Spider mites...nuff said.

[Francis Barnswallow]

Can't seem to get rid of these pests. Sprays have not worked because it rains everyday in my area....plus 5000% humidity levels. They're destroying my cuke/zuke plants. Strange thing is is that I've never had issues with spider mites before. Any suggestions?

[imafan26]

I get them every year. They are hard to get rid of. I don't try to get rid of all of them, it is impossible but I do these things to limit them

Hose off the leaves especially the undersides with a strong jet of water. They thrive in hot dusty weather and rain is usually what gets rid of them.

Keep the plants as healthy as possible so they can better fend off insects and disease

Pick off the worst infected leaves and cull the weakest plants (they are pest magnets) bag and burn (trash).
Baking soda spray.
Soap & Water - Mix a dilute solution of non anti-bacterial dish soap and water, and spray (fine mist) the leaves of your plant, particularly the underside where the mites like to live. May require multiple applications depending on how well you can cover each individual leaf of the plant. Make sure to rinse off the leaves with plain water 20 minutes after spraying in order to prevent the soap from clogging up the stomata on the leaves, which will stunt plant growth if not cared for.

Soap & Water Plus Version 1 - Gather 1/4 cup baking soda, 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 2 drops dish detergent & 1/4 teaspoon epsom salt. Take one cup of hot water to dissolve epsom salts and pour into a clean 2 liter container with the rest of the ingredients. Add water to fill to 48 ounces (a 2 liter bottle will be 3/4 full) and shake well. Put into a spray bottle and cover your soil/medium with plastic. With the lights off, mist the plant all over concentrating on the underside of leaves. Wait 20 minutes and sprits off with clean fresh water, shaking as much water off the plant as you can. Solution is alkaline and rinsing is important in order to remove mites and eggs, and to prevent the solution from burning the plant leaves. Test on a small portion of the plant and wait 24 hours to observe before dousing the whole thing. If you see plant damage, dilute with more plain water and test again.

Soap & Water Plus Version 2 - Gather 1/2 cup baking soda, 1 cup vinegar, 3 tablespoons lemon juice, 2 drops dish soap, mix and dilute with plain water to 40 fluid ounces. Use in the same manner as Version 1. Shown to work both indoor and out, with success on spider mites, thrips, aphids, clover mites, grass gnats and mosquitos.

Soap & Water Variations - Since all plants will have varying degrees of sensitivity to these sprays, you can try to create your own by mixing water with a small amount of dish soap, as well as garlic, cinnamon, clove oil and lemon juice.
Rubbing Alcohol - This poisonous liquid can kill mites and evaporate relatively quickly in order to reduce harm to plants. Varying degrees of success have been reported with solutions ranging from 1:3 (light) to 1:1 (strong) ratios of rubbing alcohol to water.
I use this a lot on a lot of things. Spray early in the morning, not in the heat of the day or early afternoon or it may burn plants. I use it straight out of the bottle.
Predatory Mites - These mites do not feed on plants but on other mites. Predatory mites can be mail-ordered from a horticultural warehouse or purchased online from gardening vendors. Three of the most common mites used to kill and control spider mites include Phytoseiulus persimilis, Metaseiulus occidentalis, and Phytoseiulus longpipes. The Phytoseiulus persimilis variety is nice because these guys cannibalizes on themselves after eating the problem mites, thereby reducing their own population naturally after they've finished their work. Phytoseiulus longpipes can stand higher temperatures, so if your grow space is above 89°F, you should try to find this variety.

Miticides - When all else has failed, miticides will be one of the most effective forms of spider mite treatment. You should generally try not to use these more than necessary, as they are considerably more toxic than all of the above treatments, and can also cause resistant strains of mites if used repeatedly over time on the same population of mites.
I cannot readily find miticides in small quantities Keltane is the most common one.

Pyrethrins are natural organic compounds that provide potent insecticidal activity. While pyrethrins are slightly toxic, they are not very dangerous to humans and have been used as an organic crop dusting agent in agricultural farmling as well as indoor agriculture for some time. You can also find them in some shampoos designed to remove lice/ticks from humans and pets. Riptide 5.0% Pyrethrin is a common solution that works well.

https://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7405.html

[applestar]

My understanding is that a lot if them are already resistant to most MITICIDES. And you are better off NOT treating with broad spectrum miticides which will kill off the beneficial predatory mites which are your best option.

I had two spotted mites desimate one of my Winter Indoor tomatoes. I really wanted to save it and was rinsing every single leaf by dunking in clear big gulp type container of soapy water. I could see many hant tiny mites that got washed off in the soapy water cup and the rinse cup. I was doing this every other day but the plant died.

Next year was Tomato Russet Mites. The Winter Indoor Tomatoes slowly bit the dust, then the spring seedlings began to show signs of infestation. I wasn't going to rinse every single one of those, so I started putting them outside in different locations as soon as I could, hoping that *somewhere* in my garden, there were predatorial mites. As I planted them in the ground, some showed rapid decline due to Tomato Russet Mites. Interestingly, some apparently died to bare stem/stump, then started growing fresh, unaffected vigorous suckers... And went on to grow for the entire season.

One example is described here https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/vi ... 11#p341511

I didn't examine them, but I assumed that Garden Patrol, mite division, had finally mobilized.

You can order them on line if you are not confident that there are some in your garden, though I found them to be rather pricy.

[GardeningCook]

I've had excellent results by first doing a gentle plain water wash, then letting the plant(s) dry, & then applying a thorough (top & bottom leaves) spray with Safer brand insecticidal soap.

[digitS']

I've had excellent results by first doing a gentle plain water wash, then letting the plant(s) dry, & then applying a thorough (top & bottom leaves) spray with Safer brand insecticidal soap.

That has been my approach in the vegetables - using Safer brand.

I've used dish soap on sunflowers and returned the next morning to rinse the plants. Soap spray of either type is applied near sundown.

I'm not sure if I can describe my rinsing before or after the bug spray as "gentle." I figure that if I can get the tiny critters off on the ground, they will either starve or die of old age before they can crawl back to the plant.

One thing about them showing up again -- miss a few and I bet they reproduce to a few thousand in a week .

Steve

[imafan26]

There are beneficial mites which will attack and kill spider mites as well as predators like the minute pirate bug.
I mostly use water and removing heavily infested leaves and trying to keep the plants as healthy as I can.

I only resort to chemicals when the infestation is very bad. Most of the time a good hard rain does the best job of getting rid of them.

[Francis Barnswallow]

I bought a 2 inch wide paint brush and have been wiping away the pests under the leafs for a few days now. So far so good!

[applestar]

Ha! What a great idea. Are you using the paintbrush dry?

I always think that once they are knocked off the plant, it should take them a while to get back up there (picture Geico commercial with the gecko being dropped off on the aircraft carrier....)

...and once on the ground, they are target for ground predators. This doesn't always work when ants fetch aphids back up onto the plant though....

[Francis Barnswallow]

I use it dry. It knocks them off or kills them in the process.