How to get rid of spider mites 

A headache for gardeners and gardeners is a tiny spider mite that sucks juices from many types of ornamental and cultivated plants. This insect reproduces rapidly and adapts to poisons. This article will discuss how to get rid of spider mites with the help of special preparations and folk remedies.

The pest destroys the leaves of vegetable crops, decorative indoor and outdoor plants, and trees. The fight against it will be successful only if you use repeatedly proven drugs and recipes based on the characteristics of the life of an arthropod.

Pest control methods are very different. There are 3 groups of drugs used for this:

1. Chemical preparations – insectoacaricides.
2. Biochemical agents or biological products.
3. Folk recipes.

But first, we suggest that you familiarize yourself with the biology of the tick, which will allow you to understand how to eradicate the pest from your flowers and plants.

Description of the insect

The spider mite is an arthropod that belongs to the class Arachnida. There are approximately 1300 varieties of ticks. Distributed everywhere.

What does a spider mite look like? Its interesting feature is the absence of respiratory organs and eyes. The average size is 1 mm. There are species that are up to 2 mm in size. Although there are microscopic mites, the size of which is 0,2 mm. The body of an arthropod is oval, divided into 2 unequal parts or whole. The body is convex from above, and flat from below. The adult has 8 legs, 4 on each side.

Since there are many types of ticks, their color can be very different. There are red, red, yellowish, colorless and gray individuals. The mouth is piercing, it is a large heart-shaped formation with two stylets. Lives mostly on leaves.

Representatives of this type of Arthropods exhibit sexual dimorphism. Males are small and have an elongated body. The larva has only 6 legs and is transparent, while the nymph has a larger body than the male and has 8 legs.

Varieties of spider mites

Although there are more than 1300 species of ticks in nature, however, there are their most common representatives:

• Ordinary. Destroys almost all indoor, decorative and growing in greenhouses and open ground plants. Ticks live in colonies, most often located on the inside of the leaf. However, gradually they move to the shoots, namely to their apical parts. First, typical dots and spots of yellow color appear on the leaves. A white thin web forms between the stems and leaves. The color of the tick is red-pink. The plant is destroyed not only by adults, but even by their larvae. They can move from a damaged to a healthy plant, so gradually destroying all plantings.
• Atlantic. It has a yellow-green color. Can settle on any part of the plant. Unlike other species, the Atlantic spider mite is not afraid of even high humidity. Attacks citrus and house palms.
• False. Has a length of up to 0,3 mm. It comes in all shades from red to green. Doesn’t spin a web. If ticks become noticeable, then the defeat is already huge.
• Red spider mite settles on indoor flowers. The pest is afraid of cold water and high humidity. The higher the temperature, the faster the reproduction process takes place.
• Cyclamen. The very name of the arthropod speaks for itself, since its main delicacy is cyclamens. But it also occurs on other plants.
• Gallic kind of elongated shape, up to 0,3 mm long. The color varies from rusty brown to white. After the ticks suck out the contents of the cells, galls (pathological growths of cells) are formed from them on shoots and leaves, reaching a diameter of 1–2,5 cm. Ticks live and multiply inside the galls. This type of pest spreads with planting material, water for irrigation, and with the help of insects and wind. Gall mites are not afraid of even viral diseases.
• Wide spider mite. The arthropod is imperceptible when viewed with the naked eye. His actions lead to a distortion of the shape of flowers, buds and leaves. Settles on the underside of the leaves. Actively breeds. During the hot summer, a new army of arthropods hatches every 4–5 days. After a short amount of time, brown-red dust with cobwebs forms on the affected plants and flowers. To destroy pests, you can use colloidal sulfur preparations, as well as keltan. A flat-bodied or wide tick does not spin a web.
• Bryobi pincers settle on ornamental plants growing in a closed space. Yellowish and white strokes are clear evidence of plant damage. The mite lays rather large eggs along the veins of the leaves, they have a bright orange color.
• clover mite settles mainly on bulbous flowers. On a plant affected by a clover mite, passages are visible that are filled with brown dust.
• root bulbous spider mite. The pest can be seen when examining a cultivated or ornamental plant. Lays eggs in passages. At one time, the female can lay about 300 eggs. Gradually, the pest eats away the inside of the bulb, as a result of which it turns into dust.

All types of these pests survive even under adverse conditions, so measures to combat them must be severe. Female spider mites can hide by burrowing in the ground, or hiding in secluded places, such as under fallen leaves or in the crevices of pots. They then go into diapause or hibernation. After that, they exit the sleep phase and continue their normal activities.

