What is the effective way to control spider mites?
Anno
3 months ago
last modified: 3 months ago
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vgkg Z-7 Va
3 months agoAnno
3 months agoRelated Discussions
Preventing/Controlling Spider Mites
Comments (24)Shamae, How big are the bugs? I know you posted a photo, but without something whose size is known (like, for example a dime or a penny or something) placed beside them to provide context, it is hard for us to understand what size your pests are. Spider mites are roughly the size of the dot over the letter "i". They are very hard to see with the naked eye and hard to view in a photo, though once you're used to seeing them, you can flip over a leaf and look at the underside of it and see the tiny mites on the plants then. Sometimes, folks new to spider mites aren't sure if they are seeing spider mites and we tell them to hold a clean white sheet of paper underneath a plant leaf and thump it. Tiny insects the size of a period will fall onto the paper and begin moving, and if that happens, they likely have spider mites. It actually is easier to identify mites on plants by the damage they do than by seeing the mites themselves. If you can tell us more about your pests, perhaps we can help you with an ID. If, by chance, they are the same size as spider mites, I'd suspect chiggers, but the pests in your photo look larger....more like the size of aphids? Not that I'm saying they are aphids, but rather that's just the size they are. Are you here in OK? Was your compost wet or was it dry? The more info you share, the better we might be able to help you figure out what it is that you're seeing. Or at least what it isn't. Dawn...See MoreSpider mite control
Comments (7)I tried every organic method I ever heard of and about every poison known to man. Some stuff only seemed to work but after a week or 2 the mites got immune. I swear I had birds dropping out of the sky from just flying within 100 feet of my plants... Nothing worked for long. Mites hibernate when things get tough and egg carrying females come back out after a while and start the whole invasion again. My invasion lasted 3-4 seasons. Last winter we had a solid week or so of mid to low 30 degree nights and it seemed to have killed the mites. Mites are smart. Weeks after I emptied out my grow shelves I had mites dropping out of my light fixtures looking for plants. It seems they had hitched a ride inside on me or the few pods I got during the season from the few plants they hadn't killed. I don't think anything I did really got rid of them. Just slowed them down. I made things hard for them with everything I sprayed my plants with but I think the cold nights actually killed them. I feel for you... As a side note.I think all the crap I sprayed my plants with hurt them as much as the mites did. Also it seems mites leave a toxin in the plants and the few survivors took months to come back. One think I think helped spread the mites was my watering wand,long handled shower type thing. I think that mites got on it as I watered and dropped off onto other plants. Same with when I picked pods or weeded. They also ride the wind on pieces of web to get to other plants. Suckers are nasty to get rid of. Mite poisons were expensive and only good until the mites got immune. I sprayed so much crap on my plants I only kept seeds and tossed the pods. I didn't look but I bet they glowed in the dark. I got tons of weird pod variations too. I grow in pots so I tried isolating the invaded plants for a while,using different stuff on different plants to see if anything would work. Only thing that did work was a mite systemic for roses but it weakened the plants and wasn't for food crops. Only thing I read about that is suposed to work but my plants were dead before I could use it was sulfur. A liquid sold as soil sulfur. Problem is you can't use it during the day-sun makes it burn your plants. Gotta be careful with it. Probably dillute it a lot to see what rate to use without acidifying the soil or burning your plants. I've read about spraying it in powdered form but it is suposed to be harder to use as far as even coverage etc. Here is a link that might be useful: Sulfur...See Moreindoor spider mite organic control
Comments (6)PJ, I use this recipe of Murphy's oil soap: 1/3 cup Murphy's oil soap 1 tblsp soda 1 gallon water Put this in a spray bottle, and spray affected areas. It may take a while, but it will get rid of them....See MoreSpider mites, mealies, what is the most sure fire way to destroy them?
Comments (6)I use Sentry dog dip concentrate. I use 28 ounces of fluid (water and rubbing alcohol, no more than 1/3 alcohol, and don't use the 90%alcohol, it'll burn your plants) and one ounce of the Sentry dog dip. It's active ingredient is permethrim, which is a synthetic derived from chrysanthemums and also what makes marigolds, geraniums and "citronella plants" good bug deterrents. The permethrim also kills some types of insect eggs. I spray the whole surface of the leaves (though swishing in a bucket may be more or less wasteful) and I also will spray the surface of the soil evenly until I feel like I've pent rated at least the top 3-4 inches. I would only use this treatment inside though as I don't know how it affects pollinators, but as long as your plants aren't flowering, I think you'll be okay :) Hope the safer works for you. Just remember it will take more than one application due to the life cycle of insects. I am not a vet nor a plant doctor so...this is strictly anecdotal....See MoreAnno
3 months agogardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
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3 months agoAnno
3 months agoseasiderooftop
3 months agorhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
3 months agodchall_san_antonio
26 days agotapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
26 days agolast modified: 26 days agodchall_san_antonio
25 days agotapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
25 days ago
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tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)