How to Handle Spider Mites In Your Cannabis Grow

One of the worst enemies of most Cannabis growers is those tiny but vicious spider mites. They might be small, but they can eradicate your weed garden within weeks. So, handling this kind of pest is essential to keep the cannabis plants fresh and healthy. You can do this by knowing more about spider mites and how to handle spider mites through this article.

What Are Spider Mites And Why Are They Dangerous?

Spider mites are common pests that mostly invade cannabis plants. They are usually less than 1 millimeter in size, relatively small, right? But when their population starts growing, your plants will be destroyed in no time. You’ll see small bites on the leaves, removing the vital substance of the plant to live.

Usually, spider mites can reproduce rapidly enough to spread millions of tiny mites in just a month. Its eggs hatching time is 2 to four days, making hundreds of mature mites reproduce more eggs. So, the point is, spider mites can destroy your weeds plants if you don’t notice the infestation early and take action to get rid of them.

Moreover, you should get rid of them on your first attempt because they usually develop resistance to the method you use. For example, if you sprayed insect killers on your first attempt and did not kill most of them, they will be immune to that insect killer spray once they return.

So, handling these spider mites requires long term solution to avoid them from returning.

How To Know If Your Plants Are Infested By Spider Mites

Identifying if your weeds are infested by spider mites is the crucial part since it’s hard to notice this kind of infestation. Usually, it can be challenging to spot them on the leaves through naked eyes because of their small size. So, here are some of the ways you can identify these spider mites as early as possible.

One of the best ways to identify spider mite infestation earlier is to do a regular leaf infection. It will help you find unusual things on your weeds to start suspecting for infestation. Always check for both sides of the leaves. If possible, use a magnifying lens to spot the spider mites or their webs.

You should also check for tiny white spots on the leaves, which are usually the bite marks of the spider mites. In addition, you’ll also notice that the leaves with those specks are starting to wither. When you see signs like these, it’s your cue to suspect spider mites’ infestation and look for the best solution.

How To Get Rid of Spider Mites On Your Cannabis Plants

Once you identify the infestation, it will be easier to get rid of them by using some of these effective methods:

Natural Alternatives

Some pesticides can be harmful to your cannabis, making natural alternatives the first option to try in eradicating the spider mites. You can try introducing other insects predators of spider mites on your gardens like ladybugs or lacewings.

Although this method is most effective when the population of spider mites is still low. Moreover, you need to note that these predator insects might leave once the first batch of spider mites are gone. So, you might need to buy more ladybugs to eradicate the next generation of the pest.

Another alternative to handle the infestation early on is through using a handheld vacuum cleaner. You can vacuum all the leaves of your plants carefully on both sides to ensure a better result.

Although this method can be time-consuming, especially if you have a bigger garden and lots of plants. However, using a vacuum is advantageous to totally get rid of spider mites even their next generations.

Insecticides

If the natural alternatives did not work, you could try making or buying insect killer spray. You can make your homemade spray using the ingredients that you can find at home.

For example, you can mix a small amount of bleach and water, pepper spray solution, or other mixture. For a better result, spray the solution at night when the temperature has cool down.

Insect sprays are also available commercially. So, if you don’t have time to make homemade sprays, you can opt to buy them online or at your local agricultural store.

However, in using sprays, cover all the areas of the plants as thoroughly as possible to prevent the spider mites from becoming resistant.

Neem oil is an all natural repellant that can work wonders if used before things get out of control, and it won’t bother your plants very much at all. You can get Neem Oil here.

Conclusion

Spider mites are really the worst to handle as they can harm your cannabis plants severely. They might look tiny and harmless, but it’s the most dangerous pests when they start growing. So, handling the spider mites as early as you noticed the signs is essential to protect your plants from devastation.

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