The main signs of plant damage

Due to the defeat of a flower or a cultivated plant by one of the types of spider mites, the cells die. As a result, the plant becomes more vulnerable to diseases and infections. If you find small white dots on the leaves and a thin cobweb on the stems, then this means that a spider mite has settled on the flower. Some species do not weave a web, as mentioned above. With strong reproduction, mites become noticeable on the plant.

With multiple injuries, the leaves acquire a characteristic white color. They are most often completely covered with cobwebs, and pests accumulate on the tips of the shoots. The arthropod is also dangerous because it is a carrier of all kinds of infections and diseases. For example, it can carry gray rot spores.

How to destroy a pest

There are a number of preventive and therapeutic actions aimed at preserving green mass and protecting it from spider mites. Next, options for dealing with spider mites will be considered in accordance with the place where the plants grow.

From greenhouse plants

How to get rid of spider mites in a greenhouse? There are a number of preventive measures that prevent the reproduction of the spider mite, in fact, this is the usual care of the culture:

1. Regular weeding and subsequent loosening of the soil.
2. Compliance with the rules of crop rotation.
3. Autumn digging of soil.
4. Maintaining proper humidity for the greenhouse.
5. Regular watering and mulching.
6. Inspection of leaves for damage by spider mites. If any were found, they should be cut and burned.

Many gardeners prefer to use folk remedies, believing that this is the best and safest way to eliminate spider mites. They resort to the use of chemicals only in exceptional cases. Recipes for decoctions and infusions will be given later in this article.

For best results, alternate between spider mite treatments.

From indoor plants

As in the case of greenhouse plants, indoor plants also need preventive measures:

1. Daily inspection of the leaves.
2. Washing flowers under warm running water.
3. Rubbing and spraying the green mass with a solution of laundry soap.
4. After a day or two, place the plants for 1-2 minutes under an ultraviolet lamp.
5. If you assume that a tick has appeared on the flowers, but are not entirely sure of this, then for the purpose of prevention, wipe the leaves with pure medical alcohol.

If it was still not possible to save the plant from the tick, then it is necessary to start an active struggle, you may have to use special means.

Traditional recipes

There are many methods of dealing with ticks. We suggest that you consider several effective recipes for tick infusions and decoctions.

Soap solution

To process greenhouse plants, you need to make a concentrated soap solution. A bucket of warm water is 200 g of laundry soap. To make it easier to dissolve, it can be grated or chopped with a knife.

The composition must be insisted for about three hours, then mixed and sprayed with infected plantings. Soap can be replaced with dishwashing detergent.

Indoor flowers can be wiped with a soapy sponge. In this case, it is important to use only laundry soap. In addition to leaves and stems, the pot should also be treated. The ground around the plant must be sprayed with a solution prepared on the basis of laundry soap.

Wash off the leaves from the soap only after 3-4 hours. This is done in running water. Then it is covered with polyethylene to temporarily maintain high humidity.

Another effective solution is prepared from tar-sulfur soap. In this case, 1 g of soap, previously grated on a coarse grater, goes to 10 liter of water. For three weeks, you need to treat the plant every 7 days.

A solution of sulfur-tar soap can also be used for those plants that grow in open ground for both greenhouse and indoor plants. 100% result guarantee.

Garlic infusion

You can make infusions from garlic according to various recipes. We suggest you consider several options:

1. For 1 liter of water you will need 170 g of chopped garlic. This consistency should be insisted for about a week in a dark place. The made product must be filtered. Then 10 g of garlic concentrate is taken for 60 liters of water. Also in this composition, you can add 50 ml of pre-grated laundry soap.
2. Hot water is drawn into the bucket. 30 g of garlic is added to it, which is pre-chopped. This mixture is left in a dark place for a day. Before use, the infusion should be filtered. Further, everything is very simple – take a spray bottle and spray the stems and leaves of plants that are affected by a tick.
3. If you do not have time to infuse water with garlic, then about 10 g of garlic can be added to 200 liters of liquid, which must first be crushed or mashed. So, you get a stronger concentrate.
4. Some plants die from spraying or the external attractiveness of the green mass deteriorates. In this case, you can chop the garlic, place it in a small container and put it near the flowerpot, and cover the flower with garlic with plastic wrap. You can leave the plant like this for 1 maximum 2 hours.

alcohol solution

Before you start fighting the spider mite, you need to make a solution, for example, from ammonia. To do this, 1 ml of ammonia is added to a bucket of water with a capacity of 3 liter. Leaves are treated with this agent by rubbing. It can also be used for greenhouse processing.

