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Spider mites right away on first grow! So bummed....
Originally Posted by lampost
OK, so I've armed myself with Pyrethrin spray (Fox Farm No bug spray), NEEM Oil, and 1 Hot Shot No Pest Strip.
So these No Pest Strips seem pretty toxic, but the chemicals shouldnt adhere to the plant, correct? It's obviously a toxic chemical, but it seems like minimal exposure is acceptable. Nonetheless I wouldn't want to be smoking it. How long before harvest should you remove these from the room?
Also, I've heard Neem doesn't kill them it's more of a preventative. So I plan on spraying with the Pyrethrin spray for a couple weeks until I see that they're all dead and then start doing a Neem spray routine as a preventative. Also, depending what I find out on the toxicity of Hot Shots, I'll probably have one of those in the room as well. I think I recall seeing something in google results about No Pest Strips not being absorbed by plants.
I'm going to contact the vendor tomorrow and just try to get a refund, but I'll still have to clean the hell out of the room. I'm guessing they will VERY likely come back if I got new clones anyway. But I may try.
AZAMAX - has anyone tried this? It's a systemic miticide like AVID, however, it's supposedly all natural and not as toxic as AVID. But it has the same effect. The azamax gets in the plants system and when a mite takes a bite it dies (supposedly). It's apparently a concentrated neem oil or something. Man, if this is safe I might give this a shot on new clones. I don't like the idea of a systemic miticide at all really. But if this is natural it seems like it has the potential to be less harmful.
I have read articles that say plants can't absorb the chemicals in the HotShot pest strips but I trust no research. I only use mine early in the grow to make sure the plants are flushed good at the end. If its later in the grow I use straight water or some light neem oil to mist and turn the fans on 24/7