Killing, the friendly way
Bugs, natures scavenger smoker! I have heard of infestations so bad, people have come to their crop to find fully grown aphids in the middle of rolling a fat one off the fresh plant! This always needs to be nipped int the bud.... ( no pun intended) straight away, and preferably in veg, as you don't want anything but resin and THC in your buds! A major problem I, and a lot of other growers find, is most pesticides are made for fruits, and veg, that are to be eaten, and though it's claimed they are "safe" you can never really be sure what is going into these chemical based pesticides. Considering most of us are going to smoke our buds, we have no idea what effect it is going to have on us, as these pesticides say they're safe for food, not smoke, so they are to be avoided and must only be used as a last resort.
There are many ways off getting rid, and keeping rid, of bugs before you have to use poisons that can be harmful to you, your plants, and the environment. Here are a few recipes that can be used instead of the chemical based products, they are organic, and natural, and easy to make yourself, at home. I really encourage using these as treatment before going down the chemical route. Bugs are stronger now then ever before! Darwins fault for discovering evolution
lol, so sometimes you may have to go the chemical route, because bugs are becoming resistant to all these kinds of remedies, and chemical based remedies too. So along with any treatment, you want to clean your grow space and pots and equipment before starting a treatment, and when a treatment is over. Make sure any intake is not pulling from directly outside, and if it is, make sure it has some kind of cover over it to prevent bugs get sucked in, stockings or nylon tights work great for that. And, of course, always, always, shower and wear clean clothes before doing any plant work, especially if you've been out doors. Prevention is better than cure!
Capsaicin/ Pepper Spray
Now this is the spicy shit in food, curries are spicy because of capsaicin, we can handle it to some extend, and enjoy spicy food..... on the way in, but bugs don't like living with it in their eyes, and face, so it is a good pesticides to kill off most bugs. You can use pretty much any peppers you like, the spicier the better, see what is available in the local super market. Don't handle this stuff and then touch your face at all, especially your eyes, you'll be crying for hours. It might be an organic pesticide, but it should still be treated with caution.
Along with the spice of the capsaicin from the peppers you've chosen to kill them, you want to make sure they don't like the smell of the place, using onion or garlic in this mix is going to help the bugs move out. They wont want to live with that stink... but maybe you wont either.
Recipe:
250g Chosen peppers
250g Onion or Garlic
1l of warm water
If you have a blender that would be great, if not, just chop the peppers and onion/ garlic as fine as you can an put them in a jar big enough to hold the one litre of warm water.
Cut all that myself just for this pic..... cut it from google images lol
After doing this, leave it to sit in a warm place for 24 hours so all the juices can get a good mix up. After that 24 hours period, strain or filter all the big bits out, stick the water in a spray bottle and you're good to go. Just remember you've essentially got some form of pepper spray there, turn your fans off before misting your plant so it doesn't blow back into your eyes, or even better, get some googles out.
Spray your plant every day for three days and the bugs should have all either died, or ran off. If you suspect you have broad mites though, spray once a day, every other day for five days ( 3 treatments).
Castile Soap Spray
You can find brands of castile soap with no addatives or fragrances so they are perfect for the job. They will have an effect on all the soft bodied insect like aphids and mites. Its real easy to mix too, just mix a table sppon of it into a litre of water, and put it in your spray bottle. You can even add a drop of neem oil, a bit off pepper, or orange peel, or just use it on its own.
1 tsp Castile Soap
1L of warm water
stir them, and spray your plants, and repeat as necessary.
Epsom Salts
Not only are Epsom salts a good deterrent for pests but it also serves as great source of magnesium for the plants. Mix a 1 tsp per litre, and spray all over your plants. You can also sprinkle some on top of the medium around the base of the plant, once a fortnight to help deter pests. This will also increase nutrient uptake as the magnesium helps with the absorption of NPK.
1tsp of Espom Salts
1l Warm Water
If you are unlucky enough to find bugs whilst flowers have fully formed, you might want to consider alternative methods of getting rid of them. Those these will be far better than synthetic products for your plant, they will still have an effect on the smoke quality. If you're in flower, consider some predatory bugs to do the job for you.
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