Return to the Garden Clinic Forum
| Post a Follow-Up
spider mites or something on my houseplants
| | |
Posted by vaherbmom va7 (My Page) on Sat, Dec 3, 11 at 20:49
| Hi all,
Several of my houseplants have webby looking things on them. Could it be spidermites and if so, how should I treat them?
I don't want to use anything toxic as some of the plants are edibles, including a Meyer lemon, a rosemary and a bay leaf.
Thanks for any help! |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: spider mites or something on my houseplants
| | |
| Vaherbmom, you'll have to be more specific in your description than 'webby looking things'. Spider mites are nearly invisible arachnids that are sometimes associated with extremely fine webs from leaf to leaf. Does this fit the appearance of what you're observing? Sometimes, people describe mealybugs as 'webby looking things'. |
RE: spider mites or something on my houseplants
| | |
| Pictures would help us understand. |
RE: spider mites or something on my houseplants
| | |
| Yes, they are small webs, but not *really* fine. Some look like regular spider webs, others are finer. I will try to get photos up--I'm not very tech-savvy but will make an effort to post some tomorrow. thanks for trying! |
RE: spider mites or something on my houseplants
| | |
| Spider Mites are about the only plant problem that makes webs in plants so if your plants have webbing they probably have Spider Mites. Control can be a problem but keeping the fairly high humidity level around the plants will help. Since very few pesticides will do anything to helpo control these we buggers using them is mostly a waste of your money. Misting with water, daily if not several times each day, is more effective then most poisons. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Spider Mites
RE: spider mites or something on my houseplants
| | |
| Misting your plants won't help much, if they are spider mites, but showering will. Repeated showers or mistings directed to the under side of the leaves can be helpful. You can use insecticidal soap upon occasion, as well. Rubbing alcohol mists (directed to where the mites hang out) can be very helpful. I'm not sure that I've used RA on rosemary, but it might be worth doing a sample test on a small section. RA typically causes far fewer problems for plants than mild soap sprays. Use one part alcohol to three parts water. I've used it for many years on a wide variety of plants with zero problems. Avoid fuzzy leaved plants, flowers, or plants with very tender foliage (though I have used it on ferns!). Many (most?) people find it a bit of a challenge to grow rosemary and bay inside the typical home, especially in the winter. Lack of light and low humidity levels are the problems. Misting won't help with the humidity, unfortunately. The Meyer is a real trooper, accommodating itself to being dragged inside and outside pretty well. All three of the plants you've mentioned are prone to spider mites...especially when grown inside. So be prepared to do battle. |
RE: spider mites or something on my houseplants
| | |
OP's image at this link.
http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/pests/msg1219423320342.html?1 |
Here is a link that might be useful: image
RE: spider mites or something on my houseplants
| | |
According to many horticulturists I have talked with misting plants with Spider Mite infestations increases the humidity around the plant which slows the sexual activity thereby reducing the number of the Mites. Spider Mites like a warmer, dryer environment so the misting, so I'm told, increases the humidity and lowers the temperature.
The University of California Integrated Pest Management web site refers to misting as a means of control of Spider Mites as well as many others. |
RE: spider mites or something on my houseplants
| | |
vaherbmom, do you have a spidermite infestation? The narrative and the photograph confirm it and it looks pretty bad.
The two spotted spidermite multiplies prodigiously under warm, dry conditions.
Misting the affected plant is part of the answer. A mild(very mild) solution of dishwashing soap in a hand misting bottle works well (but the soap is essential). This must be followed by wiping down both surfaces of the leaves with paper towels moistened with the same solution. If you do not do this the mist will dissipate quickly and a large part of the pest population will live to breed another day. The towels will be smeared yellowish and will tell you that you are making progress. After this, mist the whole plant once more and then repeat the treatment in three days, if you can; otherwise no longer than a week.
Yes!!! It takes work. But it can be done and it is satisfying work.
http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/orn/twospotted_mite.htm#life |
RE: spider mites or something on my houseplants
| | |
| Hi I've tried this stuff before and it's pretty effective. Also works on other pests and is safe to use on edible plants. There is also some useful info on the website about spidermites in general. See what you think. |
Here is a link that might be useful: www.spidermitecontrol.com
RE: spider mites or something on my houseplants
| | |
| vaherbmom, I followed up on SMC, the website mentioned bt Treesy. It appears to be a buying club that offers the opportunity to sell their products from home. I went here and found the kind of information that helps me to decide. |
RE: spider mites or something on my houseplants
| | |
| Hi ronalawn82 I think you are looking at the wrong business! The business is called Spidermite Control the product is called SMC and they are a UK company. You seem to be refering to a US company called Speciality Merchandising Corporation which I don't think have anything to do with Spidermite Control. I can't see anything on their website suggesting you can sell their products yourself and they certainly didn't ask me to when I ordered mine. Hope this helps. |
RE: spider mites or something on my houseplants
| | |
Treesy, that might be so. However, I am extremely interested in a product that will do all of this.
�Highly effective - tested used and recommended by professionals.
�Fast acting
�Easy to use
�100% Organic
�100% Safe
�100% Control
�Safe to children, pets and wildlife
�Safe to beneficial insects
�Safe to use with biological controls
�No restrictions on how often it can be used
�Tested on a large number of plant species with no phytotoxicity problems*
And then they state:
* If in doubt, test on a small area of the plant before applying to the rest. |
Post a Follow-Up
Please Note: Only registered members are able to post messages to this forum. If you are a member, please log in. If you aren't yet a member, join now!
Return to the Garden Clinic Forum
Special Notes for Uploading Images:
- You will be asked to designate your image file on the preview page, the second step in posting. You should see an edit box asking for the image file name and a Browse button to the right of it. Click on the browse button to locate the file on your computer.
- Image uploads are not enabled for followup messages.
- The Subject of your post should describe your image, i.e., "Lilium superbum."
- It is illegal to post copyrighted material. Only post images which you have created.
- Image files may not be larger than 60 kilobytes.
- Images must be either in GIF or JPEG format and have one of the following file extensions: .gif, .jpeg or .jpg
- File names containing only letters, numbers, dashes or underlines will work best, such as: "im-1_a.jpg" File names containing special charcters like #, @ or %, may cause problems.
- File uploads work with Netscape version 2.0 and above,
and Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0, but they do not work with many of the browsers that claim to be compatible with Netscape, including earlier versions of Internet Explorer.
|
|
|
