re: orange tree dying! help! spider mites

15 years ago

hi everyone ive recently posted pics of my orange (citrange?) tree. People say its in bad condition, which I realize, so I want to take it out.(chop it off!) but it appears some people have said its infested with spider mites, and to certify that, earlier today (about 3 pm) ive noticed lots of webbing and a creepy *@#@%! on a web, i was soo mad! so i want to cut it but i also want to start a garden near it and plant a fig tree. The problem: will my garden be infested after chopping the tree down? can i spray with orange oil or something like garlic all around my yard to make sure the mites die? how can i maintain my to be garden to not have mites? whats a mixture that i can spray every week or so to prevent them? I hate these pests and don't want them destroying great plants or a fig tree! will removing the tree eliminate the mites? I know many people around my area with gardens, for many many years, and dont even know what spider mites are and never experienced them. They are lucky, i am poor beginner! thank you everyone, i aprreciate your feedback and support.

Featured Answer

starloc

15 years ago

Spidermites are killed by oil/water , use neem oil or citrus oil or cooking oil, about a spoon to a litre of water, add a tiny drop of dishwash liquid and shake it up, spray it everywere, soak it, preferably with a presure sprayer, but a hand mist spray is ok, just soak every part top and bottom, all the stems etc, do it a couple of days on the run, then every week for a few weeks , it kills mites no problem at all
Another way is 10% rubbing alcohol in water, it kills them as well, but can make the leaves fall off if you make it too strong, they grow back though

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (7)

aesir22
15 years ago
Spidermite love citrus trees. But I wouldn't start chopping it to pieces (unless there is another reason - I haven't read your other post yet)

Do a search on spidermite on this forum with the search function. It brings up natural and chemical ways to treat the horrid little things. Deal with the infestation calmly - don;t panic and tear the tree up and chuck it out, and don;t worry that every plants within a five mile radius is going to be destroyed.

