Red spider mite on indoor plants. Spider mite on indoor plants: how to fight

Fighting spider mites on indoor plants is not a pleasant occupation. To destroy spiders, you can use chemical means or folk remedies. Of course, if you treat the plants from the tick with chemicals, you will get rid of the problem much faster.

However, if you get rid of the spider with folk remedies, minimal damage will be done to your flowers. Although folk methods of struggle are sometimes ineffective, and you have to use one or another chemical remedy for spider mites.

Chemicals

To remove the pest, there are a number of special preparations for spider mites - acaricides. They are designed specifically to deal with similar insects that encroach on indoor flowers.

• "Actellik". Used against spiderlings, directly in contact with them. Makes it impossible to eat. You need to spray it once every two weeks, while you need to take care of a protective suit, and the flower itself is not treated at home, but on the street or in a non-residential building, since the product itself is quite poisonous.
• . A biological agent that is much less harmful than its predecessor. It contains aversectins - it is these substances that have a neurotoxic effect, which is detrimental to the insect. Despite the fact that "Fitoverm" is not so toxic, you should not forget about the means of protection.

What to do and how to get rid of spider mites on houseplants if you don’t want to deal with hazardous chemicals? There are simple ways available to everyone and everyone, because the insect is afraid of funds that can be easily found in any apartment.

However, before starting treatment, a thorough cleaning of the flower is required. To do this, it is washed with ordinary clean water without the addition of cleaning products (after all, soap clogs the pores on the leaves of the flower). The window sill and the pot itself are also washed well to remove spiders that could hide there. After that, you can proceed to more serious actions.

1. Infusion of garlic. Two finely chopped heads of garlic are poured with a liter of boiled water. The infusion is twisted with a lid and defended for five days (the jar is placed in a dark, cool room). After that, the resulting mixture is diluted with water in a ratio of 1: 1 and the flower is treated.
2. Onion infusion. 100 g of onion peel is poured with five liters of water and infused for five days. After that, the infusion is filtered and used to treat plants.
3. Alcohol. Pests are well removed with alcohol, but the method is only suitable for plants with dense sheets. A cotton swab is moistened with ammonia and the leaves are wiped. The method may be less effective due to the fact that insects sit in places that are difficult to reach.
4. Soap solution. Use any soap: green, laundry or even tar. It is important to process not only the exhausted plant, but also the pot in which it grows. The foam is left on the plant for a short time (2–4 hours), and after washing it off, the flower is covered with a plastic bag for a day, maintaining an increased level of humidity.

Infection prevention

1. Regular inspection of your flower garden.
2. Compliance with optimal air humidity (mites are very fond of a dry climate).
3. Regular spraying of leaflets from a spray bottle.
4. Washing the plant every month under a warm shower.
5. Quarantine recently purchased instances.
6. Steaming the soil to destroy individuals hibernating in the soil.

Video "Getting rid of spider mites"

From this video you will learn how to quickly and effectively get rid of spider mites.

Almost any house plant can be inhabited by the worst enemy - the spider mite. What does he look like? How to deal with spider mites on any indoor plants? What harm can it do to a plant? Let's take a look in this article on how you can protect your favorite flowers from pests and prevent such a scourge in the future. Go!

Why you need to get rid of spider mites on flowers

The tick is not considered to belong to the insect group. Its dimensions are extremely small, it is impossible to notice with the naked eye. Some people lament that they did not notice his tricks in time and did not save the plant. However, knowing some of the features of the spider mite, you will be able to quickly detect this pest.

Contrary to popular belief, the spider mite does not always wrap its favorite plant with cobwebs. This usually happens when there are already too many mites, and the plant is on the verge of death.

Spider flare gradually destroys the shell of the surface of the leaves, thus disrupting the natural processes of photosynthesis. The plant stops receiving the necessary nutrition, and gradually fades. A damaged flower becomes vulnerable to many diseases.

Importantly, the spider mite can move from one flower to another. If one flower had a disease, for example, it was infected with gray rot spores, then when a tick settles on a neighboring flower, it will transfer this infection to him. Being not just a pest, but also a carrier of diseases, the spider mite can cause great harm to your flowers. How to get rid of spider mites on flowers?

How to get rid of spider mites on indoor plants

1. Small dots appeared on the leaves of the flower. These dots can have a different shade: from light silver, red, yellow to red. This sign informs the owner of the flower that the dying process has begun in these places of the leaves and the plant needs help.
2. Spots can also form under the leaves of plants. However, they are usually white on the underside.
3. A thin cobweb. If there is a cobweb in some places, this means that the spider mite on indoor plants, the control measures for which are not always easy, has chosen your flower.

