For the past year I've been having to deal with an ongoing spidermite infestation on my khat plants and now more recently these inconsiderate flickers have made there way onto my cherished cacti despite best efforts to contain them. I've been spraying the khat plants with an aqueous soap mixture containing neem oil and IPA + tea tree oil for the cacti.

Since I plan on consuming both these plants one day I got one question to ask regarding the safety of these insecticides. What would be the chances of these poisons one day ending up on the freshly chewed khat leaves and extracted mescaline that'd result in damage to ones health?

P.S. If anyone has any insecticides they'd like to recommend for edible plants it'd be greatly appreciated is well.

In trailer park boys they used ladybugs 😄

https://youtu.be/UepAzio1eyU

Sorry 😎

Mites can be controlled by a strong spray of water from a hose. You just have to be consistent and keep blasting them off everyday until they are completely gone. Chemicals arent really needed unless the infestation is widesprad across many plants to the point where using a hose becomes impractical.

But those photos that you posted in the other thread are still most consistent with sunburn in my opinion. Are you sure that there are mites there? Do you see the actual mites or their webs? If the cacti have been dry for a long period of time and the temps start to rise as the sun becomes stronger it can cause damage to the tips, even if the cacti have been outdoors for awhile. I've seen it happen in the springtime to inground plants that are stressed from lack of water. Just make sure that there are actually mites there before you go applying any chemicals. Best luck.

food grade diatomaceous earth works great. There are two different kinds though and one is caustic to your airways so make sure to get the food grade stuff. I wear a mask and safety goggles when handling because dust is not fun to inhale. it is best to use it DRY. It will absorb liquid and will become ineffective. It is perfect for plants NOT getting watered often. I mix it in to my soil mixes to kill fungus gnat populations but have also watched it eliminate mite problems. (It will kill beneficial insects as well)

I also use cold pressed neem oil and that seems to work well. If you're growing indoors I know a bunch of people growing cannabis bomb their rooms with gas fairly often so there is always that if the bugs get out of hand.