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Spider Mites: Cannabis Garden Pests

11/12/2024

Spider Mites: Cannabis Garden Pests

Spider Mites are small, annoying pests that find their way to new areas every year. These mites have been a growing problem for cannabis growers for decades, with their range and resilience increasing every year. These problematic pests can appear and rapidly being reproducing thousands of mites, even as many as a million, in a single month. Unresolved conditions associated with these pests can quickly lead to devastating results in the garden.

Spider mites, like many mite varieties, favor stressed plants and hot, dry conditions. As more climates around the country shift warmer as the years pass, more areas are experiencing these pests when previously, they haven’t been a problem.

Spider Mite Infestation

Signs of Spider Mites

It’s typical to notice damage to plants before seeing these pests on them. Spider Mites feed on the contents of the epidermal cells of the plant. The feeding process removes chlorophyll and causes small white spots to appear on the surface of the leaf. Once real damage has been made, the leaf will not recover nor regain its green color.

Spider Mites received their name based on the webbing they form when infesting garden plants. This is an easy way to help specifically identify these mites. Visually, these mites can appear tan, green, or red and typically have two spots on their backs. These marks on their backs are another easy way to identify these mites from other variants. Spotting adult females are easier than males as they are larger and rounder.

Eggs are often laid in groups underneath leaves or within their webbing. These eggs are often round and straightforward, usually only 0.1mm in diameter. This variant of mite hatches with only six legs, eventually growing and obtaining an additional two legs in adulthood.

Prevention Tips and Tricks

  • Closely monitor your garden and treat or destroy any infested plant areas.
  • It is okay to lose a little of your garden to pests if you are growing outdoors, nature happens.
  • Experiment with safe sprays and treatments to prevent devastating damage. Spider mites are very resilient and have a high chance of adapting to treatments used.
  • If you think you’ve eradicated your problem, keep a close eye anyways. These mites are known to come back full throttle.
  • Shop with our “pest resistance” tag online or instore for an additional layer of defense.
OTHER HELPFUL RESOURCES
https://www.advancednutrients.com/articles/get-rid-spider-mites-cannabis