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 phychotron
Medicated
Registered: 02/17/11
Posts: 1,995
Loc: Earth (mostly) 
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 Using Limonene to address Spider Mites 
#808803 - 03/26/16 06:00 PM (8 years, 8 months ago) |
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I've been in a shared garden since I moved to my new apartment. I told him multiple times that's how you get spider mites--getting clones from dispensaries. He didn't listen, wanted the huge variety they had to offer.
Basically he was spraying the plants with Malathon, a nasty smelling pesticide I don't want anywhere near the plants. We also hit them with spinosad and neem a few times. It cut their numbers down but never fully eradicated them. So I started looking for fully organic solutions for late in flower where the plants were approaching. I looked around in the hydro store and noticed that most are using some sort of essential oil, like Rosemary, Peppermint, Citronella, etc.
As he was explaining at the store, they use a different method of action against the mites. Traditional pesticides like Malathon effect the nervous system by flooding the gap between nerves with their chemical and it prevents the signal from reaching its destination--basically it paralyzes them via the nervous system, and they die from not being able to move. Essential oils on the other hand kill them on contact. I'm a little unsure of the science behind it but he was saying that it destroys the shell of the insects, and it gets in their mouth they choke and die.
The spider mites that have plagued cannabis have become especially resistant to those pesticides over the years of battle.
One product that stood out was Orange Guard, active ingredient Limonene. Which I happened to have a bottle of in my cupboard. I know Limonene is not water soluble so I had some food grade emulsifying wax and decided to mix my own up.
My mix was about 5% Limonene, ~.25g potassium silica (powder) and a bit of the emulsifier wax.Silica was added because the bottle of Neem Oil from Dyna-gro recommends using silica or dish soap as an emulsifier).
Well, the first time I eyed about an even amount of the emulsifier and it was way too much. Some of the plants in flower got a little (slight bit) burned. They were also sprayed when the lights were just coming on because my partner didn't want to have to do it before he went to work the next morning. That's just one of the sucky parts of growing at someone else's house and its an hour away.
There were 2 plants in late flower that were hit really hard and the colas were webbing over pretty bad. So we sprayed the colas pretty hard and got pretty much all the leaves we could. Its a 4x4 flood tray and only accessible from one side. The one in the very back next to the wall had one side of a main cola that we couldn't get to.
Basically the results were amazing, it got nearly all the living mites, and the only moving mites that I saw a week later were on that one back cola I knew was going to be a problem.
I also hit the clones in veg, as they were starting to show there too. Then I dipped them all in Neem afterward. I cleaned the entire veg tent and sprinkled diatomaceous earth around the tent floor and dusted the plants when they were dry. One week later and no signs of bug life. I washed them again this week with a similar solution but with much less emulsifier.
Has anyone else used Limonene before? Its a terpene that is already naturally in cannabis and people are making LHO (Limonene hash oil) with frozen-fresh buds. I like the idea that it's already in the plant, but also evaporates relatively fast otherwise. I was considering spraying buds in Limonene or storing them with a soaked rag as a way to add flavor, but the stuff doesn't stick around very long.
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Any help given is for educational purposes only. Its your responsibility not to break any applicable laws
 Bamboo Bongs I make | Perfect Dry and Cure | Grapegod under LED
“Human beings, vegetables, or cosmic dust, we all dance to a mysterious tune intoned in the distance by an invisible player.” ~ Albert Einstein
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 Grit
Registered: 01/28/16
Posts: 146
Last seen: 7 years, 9 months
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Re: Using Limonene to address Spider Mites [Re: phychotron]
#808812 - 03/27/16 05:00 AM (8 years, 8 months ago) |
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Damn that sucks! I fucking hate dealing with pests. I've never partnered up with anyone before, and I never will just for the reason you described.
I've never heard of or used limonene to deal with mites. I'm glad it worked and you're telling us about it though, it's always good to have more knowledge and methods to control and destroy bugs. Very much appreciate your finding. Hopefully you're buddy will listen to you from now on.
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Chakanooga
Always Lmao
Registered: 12/16/15 
Posts: 393
Loc: Wonderland
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Re: Using Limonene to address Spider Mites [Re: Grit]
#808852 - 03/27/16 05:32 PM (8 years, 8 months ago) |
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Yeah, I would want my plants as natural as possible.
Was he wanting for his personal stash or sell? cuz thats a wicked method.
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phychotron
Medicated
Registered: 02/17/11
Posts: 1,995
Loc: Earth (mostly)
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Re: Using Limonene to address Spider Mites [Re: Chakanooga]
#808907 - 03/28/16 07:15 AM (8 years, 8 months ago) |
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round 2 on the limonene turned out to be too much on the small veg plants. Abut 30% of them took some sort of damage, whereas the others show no signs. The Hawaiian-Big-Bud looks like it might not make it. I forgot to wash the plants off after I sprayed them like I had planned on doing.
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Any help given is for educational purposes only. Its your responsibility not to break any applicable laws
Bamboo Bongs I make | Perfect Dry and Cure | Grapegod under LED
“Human beings, vegetables, or cosmic dust, we all dance to a mysterious tune intoned in the distance by an invisible player.” ~ Albert Einstein
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