Are you observing a change in your crop’s foliage but unsure what is harming it? Broad mites may have found a home in your marijuana plants.

Finding these pests is essential for the health of your cannabis plants. They are tiny irritants that rob your crops of life without leaving early warning signs.

These tiny nuances are difficult to detect before an infestation happens. The symptoms resemble those of other crop viruses and nutrient deficiencies. Knowledge makes you one step ahead of a situation that might harm your plants.

Learn about their characteristics and how to identify and get rid of them before broad mite damage causes harm to your plants.

What are broad mites?

Broad mites, also known as Polyphagotarsonemus latus, are microscopic parasites that live on plants. They appear on the surface of leaves as tiny, legless drops, which are frequently invisible to the naked eye. They’re not considered insects because they belong to the Arachnida family.

If you are growing marijuana in a tropical or temperate climate, you will probably eventually experience a broad mite infestation. They prefer glasshouse environments in particular.

These tiny predators reproduce quickly to increase their population on a single plant. They consume the sap of leaves as they creep through the canopy. These parasites give the crop a toxic growth regulator, which depletes nutrients.

They move from crop to crop on top of whiteflies and aphids or when the male moves the female to other plants.

Cannabis broad mites are harmful to the health of your plants. These eight-legged pests suck out the necessary liquids for growth, unlike the fungus gnat larvae on cannabis roots.

What does a broad mite look like?

These creatures are difficult to spot by simply looking at your plants. Only the oval-shaped eggs on the underside of the leaves can be seen, even under 60x magnification.

You might be able to recognise these parasites on your cannabis plants if you have a microscope on hand.

What appearance do broad mites have? Adult mites have inflated oval bodies ranging from amber to yellow and occasionally green. Medium-sized heads with well-defined mouth appendages are joined to the thorax. They have piercing mandibles that extract sap from plant cells and leaves.

Despite having similar outward appearances, males and females differ in a few ways. To distinguish between the two main mite genders, take note of the following features:

Females:

• Length of 0.008 inches
• Possesses four pairs of legs, the back two resembling hair strands.
• Female broad mites on weed plants have a light stripe on the back of their bodies and move slowly.

Males:

• Length of 0.004 inches
• They have four legs, the rear ones being large and powerful.
• Move more quickly than women 
• They have no body stripes

The good news is that it’s much simpler to recognise broad mite eggs now. Look for 0.003-inch clear, oblong shapes on the underside of the leaves or the outside of the flowers. White spots can be seen on the surface of the colourless nits.

Larvae are newly formed eggs that only have three sets of legs. Their bodies have tiny ridges that give them a whitish hue.

The broad mite life cycle

Broad mites on cannabis have a quick and brief life cycle. Males live for 5 to 9 days on average and can impregnate females for 5 to 13 days, after which the latter lays eggs and pass away.

Females produce males when fertilisation is not present. After mating, they have four females for every male and lay 30-76 eggs over 8–13 days.

Applying a broad mites treatment to get rid of adults hiding out won’t get rid of the eggs. They are challenging to remove because they firmly adhere to the plant matter.

Four stages make up the life cycle of these cannabis parasites:

Eggs: They hatch in 2 to 3 days.

Larvae: After emerging from hatched eggs, they consume plant matter immediately.

Nymphs: After a few days, they change into dormant larvae. Faster-growing males transport dormant females to new growth or other plants to recommence reproduction.

Adults: Males mate with females immediately after emerging from the quiescent stage.

Broad mite infestation signs on cannabis plants

Every grower’s worst nightmare is coming across predatory insects on their crop. It’s even more annoying when their size prevents you from quickly identifying them on the plants. Fortunately, you can rely on your crops’ signals as they grow.

The symptoms of broad mite infestation on cannabis are unfortunate because they take 20–30 days to manifest. Not every part of the plant is attacked at once by these pests. Young parts like leaves, buds and growing tips are what the mites feed on.

The leaves have brown spots and connected striped patterns if there are slight invasions. In more severe cases, the network is denser and almost entirely devoid of green plant matter (apart from the veins).

The surface of the leaves develops patterns of yellow dots from broad mite-feeding sites, which darkens the leaves.

When there is an infestation, your marijuana plants typically exhibit the following symptoms:

• New crop growth droops or twists.
• The leaves appear wet and blistered.
• Edges of the vegetation emerge (similar symptom to cannabis heat stress)
• Warped plants result from distorted growth.
• The edges of young leaves are brown.
• Stunted crop growth 
• Stems and leaves are turning yellow

Cannabis buds suffer damage from broad mites during the flowering stage, which causes them to wilt and turn brown.

How to get rid of weed plants’ broad mites

Think again if you believe that powdery mildew is your biggest threat. One of the most challenging pests to eliminate is the broad mite that lives on weed.

Learn how to naturally eliminate broad mites to avoid using chemicals on your plant or buds. Keep in mind that anything you spray onto your crop has the potential to be later inhaled or consumed by you.

Once an infestation has been positively identified, move quickly to eradicate it. The first and most crucial step is to remove infected plant parts from your growing area and throw them away.

These natural miticides can be used to get rid of these mites in the following ways:

1. Neem oil for cannabis: This remedy extracts from neem seeds blended into a foliar spray to mist over your plants. It has a distinctly unpleasant odour and scent. It works well as a cure or a preventative measure. Avoid spraying when bud sites are in bloom.
2. Sulfuric insecticide soaps: An environmentally friendly broad mite cannabis treatment for more minor infestations.
3. Biocontrol: Introduce other predatory insects to feed on the mites.
4. Heat: These pests don’t like temperatures higher than 32°C. Increase temperature and humidity a little to significantly reduce reproductive levels.

How to protect cannabis plants from broad mites

The wind or other animals act as the mites’ transportation between plants when they are outside. They thrive in controlled environments that encourage reproduction.

Try to prevent the appearance of broad mites rather than worrying about how to get rid of them. Adopt the following practices along with integrated pest management:

• Clones are the most common broad mite migrators.
• Check on your crops frequently.
• Create the ideal environment. Confirm that the pH of the cannabis is acceptable.
• Apply regular treatments of natural preventative miticides to your plants.

Due to their robust immune systems, healthy plants can withstand infestations for longer before needing a broad mites cannabis treatment. To increase the resistance of cannabis crops to pests and diseases, use a high-quality fertiliser.

Do broad mites harm bud growth?

The growth of cannabis plants, including bud flowering, is significantly impacted by broad mite damage. They deplete crops of essential nutrients that buds require to thrive while feeding. Damaged flowers eventually deteriorate and die.