Advice! To make sure that this pest is not present, take a white sheet of paper and shake the flower over it. If there are mites, they will fall on the leaf and you will see them. The shades of the bodies of ticks depend on the color of the plant they feed on.

Although it is possible to fight a tick with folk methods, in some cases it may be useless. Alternative methods are effective either at an early stage of infection, or as a preventive measure.

The main chemical control methods are as follows:

• acaricides;
• insectoacaricides;
• biological products;
• synthetic means.

How to get rid of spider mites on flowers with special tools

Preparations of the Fitoferm series

This tool belongs to the group of insectoacaricides. Similar in effect and composition are also "Vermitek" and "Aktofit".

The advantage of these chemicals is that they are the safest of all acaricides. However, they effectively fight spider mites.

Important! No drugs of the acaricide group have any effect if the temperature in the room where the treatment is carried out is below 18 degrees. Even the reprocessing time directly depends on the temperature regime.

These drugs can cause relative harm to humans and plants, so they should be used with caution, applying protective measures.

We use Apollo
It has the same properties as the previous one. The advantage of this tool is that it successfully fights not only with active individuals, but also with spider mite eggs. Considered an acaricide.

Chemical means "Aktellik"
This substance tends to evaporate. It is not safe for humans and plants. Never use this remedy at home! It can only be used in outdoor protective equipment.

Despite its "harmfulness", "Aktellik" fights well with spider mites.

Advice! Never treat wet plants. This reduces the effectiveness of the drug, and can also cause additional damage to the flowers.

If you have a spider mite settled on indoor plants - how to get rid of it with folk remedies in the initial stages of infection?

Spider mite on indoor plants: how to deal with folk remedies

So, you are sure that you have a spider mite settled on indoor plants. How to deal with folk remedies with this "guest"?

Remember that in cases where the pest has spread greatly, folk remedies may not help. In this case, chemicals should be used.

Video: how to get rid of a spider mite on a rose at home

To clearly see how the processing of domestic plants goes, let's watch the video.

Have you ever had a similar experience: wake up in the morning and come to admire your flowers, and all the tops of the plants drooped and covered with cobwebs? A similar picture can be seen both on indoor plants and in the garden on flowers, trees and berries. The name of this scourge is spider mite. It is able to penetrate everywhere and its tiny size makes it almost elusive. How fast and efficient get rid of spider mites once and for all and prevent its occurrence?

The enemy must be known by sight

spider mites(or scientifically in Latin - Tetranychidae) are distributed throughout our globe. But given their survivability, it is possible that beyond J. Even in the ice of Antarctica, the larvae of these insects were found. The species diversity of spider mites is simply amazing, there are more than 12 hundred different species.

This is what a spider mite looks like when magnified

The size of this pest is so small (less than one millimeter) that it is almost impossible to see it with the naked eye. The appearance of spider mites on indoor plants can only be detected when insect colonies reach an impressive size. And also on a characteristic basis - the appearance near the cuttings of leaves and at the bottom of the leaf of cobwebs.

What do spider mite larvae look like?

Ticks feed on the juices of the plant, located on the underside of the leaf blade, closer to the large veins. spider mite, like forest ticks, has a sharp proboscis, with which it pierces leaf tissue and drinks juice. As a result of the activity of the pest colony, the plant begins to wither quickly, intensively lose leaves and, in the end, dies if timely measures are not taken.

And on this sheet you can see the spider mite itself, its larvae and the eggs it lays

The life expectancy of a tick is less than two months, but the females manage to lay up to five thousand eggs during this time, from which a new generation of ticks comes out every 2-3 days. Therefore, the pest population is growing almost at lightning speed.

The spider mite on indoor lemon is a very dangerous and common pest. This insect is very small in size, almost invisible to the naked eye, so it is very difficult to identify and take timely measures to eliminate it. It feeds on the sap of the plant, its activity leads to starvation of the plant, drying and falling of the leaves.

Spider mite feeds on sap from a plant leaf

How to deal with spider mites on indoor citrus plants? What are the methods of effective treatment of homemade lemon and tangerine from a tick, how to prevent infection - we will share our experience. Evidence of activity spider mites on lemon leaves- is the appearance of yellow dots, yellowing of the tips of the leaves, folding of the leaves. In the later stages of infection, cobwebs may appear, at first single stripes, and in advanced cases, entire nests inside twisted leaves.

It looks like a spider mite on a leaf under a slight increase

Spider mite, description and photo

spider mite- an arachnid insect, ranging in size from 0.3 to 0.6 mm, depending on sex and fatness. Has 6 or 8 legs. Insects of red color and their dark green larvae most often settle on domestic lemons. They move very slowly, most often they live on the back of the leaf plate, but sometimes they can also be found on the outside. To the naked eye, they can be identified as small red dots.

