Stopping Mites, Gray Mold, Powdery Mildew, Thrips & Other Marijuana Grow Room Nightmares

As the indoor marijuana growing season ramps up, take these steps to stop mites, molds, mildews, fungi, fungus gnats, aphids, thrips, whiteflies, scale, and other attackers.

• Use a flashlight and magnifying glass to examine doors, vent holes, electrical outlets, duct shafts, windows, wall air conditioners.
• Even the tiniest opening can be a vector for marijuana grow room pests and diseases.
• Armor your marijuana grow room using filtration, caulking, cleaning, new materials. Seal it tight like a bank vault.
• Seal all openings except the ones you need to get into and out of the grow room and for ventilation and wiring.
• Examine attic and crawl space. Attics are often stuffed with old insulation that breeds all sorts of nasty fungi, molds, bugs, as well as rats, squirrels, possums or other animals. You might have to have the attic professionally vacuumed, then disinfected, then reinstall insulation to at least R-25 or more.
• Carpets are a great place for plant-harming organisms to thrive. Don’t have a carpet on your grow room floor.
• Look at your wall coverings. Many growers hang or tape reflective materials such as Mylar or white poly plastic on their walls. I’ve seen people remove reflective materials only to find fungi or molds underneath. If your room has high humidity, check for fungi and molds regularly, or better yet… get a dehumidifier.
• Put a protective filter in-line or on the opening to any vent or duct that transfers air into your room.
• Get in-room filtering mechanism that scrubs your air. Try Can-Filter, Active Air and Phresh filters.
• Along with armoring your room using filtration, caulking, cleaning, new materials and inspection, also pay close attention to any objects, tools or organic matter that come into your grow room.
• Before bringing someone else’s clones into your marijuana grow room, use a magnifying glass to examine each one before you bring it into your room, since clones are a known vector for insects and pathogens.
• About 35% of commercially available clones are contaminated with mites, gnats, thrips, aphids, root diseases or other pathogens. If the clone has healthy leaves and stems and the roots are light-colored and dense, it’s likely that the clone doesn’t have a root disease. Close examination of stems and leaves will indicate whether the clone has pests or pathogens above ground.
• It’s a good idea to use a clone quarantine chamber for externally sourced clones. Keep them there for at least a week before integrating them into your marijuana grow room.