and merry christmas.

 

[sL3xx]

Glad to hear. You'll be happy once their gone. and you'll be armed with even more knowledge to make your next grow that much better. Most growers get them or have gotten them at some point. Stay vigilant and keep us updated. Merry Christmas.

 

[Cpappa27]

Spinosad can be used right up until day of chop with no alter in taste or potency but is suggested that it be used no later than one week before chop for leafy vegetables. The plant actually absorbs the neurotoxin into the leaves and stem to a certain extent so spray it 30 minutes before lights out and then again 1 week later like sl3xx said and use it as a preventative as well. When the bug feeds on the plant and comes in contact with the Spinosad the reaction is it gets excited to the points of exhaustion, stops feeding and then dies 2 to 3 days later. I water with it as well . Good luck bugs suck.

 

[JustBlowingSmoke]

Spinosad can be used right up until day of chop with no alter in taste or potency but is suggested that it be used no later than one week before chop for leafy vegetables. The plant actually absorbs the neurotoxin into the leaves and stem to a certain extent so spray it 30 minutes before lights out and then again 1 week later like sl3xx said and use it as a preventative as well. When the bug feeds on the plant and comes in contact with the Spinosad the reaction is it gets excited to the points of exhaustion, stops feeding and then dies 2 to 3 days later. I water with it as well . Good luck bugs suck.

Thanks buddy, ya I sprayed the soil pretty good to. I'll see how this works out. I'm still in eary flower and I'm happy I caught this before it got out of hand.

 

[JustBlowingSmoke]

So do you guys do any preventative maintenance besides cleanliness?

 

[a senile fungus]

So do you guys do any preventative maintenance besides cleanliness?

Keep it clean. Wash your pots and saucers out with bleach water in between grows. I've been using Spinosad about every 1-2 months as a preventative, alternating with pyrethrin as needed. Quarantine any new clones. I use BT in my soil mix, along with oyster shell flour.

That's the main things...

 

[JustBlowingSmoke]

So I am three treatments in on the Spinosad and so far so good. I also pick any visible mites off before I spray which probably helps. I caught the problem early and acted fast, they never had a chance to make webs and I only saw one live bug before my last spray. I'm gonna do a thorough wash of all my gear after harvest hopefully I won't run into this issue again. Lesson learned.

 

[sL3xx]

Great job bro. It's a tough way to learn a lesson, but proper cleanliness will go a long way, not just with spider mites but all sorts of pests and mold.

Give the room a serious cleanup (like my comment above) after you harvest and you'll be golden for next grow.