When harvest

Without being able to check the trichomes: harvest now. The buds are looking mature and many people would even do an early harvest of the crop is at risk thanks to mites or other factors. I would recommend harvesting, checking all buds for bugs, clean them if needed and enjoy the fruits of your labor :)

The best way to determine ripeness is by using a microscope. Milky trichomes are ripe… If there's no microscope available: harvest a bud from the middle and dry it quickly on the heater. It won't taste good, terpenes are definitely gone… But you'll know if it's ripe. I only use this method when all other signs indicate it's time to harvest: no more thirst, sun leaves are turning colorful, pistils (the little hairs) are all brown…

You haven't harveseted yet but it's been drying for a week? You need to take a breath. Collect your thoughts and express them in a more coherent way. you can stagger a harvest.. cutting some off to dry and some later... won't impact yield in any meaningful way, but might create more consistency in ripeness from top buds to lower buds. I don't find it is worth the electricity, but each to their own on that. Lots of different opininons on when it is best to harvest. in the end, you have to try different ripeness(es) and figure out your own preference.

Harvest now! Good luck 😎

Red spider mites are predatory mites So they're probably eating smaller spider mites. Id just harvest it all and clean everything and start spraying preventatives at the begining of your next round