Spider mite on the back of the leaf, barely visible to the naked eye

The defeat of houseplants by spider mites is a fairly common phenomenon and is often not always immediately noticeable. But this is a mortal enemy for your collection of flowers and decorative "favorites". In a few days it may be too late, so the fight to destroy the spider mite must begin immediately.

Today, according to experts, there are no drugs that can get rid of the spider mite once and for all, but it is possible to prevent the death of the plant by using specialized tools in time that are guaranteed to eliminate this pest. But you need to know: he quickly "gets used" to the drugs and can return again.

One of the important rules for its destruction is a regular and thorough inspection of the plant.

There are certain symptoms and external signs that it is affected by this pest:

• Discolored spots on the underside of the leaves;
• Points on the underside of the leaves, either dark or faded;
• Punctures on the leaves (initial stage);
• Thin colorless gossamer;
• The loss of the green color of the leaf, it turns red, a marble shade appears;
• The leaves begin to dry, deform, curl;
• White coating on various parts in the form of dandruff;
• Layer of "dust";
• growth retardation;
• The accumulation of pests on the edges of the leaves (with a large lesion).

For inspection, it is better to use a magnifying glass and carry it out in daylight.

Unfavorable environmental factors for this pest are: cold, high humidity (more than 55%) and cool temperature (less than 25 degrees Celsius).

But even under such conditions, the guaranteed death of pests does not occur, because they have the biological ability to slow down all the processes of their vital activity (diapause).

During such a period, they seem to freeze without signs of life, stop moving, do not drink the juice of the leaves, and you might think that the fight against them ended in victory. But when the conditions suitable for them are restored, their attacks on plants resume with even greater force.

Types of spider mites

This species does not belong to the tick family, but is a member of the arachnid group. This is important, because in order to choose the right means for its elimination, you need to understand which drugs are suitable in order to cope with this particular category of pests.

Description, biological characteristics

• Belongs to the class of arthropods, not insects;
• The size of an individual is about half a millimeter, and it can only be seen using a magnifying glass;
• Life time is 25-35 days, but during this period each female lays several hundred eggs, of which new individuals appear after 3 days. Within a few days they are ready for the process of increasing the population through reproduction. Eggs do not lose viability for about 5-10 years. 20 generations of individuals are formed per year;
• The color may be brown, brown. The female is painted reddish, so it is much easier to distinguish it on the leaves;
• The body is oblong, pubescent with villi;
• They live in colonies on the wrong side of the leaf, with the advent of winter they can go deep into the soil up to 22 cm;
• During diapause, they crawl into cracks in window sills, under skirting boards, chipped pots, and into recesses in window frames.

Certain types of ticks choose different flowers and plants, their attack on them is massive.

Almost all types of these pests are omnivorous, but there are exceptions; plants with a fleecy surface and all varieties of aloe are not so often affected.

Especially often you can see its population on roses and orchids, many flower growers stop growing them after an unsuccessful struggle.

They not only destroy the plant, but also carry various fungal diseases.

If the defeat of the instance is strong enough, then it is better to destroy it as soon as possible.

Since the spider mite is not an insect pest, it is useless to use insecticides against it, they will not work. Against them, it is necessary to use preparations of the group of acaricides and insectoacaricides.

They are preparations specially designed for the destruction of this type of arachnid.

These products include substances that cause paralysis of the pest and their nutritional organs and components that cause sterilization of females and eggs.

They are divided into the following groups:

• Contact - death occurs upon contact with the drug;
• Intestinal - death occurs during nutrition;
• Fumigants - death through toxic vapors;
• Systemic - death through plant sap.

The hazard class for humans and animals must be taken into account when using. Class 1 and 2 drugs are the most dangerous, class 4 drugs are considered completely safe, class 3 drugs have a differentiated degree of danger (bees, fish).

Spraying with substances of classes 1 and 2 is carried out outside the premises, on the street or on the balcony. For class 3 and 4 substances, the process is carried out in a bathroom with closed doors.

Preparations must be constantly changed so that addiction does not occur, since the spider mite tends to adapt and develop immunity against poisons very quickly.

If the treatment did not bring results before the onset of winter, then such a plant is a dangerous source of future infection. Since the females go into the ground deep into the pot for wintering, and none of the influencing substances act on them.

The scheme of plant treatment is directly "tied" to the biological cycle of development of the spider mite.

The first spraying is aimed at destroying the bulk of adults. Regardless of the drugs that are used, the bulk of pests (70-80%) will be destroyed.

The second should be carried out in a week, when new individuals hatch from the eggs.

The third spraying is carried out again a week later for final destruction.

Many experienced indoor growers add a fourth spray to eliminate possible remnants of the population.

