Preventing Spider Mites

SkaterKid

Hey I fear my Juniperus is infected with spider mites. I noticed a white residue on the needles and recently there were many discolored leaves but, I just past if off as over watering as we have had non-stop rain the last couple of weeks. I notice one or two spider like webs and I even squished a tiny red bug that looked like a little moving dot on my pot. However the rain has stopped and the leaves are turning back to normal. It looks as If nothing is wrong. How do I prevent an infestation and could this just be over watering?

Advertisement

MelloBonsai

I'm not aware of any prevention methods other than regular watering with a high intensity jet of water. This tends to knock them off.

There may be some systemic insecticides as well, but I don't like using them.

__________________
Click here for bonsai trees and supplies

RJS

I have used insecticidal soap with no ill effects.

lehket

Spider mites tend to prefer drier conditions. As Mello said you can jet them off when you have them, but keeping things a bit on the wet side will also reduce the likelihood of them showing up in the first place. I suspect that misting during hot weather pretty much does the trick. We had them on some of our rose bushes one year, but I've never seen them on my bonsai. The main difference is that I mist my trees but mostly let mother nature take care of the roses.

__________________
--Dale
----------
Co-author of Spiritual Telemetry,
Host of Planet Baha'i and the Planet Baha'i Forum

ekillians

I for one, HATE spider mites with a passion. Finally, though, I seem to have them under control. By all means, try insecticidal soap and neem oil first but when those fail try Orthonex. I spray once a week for 4 weeks and the little buggers are gone.

Now I've been spraying once monthly to prevent another outbreak. Was so bad at one point I had to defoliate most of my tropicals. Thankfully I didn't loose anything.

I have heard from other people about treating once a month with no adverse effects.

-EK

__________________
The great French Marshall Lyautey once asked his gardener to plant a tree. The gardener objected that the tree was slow growing and would not reach maturity for 100 years. The Marshall replied, 'In that case, there is no time to lose; plant it this afternoon!'
-- John F. Kennedy

PatArizona

G'day Kid...

In the 2 or 3 time I've had spidermites, I've chased them off with Carl's Soap Solution. Simply follow the directions...below.

CSS works for me...it might work for you. Or not

Pat


CARL’S SOAP SOLUTION!

INGREDIENTS
Water
Dish Detergent
Rubbing Alcohol
Vegetable Oil

DIRECTIONS

Fill a gallon jug with water and add one (1) or two (2) tablespoons of dishwashing detergent and one (1) tablespoon of vegetable oil (or Neem oil). Shake up the gallon jug to mix the ingredients.

Pour this solution from the gallon bottle into a spray bottle and just before using add 1 to 2 two caps full (from the rubbing alcohol bottle) of rubbing alcohol and spray immediately. If you do not use the full bottle of spray, the next time you are going to use the soap/alcohol solution add the same amount of rubbing alcohol again, since the alcohol will evaporate. You can store this soap/oil solution in the gallon jug for months on end. It does not seem to go bad.

Spray on plants covering all leaf and stem surfaces. You may have to spray from three to four times with intervals of three days.

This works for almost any kind of pest that attacks your trees, including scale.

I do not wash off the spray and have seen no adverse reaction to the trees from this mixture.

From Carl L. Rosner, 4/11/2007

__________________
BONSAI isn't about surviving in a storm, rather, how to dance in the rain.
THE ONLY WAY: Always remember, and don't ever forget, that whatever you read here is not cast in concrete... the intent of any advice is to help. In no way should you feel that I’m saying that my way is the only way…heaven forbid! I've seen far too much of the "my way or the highway" attitude in bonsai as well as in other areas of life.

jjpsych

There is always the Nicotine option. I dont think there are any nicotine products on the market now...but there is a way to make your own. Get a bag of chewing tobacco (red man, levi garrett, but not Lancaster...it has too much molassas added during the curing) You can make in one of two ways, the first is to just chop up the tobacco until its about as couse as soil mix and let it sit in about a liter or quart of water overnite. The second is similar to the 1st, but you but the bag of tobacco and the water into a blender and do a coarse chop for a few seconds, (This is ONLY if you have access to a blender that isn't used for food stuffs anymore) Once it has steeped (like tea), strain it with a kitchen sieve first to get out the coarse bits of tobacco, then run the mix through a coffee filter to get out the rest. Then, I would try a 2-1 water to nicotine ratio to see if it is strong enough to knock down the mites. I would not advise this as a routine spray, but it's cheaper than Avid miticide ($100 a quart). Of course, another way to use this concentrate is as an additive to the insecticidal soaps. If going that route, I would rotate soap without nicotine twice, then the soap with nicotine. There is always some caution that should be used with concentrated nicotine. The stuff is poision... so, use appropriate gloves and safety gear when making and mixing it. Because it's a "folk remedy" there is no way to be 100% certain the concentrations you're working with, but it's a safe bet your less than the 40% that the nicotine based insecticide products.

jjpsych

Correction... Avid Miticide is $250 a quart... or you can get an 8 oz. bottle of it for just over $100...