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Mite infestation in veggie garden - soil treatment?

So this goes in the "learned the hard way" category...

I got busy with work and neglected my veggie beds which I've been meaning to pull out and replant with winter crops (I'm in LA) and today noticed an orange fuzzy coating on the tops of the tomato plants - upon closer look it was a giant hive of red spider mites. Yikes!

Good news is I wasn't trying to save the plants - which after putting on a hat, mask, gloves and rain boots I have removed to the green bin. (I had to stop looking down at my shirt/hands/pants as I was literally crawling with them.) I am cleaning up the beds and watering as a first step to discourage/kill the mites in the soil.

I had trouble with mites last winter and my peas never grew well, and now I'm sure it will be way worse.

Questions: What can I do to get rid of them in the soil? Keeping it moist and not planting for little while seems prudent - but how long? And is it worth using soap/neem on the soil? Or maybe even planting a cover crop of something? Some plants seem more immune to mites - for instance I don't remember my kale attracting them last year. So maybe I should just plant winter veggies that don't attract mites?

Any advice much appreciated! I feel like I just lived through a horror movie but am recovering....is 3pm too early for a glass of wine under the circumstances? lol.

Comments (18)

  • rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
    9 years ago

    Not spider mites; it would be physically impossible for you to see spider mites crawling all over you. Impossible.

  • slowjane CA/ Sunset 21
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    rhizo - guess i have good vision then. ;)

  • slowjane CA/ Sunset 21
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    unless you think this is something else rhizo? i'm pretty sure they're red spider mites....just more than i've ever seen in one place. they left tiny orange streaks on my hands when i smooshed them. i didn't even know they could build "colonies" like this....

  • tsugajunkie z5 SE WI ♱
    9 years ago

    Red spider mites (Tetranychus urticae) are a possibility. Red Clover Mites are more visible and another suspect.

    tj

  • jean001a
    9 years ago

    That many critters means that you allowed things to get seriously out of hand.

    Diagnose the problem early on, then apply the appropriate remedy as needed.

    By the way, treating the soil isn't needed. They're not in the soil.

  • ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
    9 years ago

    and.... you can NOT go systemic.... which would be a soil treatment/solution.... IF YOU WANT TO EAT THE VEG ... [at least i wouldnt play that game of claims when it is inert INSIDE the plant]

    usually someone finds one or two bugs... and cries.. HELP ... INFESTATION... HURRY .... and we usually roll our eyes at the drama ... well.. i do ... lol ...

    i think you win the understated title of the year award ... that is.. w/o a doubt.. an infestation ...

    ken

  • ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
    9 years ago

    BTW .....

    based on the shadows ... you are most likely.. baking the beegeebees out of the plants.. making them incredibly stressed ... which causes all kinds of bug and disease attacks ..

    i would cover with a plastic grocery bag.. cut at the ground.. and get rid of it all ...

    and let the plot lay fallow until spring..

    no plants.. no bugs...

    how much space do you have.. between the wall.. and what looks like a fence rail????

    ken

  • slowjane CA/ Sunset 21
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Indeed Jean I did let things get seriously out of hand. ;) As I said at the beginning, I am guilty of neglect for sure. I had stopped watering mostly as all the plants were done for the season and I just didn't have the chance to pull everything out until yesterday. I'm in SoCal and our hot dry fall made for the perfect storm of stressed plants and environmental conditions. It also never rains here and never freezes - so nothing to "reset" the system, or keep populations manageable. This was almost a science experiment. If it hadn't been a terrible accident. ;)

    Like I said, I wasn't trying to save the plants, so I did exactly what you said Ken right away. Thus getting covered in mites. (shudder). See picture for what it looks like now. There is about 24" of space between the wall and the trellis. It's not the wall's fault tho - plants were fine this summer except for a couple of scorching days.

    And Jean, I know they don't *really* live in the soil - but so many fell off the plants as I cut them down I guess I was wondering what to do about remaining populations. For instance, if I plant peas right now I don't think they'll have a chance. ??

    Ken you think let it lay fallow till spring? What about a cover crop? I hate to leave it "naked" and clover maybe would provide some benefits to the soil?

    Here in LA winter is my season for kale, lettuce, peas, beets, carrots etc....but the weather has been so terrible for pests (I had terrible powdery mildew as well) I'm wondering if the soil should take a break....

