Fig Bud Mites and Spinosad
Jeremiah
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
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hoosierbanana
5 years agoRelated Discussions
Spider Mites on New Apple Trees
Comments (8)Pretty sure as I can be without looking under a magnifying glass, fruitnut. I've dealt with spider mite before. It has JUST started, so the leaves won't be affected, yet. I know miticides are nasty, nasty stuff. Up there with fungicides. I was doing some searching on the Internet and came across the dormant oil/insecticidal soap combo. The soap will just make the oil emulsify, and maybe help to keep the soap stuck on a bit longer. Just a little concerned about using an oil now, since it can get a little warm, now. Although we're not in for any significantly hot weather in the next week or so (maybe even rain. Again!) The webbing has a rather distinctive look, and saw that, and saw what appeared to be very, very teeny, tiny bugs crawling along the webbing. I had the sun at a sharp angle that sort of reflected the little buggars, so about 99% sure. I could use NEEM oil, too, that will take care of them, but I don't want to sacrifice blossoms. My Pink Lady is blooming right now. Patty S....See MoreSpider Mites! Help!!!
Comments (13)My tomatoes have been decimated by spider-mites, blast them daily but next day they are right back again, primarily on my wild Everglades 'maters....but none on the roses, so go figure. the chili-thrips have been terrible on the roses however, especially the knock-outs, in my no-spray garden...the only thing I do for the chili-thrips when they get bad is to prune them off...but now is the time to summer-prune anyway as the roses go into hibernation in the heat...be sure to bag those cuttings and get them into the trash, so they don't go right back onto the roses.... they do seem to prefer the buds and the new growth, so when it's like this we just have to accept that we don't have the flowers...they do disappear when it gets colder, and the roses come back to life... the roses like the same weather we do!.....LOL, sally...See MoreThrips & spider mites: HELP!!!
Comments (16)dan_keil_cr, In Jeff Gilman's new book "The Truth About Garden Recipes", he makes a few points about insect control, stating that garlic is more of a repellant than an insecticide that has medium term effect, say a week or two before you have to respray (unless it rains). The insects themselves will either leave your garden or go migrate to the leaves/buds/flowers you have missed. He strongly recommends that you use insecticidal soap to kill those insects you missed. Hot Chilli preparations either homemade or bought are particularly effective on mites as a repellant more so than an insecticide. He also likes the contact insecticide ingredient Acephate (not too tough on the beneficials with slight systemic activity), he does not like Imidacloprid for mites only (Bayer uses this in some insecticides) as it has been shown to actually increase the mite population, but could be used once to quickly wipe out an initial problem (some people have written it hurts bees but I have not seen proof of this). If you area is experiencing a drought it probable that all the gardens in your area are experiencing the same issues so spraying insecticides (a final resort) might only temporarily solve your problem as they will quickly return, maybe via your neighbors; thrips particularly are easily carried in the wind. One treatment might help to at least get it down to a manageable level or continued treatment with Beauvaria Bassiana fungus, if you can find it. If you can please let us know where you got it from. Thrips love drought especially plants that are drought stricken and thrips feed on mites, a veritable all you can eat buffet for them, mites and plants. One begets the other; similar to the Biblical plagues in Egypt; which in this case may be followed by diseased plants. In Whitney Crenshaw's "Garden Insects of America" he states that thrips are an important carrier of disease and are hard to remove from flowers and buds, so cutting them off when you initially spray may be a good idea. He further states that plants showing any sign of disease should be immediately destroyed. I am no expert on disease so you should discuss this with others more expert before you pull a plant. He feels sanitation of course is a key, raking leaves, etc., and that insecticides are a very weak second often being unsuccessful. Perhaps removing your current mulch and replacing it. And above all proper watering is the holy grail of control with this problem; watering washes thrips from plants and seals their pupal stages in the soil, which is why rainfall controls them. If your soil is not holding water well you might want to ask the soil experts what to do, mulch of course helps a lot. So it seems it might be solvable but will require constant vigilance and a lot of hard work spraying and making up your garlic preparations. One last note, home-made garlic preparations seem to work much better than store bought; you can buy no-skin cloves 3 lbs in a plastic jar from Costco. Store bought chilli concoctions seem to work better than home-made I do not know why. Hope this helps....See MorePanicked about spraying miticide on spider mites on fiddleleaf fig
Comments (15)@gardengal48: Before reading your response, I decided to spray down the entire plant in my shower. I think I'll continue to do this every week. As for knowing whether the pests were indeed spider mites--I'm definitely not an expert so I just matched up Google photos to what I saw. The webbing looked like this with tiny little light specks moving across. (Not as many as this screenshot). Since I've hosed down the plant, there may not be anything for me to take a picture of. Hopefully it'll stay that way :) In the meantime, I'll post some more pics of the "damage" I'm concerned about and maybe that could incite some more specific advice. Thanks!...See MoreJeremiah
5 years agoJeremiah
5 years agoJeremiah
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agoJeremiah
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agoMoses, Pittsburgh, W. PA., zone 5/6, USA
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agoJeremiah
5 years agohoosierbanana
5 years agoJeremiah
5 years agolast modified: 5 years ago
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Moses, Pittsburgh, W. PA., zone 5/6, USA