Insecticides and fungicides; how to use them – there are so many insecticides and fungicides available nowadays, and not everyone knows how to use them efficiently without damaging their plants. Some of them are natural and won’t damage your plants, but other products are made from chemicals and you’ll need to take more care when using them on your plants.
In this article we’re going to show you how to use some of the insecticides available on our webpage so that you know which one is right for you; some of them can be used as a preventive measure, and other can be used to completely eliminate the pests.
The most used insecticides for cannabis plants:
Preventive products:
Preventive products tend to be made from natural ingredients that repel insects or help your plant to repel insects of all kinds, as well as avoiding fungi such as oidium and botrytis which are extremely common in cannabis plants. If you use preventive measures correctly then you won’t need to use any chemical insecticides further down the road and your plants will be healthy and danger-free.
Neem Oil is the most used preventive method, used to prevent infestations of all kinds such as red spider mites, white flies, thrips etc. Neem oil comes from a plant that is naturally venomous to insects, and just the smell of it will drive insects away from your plant and towards others. To use neem oil all you have to do is spray it on your plants, especially on the underside of the leaves, at about 2ml per liter of water. If you use this product on your plants every three weeks you can rest easy knowing that they won’t be overcome with insects the next time you go to check on them.
To protect your plants from common fungi such as oidium or botrytis all you have to do is spray some Propolix on your plants, using 2ml per liter of water every three weeks, just like Neem Oil. By doing this, your plants will be practically invincible to fungi for the rest of their life cycle.
Another indispensable preventive measure is Bacillus Thuringiensis, bacteria that will eliminate any caterpillar infestations on your plants. Caterpillars tend to pop up during the summer, so you’ll need to spray this on every three weeks so those nasty worms don’t eat your plants up. You’ll only need to use 1g per liter of water and your crop will be worm free.
These three products need to be used once every three weeks, so you can use one a week and repeat the cycle up until the last two or three weeks of your grow.
Insecticides:
Once your plants have already been infested with insects or fungi, you’re going to need to get a bit more aggressive with the treatment, which can sometimes end up irreparably damaging your plants. Trust us when we say that you need to use as many preventive products as possible to avoid having to use chemicals.
- We sell an extremely efficient multi-purpose insecticide that you can use weekly, spraying 1ml per liter of water. It can be used to get rid of many insects, and it’s mainly used to get rid of white flies and thrips. If you have either of these pests on your plants, you’re going to want to get rid of them as soon as possible. For white flies you won’t need anything else but a good spray, especially underneath the leaves, but for thrips you’re going to need to use a soil insecticide too.
You can use our Acaricide to get rid of mites and red spider mites. You’ll need to use this product properly and at the correct temperatures; at 25º you can spray every week, and at 20º you need to spray every 10 days. You can check out our article on the subject if you want to know how to use this product properly. You should use 0.5ml to 1ml per liter of water – if your plants are super infested then use 1ml per liter of water, and if there’s only a few or you want to simply use it as a preventive measure, use 0.5ml.
You can get an efficient anti-aphid product to use outdoors, as when these pests attack they really do a number on your plants. These insects are quite hardy and difficult to get rid of; they also attract other insects like white flies. With this product you can get rid of them on your cannabis plants and on any other kind of garden plant. You should use 1.5ml per liter of water, spraying your plants exuberantly wherever you see insects.
The oidium and rust fungicide is also extremely helpful for infestations of oidium and rust – propolix isn’t enough to get rid of fungi of this kind when it’s already on your plants. The bad thing about this chemical fungicide is that if you use it on plants in growth or with young flowers it can burn the leaves due to how strong it is – there shouldn’t be any issues with adult plants. You’ll need to use 1ml per liter of water sprayed on your plants every week as a cure and every 3 week as a preventive measure.- Diatomaceous earth is an insecticide used in the soil that is extremely useful for thrip or soil fly infestations, as it will keep absolutely all insects out of the soil. All you have to do is sprinkle it along the top of the flowerpot and you’ll be able to get rid of those annoying pests that can sometimes destroy your entire grow.
Now that you know how to use all of these products, whether they’re organic or chemical, hopefully you can prevent future disasters in your grow. Keep in mind to use these products with extreme caution, as they can ruin your grow and cause your plants to actually be immune.