  • ronalawn82
    9 years ago

    slowjane, there is a story about a guy who used to kill flies on his ceiling by throwing darts at them.
    When asked, "Isn't that a bit messy?"
    He replied, "Not if you nail them on the hind legs!"
    I have seen spider mites! By shaking a suspect branch over a white card. The specks that scurry over the surface are spider mites. I could not tell how many legs they possessed; or how many body segments; or what their mouth parts were like.
    If I found enough of them I would spray Kelthaneî and occasionally had to repeat the treatment.
    Nowadays, I would have to research my options - such is the nature of my profession.
    However, you said that you are not interested in saving the infested plants; just in ridding yourself of a serious problem
    Well, you have options.
    A very good remedy in agriculture used to be the 'closed season'. I 'Googled' the term but could not find a good reference.
    Essentially it means destroying every part of a crop for a period that is long enough to disrupt the life cycle of the pest.
    The classical example was the cotton crop and the cotton boll weevil. After the harvest, fields were burned in an attempt to deny the pest any chance of resurging; at least for a time.
    I am not familiar with the climatic conditions of your location but solarization might be feasible.

  • slowjane CA/ Sunset 21
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Hmm - I hope I wont need to burn my little veggie beds ronalawn! ;) Thanks for the story and suggestion. Maybe I need to research the life cycle of red spider mites and go from there....

    Do you have thoughts about a cover crop? Or suggestions of winter veggies that don't have attract mites?

    (has my utter neglect made everyone just throw up their hands and stalk off in disgust? ;) )

  • jean001a
    9 years ago

    So, they fell onto the soil. Forget them. They will die there. On their own. And without pesticides of any kind.

    I gardened for 30-some years in SoCal (Long Beach) and know that there's no reason for such extreme infestations or reactions. Even though rain is an occasional thing there, a hose will deliver water to water, and wash off, plants as needed.

  • slowjane CA/ Sunset 21
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    "So, they fell onto the soil. Forget them. They will die there. On their own. And without pesticides of any kind. "

    Okay great! Just what I wanted to know.

    "I gardened for 30-some years in SoCal (Long Beach) and know that there's no reason for such extreme infestations or reactions."

    I think I've actually had a pretty good attitude about it, Jean, but if you think my reaction is too "extreme", and my mea culpa not clear enough, then by all means, continue to scold me. ;) Like I said, this goes in the "lessons learned the hard way" category.

    Also, it has rained *once* since I moved to this house - in a year and a half! This counts as less than "occasional" in my book. I had stopped watering so as not to waste water since the plants were done for the season. But I should have removed them right away. Lesson learned! ;)

  • ronalawn82
    9 years ago

    slowjane, your veggie beds are like your bridges.
    Don't burn them.
    I cannot imagine the conditions under which you grow your garden; much less recommend something to grow.
    My thoughts run to okra, pumpkin squash and the like.
    As for pests and diseases, there is the triangle - host, pathogen and conditions. The first two are like the poor - always with us.
    When we learn (your word) the conditions which favor their proliferation, we can predict upsurges.
    Regular and rigorous inspection helps.
    One of many links.

  • slowjane CA/ Sunset 21
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Thanks ronalawn. Indeed, I am usually very attentive toward the garden and check often for pests, and now know to do so even if the garden has stopped producing. Better yet, to compost the plants as soon as they're done.

    Thanks all.

  • Fricky
    9 years ago

    I would just keep the beds (and any leaves) moist, red spider mites thrive in dry conditions :)

  • slowjane CA/ Sunset 21
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Thanks Fricky. I am diligently watering the soil to see if I can break the mite cycle.... ;)

  • rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
    9 years ago

    Jane, fricky's advice was not good for a variety of reasons.

    Spider mites don't inhabit the soil.

    Though their populations may explode in dry heat, they can also thrive in humid, moist conditions.

    It's not good for the soil to be saturated all the time, not physically nor chemically.

    Plants can suffer and even die if grown in overly moist soil. Same for the essential fauna and flora that live in a healthy soil system.

    It's not good to keep the foliage of our plants moist.

    You can 'break the mite cycle' by allowing the beds to lie fallow over a few months. Cover crops and even weeds can serve as hosts for spider mites.

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