How am I getting spider mites in my new indoor grow tent? Where the heck are they coming from. I there are just a few so I ordered some growers ally spray but it won’t be delivered for a week. Can’t wait that long so trying h20 with peppermint oil and liquid soap or hydrogen peroxide and h20.
Can’t figure out how they are getting inside my house and inside a grow tent. Soil?
I had this issue on the last grow with the same bag of fox farm ocean mix.
Most likely they were eggs in the soil. How much and how often do you water? Overly wet soil is what usually brings them out.
It is very easy to kill individual or groups of mites. Almost anything you spray on them seems to work at least ok, but its almost impossible to get them all and if you dont, they will be right back. Its possible you could have them in your walls around your tents or anything.
Well I don’t believe I am over watering, i water every 4-7 days only when the soil is dry. Now these must be coming from the soil. I have a new grow tent in a upstairs bedroom. No other plants have ever been up there.
I took all 6 plants outside and sprayed them down with a water/peppermint oil/dishwashing soap solution. I let them dry and put them back in the tent. I also wiped the inside of the tent with rubbing alcohol.
I am guessing I need to do this again in a couple days?
Yep id recommend even a third time its nearly impossible to get them all. Growers ally makes a spray that is a pretty good preventative. Its full of different terpenes that bugs hate and will help to repel them from your plants and grow area. I periodically spray plants, soil, pots, floor, walls, you name it. Its called spider mite control and it can be found at lowes
So is this just the reality of growing in soil? I’m very new to this so I was surprised to see mites. I had them last time when I was growing outside, that was understandable, but I was a bit surprised s happening with a controlled inside grow.
Is it safe on the plants to use the H20, peppermint, dish soap mixture frequently? Like how often? And can it be used from veg to flower?
I will get the gardeners ally and use that too. I guess I should always spray them for preventative measure?
Thx
I’ve had them before. Sprayed them with just about every recommended product out there. When I looked at them under the scope to see if they were dead, they were laying in hammocks, waving at me with big smiles on their faces. Good luck.
So how do I prevent them? Thought this would be a easy hobby, lol, NOT.
Must have came with that bag of soil unfortunately. If in veg i would use capt jacks neem oil while rotating with the captain jacks dead bug. U should always have some kind of spray as a preventative b4 u get them. With soil there is no guarantees, but ive gotten thrips from ffof. Manage to eradicate them with those two named above.
Products ive had good experience with Captain jacks dead bug, Azamax, Sierra Natural science 217, and neem oil. If you chose neem oil the read up on how to properly emulsify. Lots of people apply improperly and burn their plants up. Works great if used properly though. I have used beneficial insects with great success too.
Make sure you follow up every 3 days for at least 2 treatments to kill any new eggs that hatch.
Well 4 are in veg, 2 are autos that are in flower.
So am wasting my time with the H2O, peppermint, soap?
Was thinking the Gardners Ally could be used seedlings to harvest without harming the plants. I am staying away from neam oil.
So I guess I will spray them every 3 days and pick up some of the other products and just start incorporating preventative spraying into the growing process.
Thanks for the help!
Nope, your not wasting your time with the peppermint spray… i had them my 1st grow ( i brought them in from outside or my dogs) not sure… i used capt. Jacks d bug & alternated with a homemade mix from a fellow grower here, 1/4 c milk 5ml rubbing alcohol, 5or 10 drops dawn dish soap or castle soap peppermint. In a 1 gallon jug. You can use this thru flower. Ive also put them in the shower & use the hand held on them, to wash them away. But thats a pain.lol
Hi @Titan77 my incident happened due to hitchhiking on my clothing I presume. Good luck. Cpt Jacks eliminated my quickly.
You can always get them, even if you dont use soil. Your dish soap mix is ok to use through flowering. I would recommend doing a bud wash at harvest. I like using preventative so i dont have to deal with them as much.
I got thrips from fox farms. Ironically enough fox farms bug off took care of them in an instant.
And so the conspiracy started lol!!
That’s what I’m saying. I had a closet grow going. 2x4x6. All inside. Never had anything from outside in the room. Started out fine. Everything was normal. Checked on them one morning and almost collapsed. Infested. Tried insecticidal soap. Nothing. Neem oil, good for like a day maybe two then wham. Back. Then I went and got that shit and sure enough. Two treatments later never seen again. Hence why I’m trying to get away from soil. I want to try a coco mix. Just don’t know a good coco base. Then I’ll add worm castings, and Gaia greens dry amendments. Sooooo with that being said. I live in the pnw. Almost as far as you can go. Woot woot the Olympics!!! I live in a smallish town with no hydroponics store and don’t really wanna pay out the rearend for shipping on most soils so please anyone pop up with some good coco bases to start with and weather or not I’m on the right mindset for grow number two. @GreenJewels @MidwestGuy @Fieldofdreams @MattyBear @LiesGrows @OGIncognito sorry if I tagged you and you don’t know. You all were just the ones I’ve seen with the most input and have loved all your advice so far. Thanks fellow growmies. Happy growing and stay blessed
Try to do a daily leaf inspection if you can. When they get bigger it gets hard though. If you can notice them before the infestation point then they’re easier to conquer. They do quickly multiply and get outta hand for sure. They can be brought inside many ways. On humans, on pets, a new houseplant, a clone from a friend etc. I wouldn’t let them steer you away from soil but i’m partial to soil. I grow in living soil with lots of little critters like rove beetles, worms, nematodes etc.
Once i got my mite situation under contol, I put ladybugs and predator mites in my tent to make sure they were all gone. Most aren’t willing to do that though 
One little spider mite egg on an underside of a leaf can end up a few thousand mites within days.
I tried hydro, it was fun and you can easily build your own set up, i did. Parts can be obtained without a hydro shop. I am small town myself and have no local grow shops. It was fun, but i like organic living soil for me. Now i grow living soil in a sip container called an earthbox. Look around on here, there are tons of great DIY designs for hydro. Parts can be obtained at most hardware stores. But hydro can get spider mites too. Lots of auto pot growers with soil or coco to look at also. Theres many coco and Jacks nutrients users here to look at. If i were you, I would look around at the different grow methods roo and see what you may like. Lots of good methods if you choose soil too. Theres bagged soils, super soils, living soils. I tried different things until I found what works best and fits my schedule. Good luck, im sure you’ll find a style that fits ya 
Good morning Grow Bro and sorry I’m late! Thrips are a pain in the Azz, I had 4 SDs with thrips and fought a battle that I didn’t win. Jacks Dead bud is the best product I’ve seen to use. Agree with @GreenJewels on a good plant inspection. For coco can you get Amazon delivered where you are? If so they carry a slew of coco bricks that you can reconstitute. Post a pic of the plants and let’s have a look 
Amazon also sells lady bugs and they are bad Azz little assassins and will eat most pest. I generally turn about 20-30 loose in my grow tents in the summer
