How to Get Rid of Red Spider Mites – Red spider mites are one of the most common insect infestations when it comes to growing cannabis. Although they look like spiders, they’re actually mites (Tetranychus Urticae) that spin webs around your plants. This type of mite tends to appear on plants in dry environments, disappearing once the cold arrives. These mites are especially dangerous when growing cannabis indoors.
These annoying pests lay eggs all over your plants’ leaves and it feeds off of their cells. One simple mite doesn’t look like it can do much, but they are incredibly fast at reproducing. A red spider mite infestation can cause irreparable damage to your cannabis plants. They usually start with the weakest plant in the group; causing almost imperceptible damage and moving to the next plant.
If your cannabis plants have become infested with spider mites, you’re going to need to work hard to get rid of them and keep control of your plants. However, outdoors there are other insects that actually feed on mites; and they are useful to keep them at bay while also keeping your plants healthy.
If you don’t keep careful control over the infestation it may never leave your growing area. Make sure to follow the instructions. If you miss any doses or don’t pay attention to the guidelines, you may end up creating accidental immunity in the mites. Then, you’ll be stuck with them for quite a while.
Preventing Spider Mites
The smart thing to do is to take preventive measures as soon as you can, especially when growing indoors which is where these pests are more likely to set up shop.
We highly recommend using Spider Boom as a natural insecticide during the growth period until your plants begin to flower. You’ll need to dilute 2ml per liter of water, and spray every 10 days. If you’re growing clones, dilute 3ml per liter of water and dip clones for 2 -3 seconds.
This product can also be used in outdoor grows in order to prevent red spider mites.
How to Get Rid of Red Spider Mites
If it’s too late to take any preventive measures and you need to get rid of red spider mites you’ll need to be cautious when it comes to getting rid of them; they reproduce at an amazing rate, especially in warm temperatures. At temperatures over 30°C it can produce an entirely new generation after just a week, whereas at less than 23°C it takes around two weeks. You’ll need to keep this in mind if spraying insecticide.
Spider Boom is one of the best ways to get rid of red spider mites when growing cannabis. It contains extracts from various different types of nettle as well as chia seed, which decreases the mites’ ability to feed and reproduce, which slowly stops the infestation.
Before starting to use insecticide, we recommend using insecticidal soap, which is also known as potassium soap, which is used to remove any possible fungi or bacteria from the plant. Plus, it also helps Spider Boom to stick to the plant for longer. It also helps to soften the exoskeleton of the mites, which allows the insecticide to do its job much faster and fight off the infestation quicker.
As we mentioned before, spraying times will depend on the temperature of your grow room or set up. In order to guarantee maximum efficiency, you’ll need to increase intervals when it’s colder and decrease time between doses when it’s warmer. Here’s a small guide regarding how often you should be spraying depending on the temperature:
- 23°C: apply every 14 days
- 24°C: apply every 13 days
- 25°C: apply every 12 days
- 26°C: apply every 11 days
- 27°C: apply every 10 days
- 28°C: apply every 9 days
- 29°C: apply every 8 days
- 30°C: apply every 7 days
When spraying, make sure to also moisten underneath all of the leaves and on top of them; if you see spider webs, make sure to remove them all as the mites sometimes hide in them,
Make sure not to use the same product more than 4 times in a row; mites can actually develop immunity over time. We recommend switching it up if the infestation is persistent.
In order to avoid any nasty flavors or aromas in your flowers, make sure to stop spraying 15 days before harvesting. We recommend spraying during the growth period and until the second flowering week, once the buds start to appear. Once your plant is advanced enough, mites shouldn’t have time to expand enough before harvesting.
If you’re having an issue with mother plants that are in constant veg phase, the best way to deal with infestations is by using a sulfur burner. This will protect your plants from insects and well as fungi.
Other Ways to Get Rid of Red Spider Mites
Like with any other insect, red spider mites also have natural predators, known as Californicus mites. These mites feed on red spider mite eggs and young larva. This might not be as affordable as the other options; it’s definitely the safest and most environmentally-friendly way to get rid of them. Sometimes, if your entire grow has been infected but you want to preserve strains in a mother plant room, all you can do is sacrifice some plants for the greater good of the genetics.
If all of your cannabis plants already have red spider mites but you want to save a mother, sometimes the smartest thing to do is pick your preferred mother plant and take a clone. Remove any remaining mother plants from the room, old pots and anything that was used during the infestation. Disinfect and sterilize everything using anti-fungi and anti-mite products.
Keep in mind how extremely important is to prevent infestations such as these; if you already have one, make sure to use the right products at the right times. If the infestation is too large and you can’t get rid of it, remove any large plants (where most of the insects are), leaving one of each, and repeat the insecticide process.
