What is the effective way to control spider mites?
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2 months ago
last modified: 2 months ago
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Spider Mites - safe and effective way ?
Comments (5)Take the pots to a sink equipped with a hose sprayer and use that to rinse off the leaves, concentrating on the underside of the leaves. If you can lace your hand through the base of the plant to keep the soil in, and then turn the pot upside down, the water spray will be even more effective. I haven't tried this last, but if you use warm water at 120 degrees, that's supposed to be more effective yet....See MorePreventing/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 mites, Spider mites...
Comments (13)I had them once on a ever green and before I notice a 2 ft area was dead. I asked a nursery man about it and he said you can't see spider mites. He said to put a white sheet of paper under the area and shake the plant, then rub your fingers across the paper. If there are blood smears they are spider mites....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
2 months agogardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
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14 days agotapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
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13 days ago
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tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)