MitesHow to check for spider mites.
Spider mites live on the underside of leaves, and are reddish brown or pale in color, oval-shaped, and very small.
They survive by sucking material from plant cells.
The firstObvious signs are patterns of spotsinfection are white webbing, yellow blotches on leaves, and eventuallyeven silver or bronze streaks. If an infection gets particularly bad, leaves will curl and fallcan start falling off.
To avoid further spreading of them prune infested area offconfirm an infection, take a leaf and discard in trashshake it over a sheet of paper.
Another way wouldA few spider mites will fall off. They can be to blast leavesthen looked at with a hose which blasts pests off.
Clean leaves, to get rid of dust, because dust attracts themmagnifying glass.
A reason plants can beCheck more susceptible can be water stress (plant is not getting enough water)
Try to avoid using pesticides because it can kill beneficial insects such as ladybugs, predacious thripsoften in dry and lacewing larvae, that would decimate spider mites normallydusty conditions.
Some
Dealing with them naturally
- Wipe leaves with a sponge regularly.
- Spray plant with a hose on high pressure, targeting the underside of leaves.
- Rubbing alcohol on leaves will kill spider mites.
- Remove infested leaves immediately and discard in trash.
- Remove weeds, particularly broad leafed ones, because these give spider mites hiding places.
- Make your own miticide: Boil a quart of water then take it off the heat.
Once it has cooled slightly add two teaspoons of crushed fresh garlic. Once it has cooled, add a squirt of dish soap to the tea, and then put ina spray bottle. Spray the underside of infected leaves with the tea every three days.
- Encourage the presence of ladybugs and other insects that prey on spider mites.
- Some other natural miticides: Neem oil, rosemary oil, cinnamite and pyrethrum.
Dealing with them chemically.
- Use sulphur.
- Buy products at a garden store to kill them. Follow the manufacture's instructions.
- Use a strong insecticidal soap inside.
Hope I helped
Some plants that are highly prone to spider mite attacks are listed here:
Alocasia 'Frydek.'
Aspidistra elatior 'Milky Way.'
Chamaedorea elegans.
Calathea roseo-picta
Codiaeum variegatum 'Petra.'
Cordyline fruticosa 'Kiwi.'
Hedera helix (English ivy)
Pachypodium lamerei
Strelitzia nicolai.
Acorus spp. (sweet flag, Japanese rush)
Adenium obesum (desert rose)
Alternanthera spp. (including A. dentata 'Purple Knight')
Aspidistra elatior (cast-iron plant)
Breynia disticha cvv. (snow bush, snow on the mountain)
Brugmansia cvv. (angel's trumpet)
Chamaedorea seifrizii (bamboo palm)
Cissus rhombifolia (grape ivy)
Colocasia cvv. (elephant ears)
Datura cvv. (devil's trumpet)
Dieffenbachia spp. (dumb cane)
Dracaena marginata (Madagascar dragon tree)
Dracaena thalioides
Gardenia jasminoides (gardenia)
Hedera canariensis (Algerian ivy)
Heliconia psittacorum cvv.
Hibiscus rosa-sinensis (tropical hibiscus)
Impatiens spp. (impatiens)
Jasminum sambac (jasmine)
Maranta leuconeura cvv. (prayer plant, rabbit tracks)
Musa spp. / Ensete spp. (ornamental banana)
Plumeria cvv. (frangipani)
Polyscias balfouriana (balfour aralia)
Polyscias fruticosa (ming aralia)
Primula vulgaris (primrose)
Ravenea rivularis (majesty palm)
Schefflera arboricola (umbrella tree)
Schefflera elegantissima (also known as Dizygotheca elegantissima) (false aralia)
Stromanthe sanguinea cvv.
References:
http://plantsarethestrangestpeople.blogspot.com.au/2010/01/list-houseplants-which-are-highly-prone.html
http://m.wikihow.com/Get-Rid-of-Spider-Mites