For indoor plants, a soap-alcohol solution is used. So, for 1 liter of boiling water is about 30 g of laundry soap. After the solution has cooled, about 20 ml of alcohol is added to it.

Onion infusion

To prepare onion infusion, you will need 20 g of onion peel, which is poured with warm water. This solution is infused for 12 hours in a warm place. Then the onion infusion is filtered and squeezed. After that, the plant is sprayed.

Houseplants can only be wiped. Such manipulations are carried out daily for 1-2 months, it all depends on the condition of the plant.

Herbal decoctions and infusions

An excellent drug prepared at home to fight a tick is dandelion root. For 1 liter of water, 30–40 g of roots are used, previously finely chopped or grated. The remedy should be infused, after which it is filtered and the plant is treated with it.

Yarrow infusion prepared as follows – 1–70 g of dry leaves are used for 80 liter of water. After three days, strained infusion can be used to process indoor and greenhouse plants.

decoction of cyclamen roots fights well with spider mites. To prepare it, you will need 100 g of the underground part of cyclamen per 1 liter of water. Cyclamen roots should be boiled and strained. Stems and leaves are rubbed with a similar decoction. You can repeat the treatment only after 5 days.

A decoction, as well as an infusion of black henbane very efficient. However, in this case, you will have to deal with a poisonous plant, so it is extremely important to be careful. So, to prepare 1 liter of infusion, you will need 100 g of this plant. Leave the folk remedy for 10 hours, as it must be infused. After it is filtered. You can add 2 g of soap to it, be sure to use household soap. To prepare a decoction of henbane, you will need 2 kg of the plant, which is filled with water and boiled for three hours. After that, the composition is filtered and diluted with water, a volume of ten liters.

Infusion of potato tops can also help get rid of the tick. So, for one liter of infusion you will need 100 g of chopped fresh tops. This composition is infused for four hours, after which it is filtered. It is often used for processing greenhouses.

A decoction of the leaves of gray alder brewed from 2 kg of fresh leaves, which are poured with ten liters of water. The resulting composition is left for a day. After this time, it must be boiled again and left to infuse for another 12 hours.

Horseradish infusion prepared from 100 g of chopped horseradish roots, filled with one liter of cold water. The composition is left to infuse for 2 to 3 hours, and then the plants are processed.

Decoction of wormwood helps in the fight against ticks and other pests. One liter of water will require 80 g of dry wormwood. The grass flooded with water is left for two days. Then it must be boiled for 30 minutes, strained and diluted in two liters of water.

Rosemary oil as a remedy for ticks

For 1 liter of water you need to drip a few drops of rosemary oil. The composition must be thoroughly mixed and wiped with the stems and leaves of the plant.

You should not immediately use chemicals, as the photos show, the spider mite dies from folk remedies. Chemicals can damage plants and even kill them.

Chemicals

There are times when such folk, it would seem, proven folk remedies are ineffective. In this case, you can resort to the help of chemicals. Next, the best-selling drugs on the domestic market used to combat spider mites will be considered.

Preparation Fitoverm

It is included in the group of insectoacaricides of the fourth class of toxicity. Fitoverm is a “weapon” for defeating a tick, which has a biological basis. For spraying indoor flowers, dilute 2 ml of Fitoverm per 20 ml of liquid. After one week, the spraying procedure must be repeated. As a rule, four, and sometimes three sprays are enough to completely destroy the tick.

The drug has 100% efficiency. One week after the final procedure, it is recommended to feed the plant, for example, with Epin.

Actellik drug

In the case when a plant has been badly damaged by a spider mite, “heavy artillery” comes into play – the Aktellik chemical preparation. The active ingredient is pyrimifos-methyl.

The drug is usually used for the treatment of greenhouse plants. Actellik destroys not only spider mites, but also other insects. Included in the second class of chemical hazard. Toxic to humans and pets.

It is necessary to carry out no more than two treatments with the drug. After the first, the next treatment is carried out after 4-5 days. It is possible to carry out treatment with the drug only in a well-ventilated greenhouse or on open ground.

Neoron preparation

Included in the group of acaricides. It has an ovicidal effect, due to which it destroys not only adults, but also eggs. Usually, 2-3 treatments are enough to kill the spider mite.

Conclusion

So, by studying the biology of the mite and applying one of the above-mentioned remedies, you can save your flowers and cultivated plants from the invasion of the spider mite.

We invite you to watch a video on how to get rid of spider mites: