Advice With A Few Spider Mite Questions Please

I started getting white spots on 2 auto flower plants I have growing. They have been flowering for about a week.

I checked under the leaves and sure enough, I saw spider mites. There is no webbing or anything and the problem seems low to moderate at this point.

These two plants are in soil and are small, with great access to the bottom of the leaves.

My questions are:

Neem Oil:
Since they are flowering can I just sponge a light coat on the leaves and stems instead of spraying?
(I've read that spraying buds is a horrible idea and based on the oily texture/film, I can see why )

Pest Strips: After buying the neem oil, I searched around a bit more and some suggested in threads I read that insect strips are faster and work better than neem oil?
Is there a specific type or brand that I need or will general purpose flying pest strips work?

Manual removal: This is an option I have considered as I was able to do it. As I mentioned, these are small autoflowers and should be done in 4-5 weeks, they are not thick and bushy. These are tall, lanky, with lots of room. (these were my first autos and they got much less light than the hydro plants I'm focused on, these two affected plants are more or less tests that I wanted to sprout)

Is manual removal a viable method of control for a short period of time? If so, is this typically a daily task?
I realise larvae may not be removed that's why I'm asking.

What happens if I do little or nothing at all?
Since these two plants have low value to me at this time and they have 4-5 weeks left, I considered just manually removing what I could every few days and just let it run it course.
Would I still be able to use the buds after a dry and cure?

Thanks everyone

I read somewhere that you can take 5 full strength ciggarrets and soak them in water over night then boil the mixture the next day for a few minutes then let it cool and spray your plants. IDK the success rate of this, as I just read it somewhere on another site but I guess it works and Its more natural and there isn't oil all over your shit.

Good Luck with whatever you chose my friend

Cpappa27 said:

I read somewhere that you can take 5 full strength ciggarrets and soak them in water over night then boil the mixture the next day for a few minutes then let it cool and spray your plants. IDK the success rate of this, as I just read it somewhere on another site but I guess it works and Its more natural and there isn't oil all over your shit.

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Yeah, I read that too. I forgot to add that in. I wonder if that would jack the buds up though.

Hey Kats & Kids, second post on RIU. I thought I'd chime in on the mite subject because two-spotted spider mites nearly wiped out my last crop; it was a disaster. The little buggers were delivered to me on an Afgooey clone from a friend, and they found a perfect home in my grow room. I've used Safer Insecticidal Soap, Golden Pest Spray Oil, Azamax, Evergreen Pyrethrum and a few more (all OMRI listed) without success...until now.
I kept reading that Spinosad (spin-OH-sid) had no effect on mites, but I can assure you that is completely wrong...I don't have a single mite in my grow room now thanks to Captain Jack's Dead Bug spray. I bought a quart of concentrate at the local nursery and mixed it according to the instructions, then used a tank sprayer to wet the leaves top & bottom. The day after the first spraying I couldn't find a living mite. A week later there were a few to be seen so I sprayed again, top and bottom (critical). A week later I found one living mite out of the six plants I checked, and sprayed the crop again. Now there are no mites in my grow room (36 plants) and I've still got 3/4 of the concentrate left.
Spinosad is natural and OMRI listed and it leaves no residue behind, unlike the other sprays I tried. You can apply this stuff up to one day before harvest, and the only negative effect I've noticed are some discolored spots on a few leaves from the spray reacting to light.
Admittedly I'm fairly new to indoor growing, but I've dealt with all sorts of pests in our vegetable garden which is nearly an acre in size and on our fruit trees, and I'm convinced that one of the Spinosad products is all that will ever be needed for mites. You can stop worrying now, we've won the war against the Borg!
One last thing: A friend gave me a great idea for spraying indoor crops....a Wagner paint sprayer. He says he gave up tank sprayers long ago because they're so messy. Raise your lights before spraying.

Thanks BigCalyx, I will look into that. Looks affordable and handles thrips, spider mites.

I'm going to get a bottle when I get paid. Thanks for the heads up.

Kontraband said:

Pest Strips: After buying the neem oil, I searched around a bit more and some suggested in threads I read that insect strips are faster and work better than neem oil?
Is there a specific type or brand that I need or will general purpose flying pest strips work?

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I've used HotShot no pest strips and have known many who use these as well. They work great against mites if used properly, these are one of the few things that I found works quickly and effectively to getting rid of all mites. They need still air to work so turn off all exhaust fans when you have these in the room. I'd recommend hanging these up at lights out and turning off your exhaust fans then. They release a gas with Dichlorovos, feel free to educate yourself about this, it's not too good to breathe in directly so don't be in there too long after you hang them up; having said that it is really effective. Store them in a ziplock bag when you're not using them. Do this for a few days to a week and all your mites won't exist anymore .

Link to HotShot no pest strip:
http://www.amazon.com/Hot-Shot-5580-Unscented-Repellent/dp/B0019BK8AG

Dodongo said:

I've used HotShot no pest strips and have known many who use these as well. They work great against mites if used properly, these are one of the few things that I found works quickly and effectively to getting rid of all mites. They need still air to work so turn off all exhaust fans when you have these in the room. I'd recommend hanging these up at lights out and turning off your exhaust fans then. They release a gas with Dichlorovos, feel free to educate yourself about this, it's not too good to breathe in directly so don't be in there too long after you hang them up; having said that it is really effective. Store them in a ziplock bag when you're not using them. Do this for a few days to a week and all your mites won't exist anymore .

Link to HotShot no pest strip:
http://www.amazon.com/Hot-Shot-5580-Unscented-Repellent/dp/B0019BK8AG

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Sorry for the delay. Yeah, they work great. I was reading later after posting and just decided to go get some. I found them at home depot. Things are life savers.
Thanks again

Thought I should revisit this subject with some unwanted news. I still believe that spinosad products like Capt. Jack's work great against mites, but I found out the hard way that you shouldn't drench your buds with it; it turned all the pistils brown and slowed growth in the 5th week. The suggestion that these products can be used up until harvest may be true for vegetables, but don't spray your buds with it!

Other then neem oil or soap you dont want to really spray the plants after week 4 ends as you can have issues. I found neem and insecticidal soaps didnt work for me just kind of made mights made. Doktor Doom works well but after a few grows they can get immune to it. Azamax has been my favorite as it works quick and have yet to see them get immune to it. I have used it up to 3 weeks prior to harvest. You should wash your plants down a week or so before harvest to get any products off just keep real good air movement so you don't get bud rot or powdery molds.

Kontraband said:

I checked under the leaves and sure enough, I saw spider mites.

These two plants are in soil and are small, with great access to the bottom of the leaves.

Thanks everyone

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Don't forget the top of the leaves as mites go there as well.

Milovan said:

Don't forget the top of the leaves as mites go there as well.

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lol this is somthing I do when I am really stoned, next time check the date milovan