Treat the infestation then go from there. If for some reason you do need to chop, do that rather than throw away the tree. I wouldn't have the heart to throw one lol, I get too attached :D
aesir22
15 years ago
I have read your threat but it was a few weeks ago and my memory sucks lol. The one where the root stock took over...too bad about that but the citrange is still a nice tree!
Related Discussions
will red spider mites cause leaves and fruit to fall off tree?
Q
Comments (7)
Hi Orchidcrazy.. Since you said you've had the same problems w/your citrus two yrs in a row, I don't think humidity/temps are 'all' that's bothering you're plants. If you suspect mites, the best thing to do is rid them.. Since I don't believe in 'chemical' insecticides, I use around-the-house items...Fill a mister bottle 3/4's of water..room temp (warm) Add, 2-4 drops of dish soap..(I don't use Dawn, but some ppl swear by it) In addition to dish soap I also add, ground garlic and citrus rind. Fill w/a little more water and shake. Spray plants, thoroughly.. BTW, do you see webbing? If so, moisten paper towel w/rubbing alcohol and ripe away webbs..that outta kill the suckers. I started using this formula many years ago and have to say, 98% of my plants, are mite free.. Living in Il, keeping plants, especially citrus, gardenia, hibsicus, and a few other tropicals are a major job..it gets quite dry here..Dry air and wet soil are mite and other insect magnets. Including fungus gnats. Be sure soil dries before giving that extra drink of water. Good luck w/your new gh..Toni
...See More
Spiders or spider mites?
Q
Comments (12)
Oh whew...I am so relieved to read that nobody thinks they are spider mite webs. Whew, whew!! Is there some definitive way to determine mite webs vs spider webs? Thanks TJ. You are right. And I haven't sprayed a thing, good or bad, in the last 15 years with the mentality of "come what may" but this yard has been trying. I have never seen so many good and bad bugs in my life...and in the last month resorted to BT to kill the hornworms that are decimating my tomatoes and since I'm spraying anyway, I bought the neem which I'd read up on here. It appeared to be pretty innocuous overall, so that I used along one fence where most of my succulents live in light shade and dappled sun--that's the area where both of these photos were taken. None of it was sprayed on my edible or flowering plants, as I read that neem can damage blossoms... The only thing I have consistently used except when I lived in SF was snail bait and they seem to be having quite the blast anyway this year. Jean, we sure do! I can't confirm my neighbor ID'd what she saw correctly but upon hearing that and about two minutes before I ordered neem, lol, I did google it and Japanese Beetles were spotted in the Sacramento area, right above me, per the CA Dept of Ag. I only read one article but that was close enough for me! Ken, my spiders are year round, I'm afraid. January has much less than the other months but there is no month where I can't find spiders crawling on my plants or webbing here and there. Come spring, there's virtually no plant I can't find a spider on or at least evidence of some spider having been on it. That said, I still find it really bizarre that at this yard, for the first time ever in my gardening life, I have not seen ONE aphid. Spiders are not predators of aphids, are they? I've never seen a ladybug here either..probably because there are no aphids. Not complaining but I find it so bizarre! Thanks again, folks!
...See More
Help! Blood orange tree seems to be dying.
Q
Comments (2)
Hi Dan, welcome to the Valley of the Sun. If you haven't been here during the summer, you'll soon learn why it's called that :) I'd move that plant into a 1 gal container. Something like these (You can probably find them cheaper than that, I just linked the first one I found) I have some theories, but I'm not sure of why this helps so much. I find if you fit a plant into a container close to the size of it's roots, it does so much better. This means you have to re-pot most plants at least once a year, but it keeps them so much healthier. Once they are past the 7 gallon point, you can put them into whatever type of container and they do fine. Then, I'd fill it with heavier soil, citrus love heavy soil (that means the soil has less air space like clay soil does, but I don't recommend using clay in a container). It's pretty much the opposite of what it looks like that plant is in now. Slightly sandy soil is best. I find it's best to make my own mix of soil rather than try to find the perfect soil from a store. I would add very little perlite to the mix (if any at all). Also, the soil needs to be compressed down and not full of air pockets, roots like oxygen but not air pockets. I think this is the most important: get an automatic watering system if you really want to grow things through the summer in containers here. In the summer, they should be watered daily with just a little water (I use 1/2 gph emitters for 8-10 mins every morning for my 1 gal plants). If you miss a few days of watering (depending on the age/type of plant), the plants will most likely deteriorate to the point of no return. Lastly, I'd make sure it gets around 6 hours of direct sunlight each day, but if you can, try get it some shade between 11AM and 2PM after April since it's young and in a small container. It'll be best if it gets this type of sun for it's first 2-3 years of life. BTW, Everyone will tell you that you shouldn't waste your time growing a citrus from seed because it probably won't grow true to its parent, but I say meh to that. It's fun growing from seed and this is how all the varieties came to be. They were a seed once from either some genetic experiment or nature's crazy mutant child.
...See More
Help plz! Have spider mites ruined my potato plants?
Q
Comments (6)
1. If you have nearly baseball sized spuds already you can pick them anytime and eat them. So no they are not ruined, unless you were hoping for giant baking potatoes. I would start picking them as you need them and use them as new potatoes. 2. I have only used systemics for spider mites as my problems were on ornamental plants. You don't want to use those for edibles. Oils or soaps should help to control them, just be sure to read the lable to make sure potatoes are listed on it, and if there is a waiting period before eating them, be sure to follow it. 2a. Yes potatoes from a non-organic supermarket are loaded with stuff. Potatoes are one of the most chemically sprayed crops there is. BUT.. they are never harvested until after the "safe" date when the chemicals are supposed to be gone from the plants system. 3. Yes row covers should help, and more active spraying them with water during the hot dry periods. Just peek under those row covers now and again to make sure something didn't get in under them.
...See More
carolstropicals
15 years ago
Hi, I use orange peels to kill spider mites and other insects. I throw them in the middle of salvia, etc. I am trying now to see if the peels will kill scale which I have had a terrible infestation last year.
It is strange having spider mites on your orange tree when the peels kill spider mites. It would seem there might be another insect doing the damage.
Great organic use of orange peels. I know citrus get white fly and scale attacked my citrus trees. So far with the scale I have cut off branches.
monoface_hotmail_com
13 years ago
My citrus tree continues to give plenty of fruit. However, I started to notice that it is dropping it's leaves and a significant amount of branches are dying. The leaves are green and other than the alarming amount of dead branches and branches with a smallert amount of green leaves the tree looks fine. If it continues at this rate, the tree will be dead by next year. Could ants cause this? I have notice ants going up and down the trunk.
meyermike_1micha
13 years ago
Have you checked for scale or aphids?

I am going to stick my neck out and say the roots on your plant are most like the culprit behind your problem, in particular root rot.

Mike
rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
13 years ago
Hey, Judy...you need to become your own detective. Ants can be a significant clue but you have to determine what the ants are doing. If they are large carpenter ants, they could be taking advantage of some existing problems within the tree. Carpenter ants don't eat live wood but only that which is already dead. I doubt that this is your problem, though, since you didn't use the adjective 'BIG' to describe the ants!

Are they fire ants? Those nasty little critters love to build their large nests within the root systems of trees and shrubs, are are very capable of causing major problems. The roots are left high and dry in the nesting chambers.

Ants of many different kinds can also be observed climbing all over a plant that is infested with one of the many sucking insects that our citrus are plagued with from time to time. Take a careful look for scale insects (there are many possible suspects), aphids, and mealybugs.

You need to let us know if your tree is planted in-ground or in a container, too. Root problems are always a possibility, especially with the former.

re: orange tree dying! help! spider mites

starloc

Comments (7)

aesir22

aesir22

Related Discussions

carolstropicals

monoface_hotmail_com

meyermike_1micha

rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US