How to properly process indoor flowers with drugs

The spider mite is a rather serious problem and its destruction requires methodical and correct implementation of all stages. It is not easy to eliminate such a rapidly spreading pest, so a number of important rules must be observed.

Processing rules

• First of all, it is necessary to immediately destroy those specimens that are 80-90% affected by the pest, since it is better to lose one or two than the entire home collection;
• All damaged leaves must be cut off and eliminated;
• All plants should be disinfected, regardless of the presence of the pest;
• It is necessary to disinfect window sills, skirting boards, window structures, pallets, the outer parts of pots with alcohol, you can use a strong solution made from laundry soap;
• Wash the curtains in the room and bathroom, if disinfection activities were carried out there;
• It is desirable to carry out the elimination of the population in the first half of the day in daylight;
• Before processing, wash the plant in the shower with a solution of soap flakes. For plants for which “water procedures” are undesirable, a steam bath is prepared by turning on hot water (the drain is not closed).
• Practitioners - flower growers do not advise using such a solution, it turns out that it clogs the stomata on the leaves, thanks to which the plant breathes;
• Before processing, the plant must be dried.

The process involves spraying the trunk and the entire surface of the leaves on both sides with the selected preparation, moreover, they are shed so that the plant is completely wet. The soil mixture in the pot is also processed.

Put a plastic bag on the plant and leave it for 1-2 days.

Small indoor cultures can be processed by immersing them upside down in a container with a solution of the product.

If the spraying method is not suitable for the plant, use a cotton swab soaked in the preparation, which is placed on the ground in a pot and also covered with a plastic bag.

It is important to start the treatment process as early as possible, at the first manifestations of the presence of a pest.

Means without chemical ingredients, prepared from herbs and medicinal raw materials, are used in practice by those who would like to solve the problem with less damage to the health of family members. Usually, the damage to indoor plants by the pest is insignificant, or it’s just time to carry out regular prophylaxis. In addition, not everyone likes to use chemicals and prefer a milder effect on indoor flowers.

However, experts warn that folk options for dealing with spider mites are not effective enough.

For disinfection, extracts, mixtures of decoctions and infusions from various plants are prepared.

Folk remedies are used every 5-7 days due to their low intensity of exposure.

There are also quite original folk remedies for combating this pest.

Oil from the nuts of the neem tree (margosa) perfectly destroys the populations of this pest, it can be bought in Ayurvedic stores. The advantage is that they do not develop immunity against this oil.

You can prepare a decoction at home, which, by its effect on them, will have a similar effect, which is obtained when treated with acaricides.

Decoction: ground cinnamon - 1 tbsp. spoon, ground cloves - 1 tbsp. spoon and 2 tbsp. spoons of any Italian seasoning pour a liter of water, boil and pour 2 tbsp into the cooled broth. tablespoons minced garlic mixture After filtering, you can spray the plants.

Biological measures against spider mites

The essence of biological control methods is that the destruction of the pest occurs naturally, without the use of chemical or folk remedies, but with the help of their natural enemies. For this, bioagents are used: predatory mites - phytoseiulus, metaseiulus, amblyseius and predatory bugs - macrolofus. Usually they can be purchased in specialized stores.

More often, such methods are used in industrial greenhouses and flower greenhouses. For indoor floriculture, they are used less frequently, although the results are quite impressive: one predator per day can eat 5 ticks or 10 eggs. Research work on the use of bioagents for the destruction of this group of pests is being carried out in some European countries and is considered a promising direction.

Preventive measures play an important role in protecting indoor greenhouses from spider mites. It can enter the house along with the air from the street, when buying soil, a new plant, even with a gift bouquet.

Therefore, it is necessary to take preventive measures, preventing the pest from settling in your indoor garden.

Mandatory activities:

• Regular inspection of plants for the presence of adult pests, their larvae and eggs;
• Weekly shower with warm water, temperatures up to 43 degrees are acceptable, as the pest does not tolerate moisture and is well washed off the leaves;
• Regulate the level of humidity in the room to create uncomfortable conditions for the life of the tick. You can use humidifiers, climate devices;
• in summer it is good to take them out to balconies and terraces for ventilation and exposure to sunlight;
• Carry out "cleaning" of the plant from weeds, dried and fallen leaves;
• Irradiation with ultraviolet light at least once a month;
• For any new plant, quarantine for 2-3 weeks is mandatory.

Quarantine measures for a new plant should include a mandatory shower immediately after purchase and treatment with one of the means aimed at destroying possible pests. After processing, it is covered with a bag and removed no earlier than after 2 days. This must be repeated again. Without fail, the soil and drainage of the new “pet” are disinfected.

The plant is placed in a separate room, without contact with other specimens, contact is not allowed.

The spider mite can return even after the most thorough measures to destroy it, so you need to constantly keep your blooming garden under control.