White and black dots on my aromatic plants

Question

I'm growing 2 varieties of Basil (in the same pot) Rosemary, Thyme, Mint, Parsley and Coriander. However, other than parsley and coriander, they all seem to have some white and black dots on their leaves, some even have small insects (I saw them in Mint leaves and one of the basil varieties). I have so many questions. I'm not sure how to deal with this, I don't want to use pesticides. But some of my plants seem to be too far gone, mainly the thyme and mint are totally infected. What happened to my plants? Should I start fresh? How to prevent it from happening again? Can I still consume some of the least infected leaves?

Answer 1

All these herbs have an insect pest that I believe is spider mites. The diagnostic indications are:

• webbing can be seen in the first picture
• black dots about the size of grain of salt
• affected leaves show yellow pin size areas or are completely yellow

You can control spider mites with 5 ml soap mixed in 1 liter of water. That is the only control agent I would suggest for things you might eat.

However the damage is extensive and you have to spray or wipe the plants at least three times at five day intervals and rinse with water each time.

In terms of time and effort expended I recommend:

• cut them all back hard so there is no more than one inch of stem
• increase sun light, decrease watering until new growth is seen
• spray with soap and water as described above and rinse with water
• use a cloth and wipe the pots with a soap and water solution
• use your phone or a magnifying glass and look at any other plants in the area for spider mite infestation. The underside of the leaves is where they start.