How to Eradicate Red Spider Mites
Red spider mites affect many types of garden and house plants. Although azaleas and camellias are particularly susceptible, there is a good chance you could find them on your roses, day lilies, blackberries, and amaryllis plants as well. They multiply quickly, and can soon cover a plant, causing extensive damage and possibly killing it. Spider mites are technically not spiders--although they are close cousins--but arachnids. These noxious little pests are divided into two varieties: the European red spider mite and the Southern red spider mite. The European normally confines itself to attacking apple trees, but the Southern red spider mite is far less picky. If red spider mites are infesting your plants, there are some techniques you can use to control them. Does this Spark an idea?
Things You'll Need
- Handheld magnifying glass
- Sheet of white paper
- Humidifier (optional)
- Ladybugs, available at garden supply stores (optional)
- Garden hose or sink sprayer
- Castile soap
- Spray mister
- Bucket
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1/2 cup milk
- Predator mites (optional)
Instructions
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Identify spider mites by looking for a dusty appearance on the undersides of leaves, accompanied by frail, wispy grayish bits of webbing. Your plant may also display yellowed or red mottled leaves, especially on the older, lower foliage, as well as leaves dying and dropping off.
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Use the magnifying glass to confirm your suspicions--you will see tiny red spiders moving about on the leaves. Use the end of the magnifying glass to knock some onto a white piece of paper, where they will be more visible.
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Separate affected plants from heathy ones immediately; mites are adept at getting from one plant to another. If you have several affected plants, it's OK to cluster them together; this will create a more humd environment and help slow down mite reproduction.
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Draw the blinds and keep infested house plants out of direct sunlight. If possible, run a humidifier near them.
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Bring on the predators for outdoor plants. Ladybugs, a natural, organic, chemical-free method of control, will feast on spider mites. If mites are infesting your houseplants, a ladybug or two might be just the ticket, but some people balk at having them in the house.
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Spray each infested plant forcefully with water, focusing on the undersides of leaves, to wash away as many mites as you can.
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Repeat the water spraying every three days to remove new hatchlings.
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Spray plants well on the undersides of any leaves with a mild insecticidal soap solution made by mixing three drops of castile soap to a quart of water.
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Immerse the whole plant in a bucket containing the insecticidal soap solution if the mites are on a potted houseplant,
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Repeat the insecticidal soap spraying and dunking procedure every 3 to 7 days. Your goal is to keep killing mites as they hatch; insecticidal soaps are useless on mite eggs.
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Decide if the current measures you are taking are eliminating the mites' if not, you may have to take even more drastic measures. Trap them in a gluey film by mixing 1/2 cup flour, 1/2 cup milk, and 1 gallon of water. Mites that have been trapped and suffocated by this mixture will show up as black, motionless dots--a welcome sight.
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Use predator mites if nothing else is working. These specialized mites will consume the red spider mites, then turn on each other. The end result is no mites on plants. Since predator mites are quite expensive, this is a last resort.
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Tips & Warnings
Begin your mite inspections in the spring, and continue through the summer through fall; mites thrive in hot, dry weather.
Mites are easier to prevent than to get rid of. Keep your plants free of dust, and pick up or prune any fallen or diseased leaves. Water sufficiently, and mist daily.
If forcefully spraying a large or outdoor plant that can't be dunked, put paper around the bottom to catch mites that are knocked off. This prevents them from making their way to other plants.
