I'm skeered of spider (mites)!

[digitS']

They are just leetle tiny things! But, they are soooo hard on dahlias!

This area has arid summers. Humidity falls below 20% on nearly every summer afternoon. (When it finally warms up.) The spider mites love this . . . and, they love dahlias. (They also love evergreens and there are lots & lots of evergreens near my dahlia garden.)

I've had them almost kill plants - and, since the roots of those plants never developed enuf for them to make it thru winter storage - the mites DID kill those plants !

Spraying the plants with a strong blast of water followed by Isotox systemic insecticide has saved my dahlias on bad spider mite years. Isotox is no longer available :/.

Last year, I used Bonide Systemic Granules. Big Zero for mite control!!

When I've sprayed the sunflowers in the veggie garden with Palmolive Green, it has not only killed the aphids but the mites seem to have disappeared also. But, I don't use Palmolive on any valuable plants! Dad once sprayed his plum tree with dishsoap and it not only killed all the aphids but that tree dropped every leaf! The leaves regrew but I don't want to take that chance with the dahlias!

Insecticidal soap works great on aphids but the extension sites and other gardeners say it does a poor job on spider mites.

What do you think I should do along in late July when the mites show up in the dahlias? Is there some product I'm overlooking? BTW - the horticulturalists say that Sevin so degrades the mites' natural predators that mite infestations develop where they wouldn't have otherwise occurred . . .

Steve

 

[stepstephens2]

A spray based on neem oil? I have had some huge battles with spider mites these past few summers. The dishsoap seems to work- but as you noted, not on everything. This year I've been using a lot of neem based sprays on things and have noticed it's a lot gentler than the soap. Just a thought...?

 

[digitS']

Yeah, I don't know why some folks assume that dishsoap would be gentle on a plant (or organic, for that matter).

It can work for killing bugs. I understand that some gardeners use it at a real strong dilution to kill ants and then wash the plant immediately. I'm not sure how well this works. The soap is going into the soil and to plant roots. The ant might just get a bath . . .

Colorado State U recommends 3 Tablespoons/gallon of water and that is what I've used. I try to get back to rinse the sunflowers the next day.

I have some neem spray in the garage. I am going to try it on the rosemary tomorrow - for mildew. Too bad I can't test it on mites but it has been so cool, I'd probably be out with a magnifying glass for days looking for them right now.

What was it I read? A spider mite can lay a dozen eggs a day throughout its adult life and it can become sexually mature at as few as 5 days old!! . . . I guess it is no wonder that a half dozen mites on July 1st could cover a dahlia with 10's of thousands of their offspring by the 1st of August!



Steve

 

[lesa]

I have never encountered spider mites outside. I have battled with them on house plants...Great- something else to worry about!

 

[RustyDHart]

Steve.....wow....I've been lucky....no Spider mites here. I looked around for a source for miticides and found some in my Swan Island Dahlia catalog......here is their website: www.dahlias.com or phone: (800) 410-6540.......they do sell stuff to help get rid of your mites......Good Luck!!! Rusty

 

[digitS']

They've got Steph's Neem spray!

Rusty, the spider mites are what I get for trying to grow dahlias in such an arid summer climate. And, they love, love, love evergreens! There's not much else in our forests and every yard has either arborvitae or junipers or both.

Lesa, drag the hose in thru the front door and blast those mites on your house plants! Yeah, that should be your first order of business with those pests!

Steve

 

[thistlebloom]

Yeah, I don't know why some folks assume that dishsoap would be gentle on a plant (or organic, for that matter).

Steve

I could be wrong, but I always thought soap sprays should be made from real soap, e.g. Ivory, as opposed to detergents which are harsh. Anybody know for sure?

 

[digitS']

I don't even know the difference, Thistle' . . .

But, I got an idea of how they might work.

Tender-skinned baby bugs . . . covered in soap/detergent . . . a late afternoon with 15% humidity . . . bug toast.

digitS'

 

[momofdrew]

I know this works in my yard and coop on other insects and mites on the birds... food grade Diamatious Earth...I was having big trouble with infestation on my verbina a few years ago where it was eaten bald... last year I tried the DE and again this year and no infestation and my verbina looks so healthy...have used it on my ant problem and on beetles on my asparagas and potato plants... it will harm good bugs too but for the most part the good bugs aren't invading my gardens...it is not a poison so it wont harm the water table or streams and fishes or the enviorment as a whole...

 

[digitS']

Pam, that's interesting because they are so small. I'd have thought that the mites could just crawl around the silica . . . Of course, many will live under the leaves and that might be an application problem.

I also came across (somewhere ) the recommended use of elemental sulfur.

I suppose that once they get into something like this, they couldn't get out of it. And, that would do them in.

Steve