What's the best thing to use against spider mites on indoor palms
grice
16 years ago
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arcticpalm
16 years agotopher2006
16 years agoRelated Discussions
Spider Mites
Comments (11)Appreciate the thought Roseblush, but as I said the rose was basically defoliated, so there were no leaves to wash off. Spider mites love bark mulch to hide in over winter, and I'm sure they were lurking there ready to tackle the new foliage as soon as it appeared......And perhaps I need to allocate my time better, but in spring especially, I just don't have time to run around every day spritzing off the underside of the leaves of every single plant that is prone/infested with spider mites (as I mentioned daylilies, also columbines, Impatiens and many more in my garden fall prey to them). AVID is a wonderful miticide that sprayed three times over the course of a month (1 week, 1 week, 2 weeks) kills them dead. It is also used to combat leaf miner in Columbines and adult Thrips. If you overuse it the mites will become immune so never spray as a preventative - only when the situation is becoming out of control. Many an exhibition rosarian can no longer use AVID because of overuse..... AVID's active ingredient - Abamectin- occurs naturally and is derived from the soil microorganism Streptomyces Avermitilis. So it could be loosely termed organic. And as an aside, you really need to blast the water on the underside of the infested leaves to dislodge the mites, not simply "wash" them off. And where those mites go once they fall to the ground is open to conjecture. I have used the water method many times, particulary on pot plants where you can tip the plant almost upside down to gain access to the underside of the leaves or when the mites just start to do damage. But for a full onslaught, I like AVID for all the reasons above. Didn't mean this to be so long, but perhaps some lurkers won't be as discouraged as I was before the advent of AVID when I was told to "just wash the foliage off" and it didn't work. I've been doing this thing we love called gardening since the middle 80's and have seen alot of attitudes change in the chemical department. Enough so to know no one has all the answers, and sometimes common sense, combined with IPM can make a big difference ......Maryl...See MoreSpider mites or what? Help!
Comments (21)Sherry, This may not be what is eating the leaves on your roses, but last summer I discovered that June bugs were responsible for eating my roses' leaves. I actually saw some June bugs eating the leaves on roses in my pot ghetto on the patio at night (the patio lights allowed me to see them quite clearly). Howard Garrett and Malcom Beck say "There are over 100 species of June Bugs in Texas..."in their book "Texas Bug Book the Good, the Bad & the Ugly". Their focus is on the species that causes damage to lawns while in the larval stage, and they add "Adult beetles chew leaves at night but are not highly destructive." When I lived in the Dallas area, I had more roses and a lot more June bugs, but I never had problems with them eating rose leaves. Here in the Houston area, we don't seem to have as many June bugs, but I am assuming that they are a slightly different species here that are particularly fond of roses. When I have seen them or their damage on the roses, I have noticed that they seem to prefer the older, thicker leaves and tend to leave the new soft growth alone. Kathy Here is a link that might be useful: June Bugs...See MoreSpider mites - how long can they live without food?
Comments (48)It makes sense that since spider mites are in the arachnid family, they are tougher to get rid of...pesticides for most insects don't work on spiders. I did want to comment on a previous statement (jennq) that once you have them you will always have them...not true! I had a room full of houseplants of all kinds, and they (unfortunately) attacked my "maryjane" plant, which was in the center stage (they were all on the same table) with a vengence. I had been away for a few days and came home to the cannabis in a tent web...covered. I took it outside and disposed of it. That was four years ago and I never had another spider mite. So...yesterday my partner finds a huge majesty palm tree at Lowe's for $5. He brought it home and it was completely covered in webbing and mites (he isn't experienced at looking closely). I probably should have tossed it, but I cut off all but one inner leaf, stripped it of all soil and gave it an underwater soapy neem bath, then gave it a hand sanitizer rub, then repotted and have it in my bathroom for a few weeks. Of course, my anxiety over my other plants getting mites may outweigh my dysfunctional rescue urge here. I wonder if anyone has EVER successfully cleared a plant of spider mites...? I understand plants are more susceptible to these critters when the plant is stressed with watering issues (consistancy helps), but this opens me up to a ton of other questions......See MoreConsidering bromeliads...dread mites/spider mites
Comments (3)Hi everyone. Bunny – First of all lets discus the idea of using tobacco as a repellant to insects. Being an old orchid grower, at the mention of using “tobacco with plants”, the alarm bells start ringing. The reason is that tobacco has been traced as the source of mosaic virus diseases in orchids. The following excerpt from an article on Mosaic Virus informs us, “There are no cures for viral diseases such as mosaic once a plant is infected. As a result, every effort should be made to prevent the disease from entering your garden. ... Avoid working in the garden during damp conditions (viruses are easily spread when plants are wet). Avoid using tobacco around susceptible plants.” The key words here are “susceptible plants” – of these it is widely known that orchids and bromeliads are susceptible to contamination from viruses, therefore this should answer your question, “How successful do you think the tobacco tea might be, particularly on these little air plants?” To read the article about mosaic virus in its entirety go to: https://www.planetnatural.com/pest-problem-solver/plant-disease/mosaic-virus/ The thing is; there are other alternatives with the two most accepted methods being prevention and treatment. Myself, I prefer the prevention over treatment simply because I don’t want to go spraying insecticides around my yard where it may harm friendly garden creatures such as frogs, fish, lizards and birds. To do this I use an insecticide but not as it is intended, i.e. I don’t spray it over my entire collection of plants. I just spray it on and around the individual pots and I find the repellent properties in this product keep the insects away, even grass hoppers, which are very destructive and were a real problem until I found this product. The product is called “Clensel”and it is an insecticide made from natural ingredients. See: http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/3857331/katydids-and-clensel In conclusion I would say this product will meet your requirements inside the home just as effectively as it does in the garden; and what’s more it’s non-harmful to humans and pets and doesn’t have an offensive smell. If you aren’t able to buy this product in your area you could probably get the same result by just using the Citronella Oil which is the active repellent ingredient in the Clensel insecticide. All the best, Nev...See Moreblondboy47
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