Fight pests in cannabis without chemicals
Many cannabis growers think insects are their enemies; disgusting animals that want to destroy your culture and nothing else. This is absolutely false. As a matter of fact, some insects are the best allies you have to biologically fight those pests that are your real foes.
Using the proper insects you will save your plants and, moreover, in a biological way. Using chemical is always worst for the environment and it can be very harmful for your health. It can be deadly sometimes.
If I had to write a list of the very best insects to help us with our cannabis plants, I would say ladybugs are the number one. You can buy them in your cannabis shop and they are easy to find in the country. Moreover, once you set them free on top of the infested plants, they will never go away until the last pest has been eaten. They are ferocious and never need to rest.
Their favorite insects are: mites, cochineal and small caterpillars. But they never say no to aphids, which are one of the worst pests to cannabis. Aphids drink the sap from our cannabis plants.
As I said, you can buy ladybugs in your cannabis shop. But in case you cannot (almost impossible) or you just prefer to attract them using a natural method, you must cultivate dill, cilantro and fennel close to your cannabis plants. These three species attract ladybugs, which will remain there forever, as far as they find something to eat.
Roughly speaking, most growers think mites are our enemies. This is not always true. Some mites are very pernicious for our plants but there are others that can help us to fight different pests. For example, the mite named Phytoseiulus Persimilis is one of the mites that feed on spider mites and their larvae and eggs. Don’t forget spider mites are very harmful because they eat the content of the plant cells. The result is the death of your culture.
One of the most beneficial insects for our cannabis plants is the Amblyseius californicus. It is an aphid that resists very hot weather and they love eating spider mites. Due to their special ability to resist the hottest temperatures, this aphid is very useful in cannabis cultures in Spain, California, Morocco and many more. You can buy them in your cannabis shop.
Another effective bug for the cannabis growers is the Anthocoridae. This bug feeds on the worst pests for us, such as spider mites and caterpillars. These animals are tremendous and especially effective. They use their beak to inject digestive enzymes. There are also available in your cannabis shop.
Most spiders are our natural allies. They produce their webs to catch their prey and feed on many pernicious pests for our cannabis plants. I haven’t seen cannabis shops that sell spiders. But the best option to attract them is growing plants that produce flowers near to your culture. The flowers will attract the regular spiders and these animals will eat pests like crazy.
Recently parasitic wasps are being used in many cultures in the USA. Normally the feed on aphids, beetles and flies. These animals inject their eggs into the prey and when the eggs become little wasps they feed on the prey and kill them.
Most cannabis growers know how beneficial microorganisms are for any culture. They are essential for a good health in any type of culture. Without microorganisms life in the planet wouldn’t be possible. They break down organic matter and turn it into nutrients easier to “eat” by the roots of the plants.
About 60% of these small being are good for nothing. About 20% are even negative for the plants. But there is another 20% that are beneficial and feed on the pernicious microorganisms and we can say they win the war.
For example, predatory nematodes are some of the best allies to the cannabis grower. They move along the soil and attack every pest they find and, however, they never attack the beneficial microorganisms or the worms. They basically fed on parasitic-nematodes that feed on the plant roots. The microorganisms we want to have are: monochid nematodes, dorylaimida nematodes and diplogasted nematodes. Each one has a different way to kill their prey.
Some bacteria are excellent to control the pests. Probably the most commonly used is the Bacillus Thuringiensis, which kills the larvae of fungus and gnats. The best way to use is through foliar irrigation. Water the leaves of your cannabis plants with this bacteria diluted in water (without chlorine) once every 10 days. If you are constant, many pests will never attack your plants because it is one of the best repellents. It is available in most cannabis shops.
Avoid chemical pesticides
Unfortunately, different pesticides have been found in medical cannabis. This is terrible because when you decide to use cannabis for medical purposes, the last thing you want is any kind of chemicals.
There are many alternatives to using harmful chemical pesticides. You should always use natural methods.
Neem oil comes from a very popular tree in India. It is used as a pesticide but it is excellent for human disease treatment too. The oil is made from the leaves and the seeds. It fights very effectively several insects and fungi. It is especially useful against aphids, grasshoppers, caterpillars, spider mites and many more. You must dilute it in water (without chlorine) and spray it all over the plant. Do it once every ten days and results will be excellent. It is available in almost every cannabis shop.
Alcohol is very efficient too. Mix it with water (without chlorine). 9 parts of water and 1 part of alcohol. Spray the concoction onto the bugs. It is particularly efficient to fight spider mites.
Worm humus and garlic are another example of natural pest fighters. As we said in the article named “ Biological fight against pests”, we can make a nettles and garlic purin and spray the leaves of our cannabis plants once a week, more or less. It is an excellent repellent and, moreover, it is a good fertilizer.
Anyway, we recommend you to always use biological products to fight the pests. Your health will appreciate it and your plants will have better organoleptic properties.
