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.... Controlling Mites/Aphids ....
No matter how clean you keep your grow room, you will at some stage get mites/aphids on your plants!
Hopefully this quick guide will help you control the bugs safely.
How do bugs get on the plant in the first place? - The eggs can be in the soil you use... you can inadvertently carry the bugs in on your clothes, hands, shoes etc after being in the garden... other houseplants bought from garden centres are often crawling with them... or even your old dog could carry them in... Suffice to say that there are several ways for bugs to get into your home and find their way to your grow room!
There are two main bugs that invade our grow rooms, the first and most common is the Spider Mite...
Spider Mites are often red but in my experience can be anything from dark yellow right through to black, to the human eye they appear like specks of dust often living on the under-side of leaves and If left untreated they will lay hundreds of tiny eggs and within weeks a few spider mites can become 1000's!
The photo below shows a severe case of spider mite on the under-side of a leaf.
The first sign of Spider Mites are usually tiny white/yellow specks on the leaves where the mites have been sucking/chewing, as shown here.....
Spider mites literally suck the life out of a plant, a severe infestation can make a plant wilt, grow poorly, and generally look terrible! - Smoking buds covered in Spider Mites doesn't do your health any favours either!
Controlling Mites...
Controlling the mites on your plants is actually quite straight forward and there are a few options... your nearest garden centre will stock a whole range of products and bug guns that will reduce the amount of mites on your plants, it will stop them reproducing and will kill the eggs (to some degree), but make sure you read the label on the product CAREFULLY!.... The product MUST state that it is safe to use on fruit and vegetables! Some of the safer ones state 'Spray Today, Eat Tomorrow'... if you must use a bug gun then go for these!
Neem Oil is another good product and will control the mites well, it is regarded as 'safer' than bug guns, but again read the label and follow the guide carefully.
My own personal method of controlling Spider Mites is a spray gun filled with water, 1/4 tea-spoon of washing powder, a drop of washing up liquid and a sponge... I literally bathe the under-side of every leaf VERY gently which removes most if not all of the mites/eggs. I do this once a fortnight and have very few Mite problems!
Apart from the methods above, there are allsorts of weird and wonderful concoctions that people say help to control Mites...mashed up old tobacco and garlic is one that i read a lot... but having never tried it (nor ever wanted to), i can't comment on it. - Googling will bring up many more no doubt.
Unfortunately, Spider Mites are very resilient and are almost impossible to eradicate completely, the only way to get rid of a plague of Spider Mites is to do away with your crop (after harvest prefered) and completely sterilise the entire room, including pots, all gadgets/fans/ducting etc before starting again. Diluted bleach or one of the many anti-bacterial products available in supermarkets will do the job.
Aphids...
Aphids can be an even bigger problem! - A 'family' of Aphids living in your grow room for just a week or two can virtually kill or seriously damage your entire crop!
As with Mites, Aphids come in all colours... some are almost clear and difficult to spot, others are green or orange and some can be black and resemble 'ants'.
The first sign of Aphids is usually leaf damage, sometimes holes appear in the leaves, the edges look 'chewed' or the leaves start to 'deform', the plant again wilts and the growth is seriously affected.
Below is a pepper plant with the first signs of Aphid infestation...note the deformed growth...
Aphids do a lot more damage than Spider Mites, but thankfully are easier to control and eradicate using the same methods above... One good 'spray' should kill most if not all of the Aphids on your plants.
Remember.... ALWAYS spray or wash down the plants when the lights are OFF and don't put the plants back under the light's until the leaves are completely dry, else you will burn the leaves! - And ALWAYS follow the directions on the pesticide bottles... your health is at risk if you don't!
Hopefully the info here will help a few of you when the dreaded Mites appear!
Peace.
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