Pyrethrin and Neem during flower... how late in?

Pyrethrins and Neem oil... how late can you apply them.

I've heard that you must stop neem oil at the 3rd week of flowering. So, I'm guessing as soon as you start getting buds/calyxes you should not spray? I had pistils in day 1-2 of flowering on many plants, they are just starting week 3 and I see alot of pistils, but not any calyxes and buds forming yet... soon I'm sure!

Can you still spray neem on the lower fan leaves of the plant throughout flowering? That seems to be where spider mites start anyway. I still might be a little leary that I'd inadvertently spray the buds.

Now pyrethrins... how late can you go on those? On the FF Don't Bug Me spray (which is pyrethrins) it says you can basically spray right up until harvest. I know these breakdown pretty quick. Could you spray these up until like 1-2 weeks before harvest? Would it affect bud quality if it got on buds a couple weeks from harvest?

Well I wouldn't use pyrethrins at any time if it was something going in my body. UGH.

Neem, about 2 weeks. Bottom side of leaves. Tastes icky but not harmful.

PREVENTION is the best.

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Originally Posted by WashougalWonder

Well I wouldn't use pyrethrins at any time if it was something going in my body. UGH.

Neem, about 2 weeks. Bottom side of leaves. Tastes icky but not harmful.

PREVENTION is the best.

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Thanks. Yep, that's all I'm doing.

I've already had the No Pest Strip in, giving them one last neem and I hit 'em right on day 14 of flower... that'll probably be the last!!

I think now I might just fill the room with ladybugs.... although I've heard they pretty much suck if you don't have spider mite population around...

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Originally Posted by lampost

Thanks. Yep, that's all I'm doing.

I've already had the No Pest Strip in, giving them one last neem and I hit 'em right on day 14 of flower... that'll probably be the last!!

I think now I might just fill the room with ladybugs.... although I've heard they pretty much suck if you don't have spider mite population around...

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Not having bugs to start helps. Cleanliness. I have advised on the sticky fly traps at the intakes.

I picked up spider mites on the clones I got unfortunately! My main goal in obtaining clones was to get pest-free clones and I failed miserably.

Nonetheless, I saw the white spots 2-3 days after I got them. I never even saw a full-grown spider mite. I saw one larvae and a few eggs. So, I trimmed the infected leaves and began a pyrethrin/neem regimen. I never saw another indication of them over the last 6 weeks. Then I switched to flower and put the NPS in. It was in for a week. Seemed to get rid of the boxelders and spiders. Gnats were gone, but back the day after the NPS was removed.

Yesterday, I saw 1 egg on a large fan leaf that had some spotting on top. I suppose it could be from before the No Pest Strip was applied... I sure as hell hope it is. It was just one egg, so that seems kinda odd.

Right now prevention is the name of the game. I'm trying to decide whether to get ladybugs or not. Sounds like they're pretty worthless unless you have an actual spider mite infestation. I think I'll go without them and fall back on the No Pest Strip again if they rear their heads again.

Well, lets try this approach and see if you understand my intentions.

About 3 years ago, I had a very bad infestation. So bad in fact that the entire top of one plant became an infested web .... overnight. As I have stated in other posts, the mites are an environmental natural phenomenon, and they are most prolific in temps 70-80 or so....at least here.

So, that is a bad infestation. All my plants were effected, flower and veg rooms. But only the one plant was horrific. Needless to say, that one plant was killed. Everything else got removed from the room, (which is in the garage, so it kinda is a 'loose' area, over completely indoors). I used a couple bug bomb things. Then I washed all the walls and floor with a bleach containing mixture. Each plant was heavily sprayed with Neem on the bottom of the leaves, around the stalk, and the top of the soil. The smaller plants got dipped in a Neem solution. The intakes, cracks, corners, etc., were sprayed with Sevin.

During the course of the next 2 weeks, I was able to hold off on harvesting until the mites were all gone.

Now, I just use Sevin monthly in the winter and weekly in the summer at the openings to the room, around the floor, all the corners and cracks. Again I cannot impress enough that cleanliness also has a significant importance on this. Last summer was the worst I have seen the mites here since I moved here, killing neighbors shrubs even, but I did not have any issues.

If you don't get them all, you will always have them. Remember, pyrethrins kill the adults, Neem kills the new babies and stops the process.

^So did the neem affect the taste much or did you sponge it on or something?

I love neem. It really works well. I wish I could spray it all the way through flower. Shit, I've got the time now, I may end up sponging it on anyway.

I think that they're gone though. That one egg I saw was probably one that just never washed off. Hopefully it wasn't viable after neem and No Pest Strip attacks. It didn't look viable. Kinda jagged on one edge. I read in another thread that a guy could actually see tiny dead mite larvae carcasses trying to crawl out of an egg but apparently immediately dying from the NPS vapors!

I spray neem oil weekly in veg and flower, until 2-3 weeks before harvest in the latter. I got this recommendation from Soma's book, although he recommends every three days, but I have a life and never see any sign of mites on the weekly schedule. I've never had any complaints about taste, in fact just the opposite.

Thanks Senor... the taste was what I was concerned about with neem. Looks like I'll spray a couple more times. And maybe sponge if I have the time......

I've also never seen the mites return when on a weekly neem schedule!