A while ago my inside tropical plant started to have its leaves turn white. Since my dad told me those plants were finicky I didn't attribute the change in its leaves to pests. Unfortunatley, pests are the problem. The miniscule bugs suck the chlorophile and make webs leaving me to theorize that I have a spider mite problem. I have cleaned off the leaves with a wet paper towel but that isn't enough.
Now they are infesting my Starfruit tree. I have removed the branches they started feeding on but am now desprate to get rid of them before they kill my tree.
What are my options for getting rid of these things if they are infact spider mites?
First, give your plant a lukewarm shower, but be sure to cover the pot/soil with plastic gently tied around the trunk of the plant so the soil doesn't wash away. If you have a hand-held shower, you could try just aiming at the foliage.
Spider mites prefer dry air so you could try raising humidity -- your problem may have started when you started using heat in the house. If it's a large plant (it looked like it in the photo you posted before) you might consider a humidifier. An ultrasonic cool mist unit aimed at the plant might just be the ticket. (Do you watch Monk? -- I was envisioning the episode when he caught a cold and had 3 units in his bedroom -- the main one, the back up one, and the back up for the back up....
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Other options are to spray the foliage with water whenever you think of it and set the plant on overturned clay saucer or bricks in some kind of a large tray or a shallow storage bin filled with water.... (It could be something more decorative, and you could put gravel in the bottom -- you get the idea.) You can also just surround the pot with several containers of water. It would probably enjoy being in the in the bathroom while you take a shower, too.
If you can get hold of a spider somewhere, catch one and put in on the plant.
Spider mites prefer dry air so you could try raising humidity -- your problem may have started when you started using heat in the house. If it's a large plant (it looked like it in the photo you posted before) you might consider a humidifier. An ultrasonic cool mist unit aimed at the plant might just be the ticket. (Do you watch Monk? -- I was envisioning the episode when he caught a cold and had 3 units in his bedroom -- the main one, the back up one, and the back up for the back up....
)Other options are to spray the foliage with water whenever you think of it and set the plant on overturned clay saucer or bricks in some kind of a large tray or a shallow storage bin filled with water.... (It could be something more decorative, and you could put gravel in the bottom -- you get the idea.) You can also just surround the pot with several containers of water. It would probably enjoy being in the in the bathroom while you take a shower, too.
If you can get hold of a spider somewhere, catch one and put in on the plant.
THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! I'll do what you recommended immediately.