Controlling Spider Mites on Strawberry Plants

grandad_2003

16 years ago

Every year I do battle with the spider mites on my strawberry plants. I've tried several control measures and so far each has a drawback. The chemicals that I've used in years past(kelthane, diazinon, malathion) have the obvious concerns/issues. I discontinued using these a couple or so years ago and went to a cheapie coco shampoo/water solution, 4T/gal. The latter works ALMOST as well as the chemicals but did not have the negative side effects - not the least of which was a multi-day waiting period. But, the shampoo/water solution has only about a 50% (plus/minus) kill rate and has to be repeated about every 4 days. On the positive side, I've probably got the cleanest strawberries in town. Just wondering, has anyone else had battle experience with mites on strawberries? What "weapons" to do you use. Has anyone tried the pyrethrins (or synthetic derivations thereof)?

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Comments (4)

justaguy2
16 years ago
I have zero experience with control of spider mites on strawberries. In fact it's rare that I even see spider mites on any of my plants. Must be a locational thing as I know they are a very common pest.

A product that I like to use as a preventative against insect predation is neem oil. It's non toxic and works as an anti-feedant on insects and mites as well as causing death over time due to interfering with the function of their mouth parts and the best part is they no longer can reproduce.

I can't say it has been a cure all for everything (cucumber beetles seem to laugh at it), but it works well enough, often enough that I keep it on hand at all times. Being a lightweight oil it will also smother the mites it comes in contact with.

Generally you will want to apply it once per week as well as after a significant rain.

Pyrethrins will probably work, but they are broad based killers which is a drawback. They also break down quickly outside requiring frequent reapplication. The synthetic derivatives persist longer, but have increased toxicity to stuff you care about.

I recomend you give neem oil a try.
Belgianpup
16 years ago
Below is a link to an article on Integrated Pest Management for spider mites on strawberries: http://www.dahlia.org/BulletinArticles/Spider%20Mites.html

There is also an interesting article about spider mites on dahlias at http://www.dahlia.org/BulletinArticles/Spider%20Mites.html, but the first part is what I found especially interesting, WHY the mite problem is so bad in some places, and it probably isn't what you think! (Think Louisiana, think mosquitoes...).

Healthy plants grown in healthy soil have more ability to fight off pests and disease than those that are lacking certain nutrients. You might want to consider having a soil test done, and possibly starting another bed in a more nutrient-dense soil.

Sue

Here is a link that might be useful: Strawberry spider mites.
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grandad_2003
Original Author
16 years ago
Great references Sue. I have surfed the web for help but did not recall finding these articles. Lots of good info included in these...

Regarding your healthy soil comment.. I have had soil tests over the years and I know that my basic problem is NOT poor soil. My garden has been "well conditioned" over the last 25 years. I know that my base problem is most likely due to not rotating the strawberry bed each year. Why not rotate? Well the location that I plant the strawberry plants produces the best plants of any area that I've tried -- the ground is a bit higher than the other garden area. I use black plastic and the when I plant in the lower area the soil under the black plastic is too damp and the plant don't survive after being set. The area that I continue to plant produces the most beautiful plants unless and until the mites begin to attack. Even so, with 84 plants, I still get more berries than I know what to do with.

The are a couple oils mentioned in the references. So your neem oil suggestion (JustAGuy) might also be the ticket.

Anyway, thanks folks for the feeback.

I'm still wondering if there is someone else out there who has actually "gone to war" with these insects and who might offer their personal experiences..
hamiltongardener
16 years ago
I have ladybugs crawling all over my strawberry bed and they've even used it for overwintering. There's dozens in the bed dormant right now.

Since ladybugs eat spider mites, I guess that may be why I don't have a mite problem. Or maybe I do have a mite problem but the ladybugs are keeping it in check so I don't notice. After all, there wouldn't be so many if there wasn't a feast for them there, right?

Controlling Spider Mites on Strawberry Plants

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Controlling Spider Mites on Strawberry Plants

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