Overwhelming Force

[digitS']

. . . against one of the smallest of garden pests: spider mites !

Looks sinister doesn't it?? Just a nozzle attached to the watering wand so that it can reach the underside of the leaves better:

This summer I will try more at least in the hard-to-water corners of the dahlia garden:

I've used this effectively against aphids at a low concentration of 3 tablespoons per gallon of water with next day rinsing with fresh water. I have read a number of time that almost immediate rinsing is effective against bugs so I will try that today at a higher concentration.

Spider mites become a real problem some years and it is the dry, hot late summer weather that brings them out by their millions! I notice the first problems in the corners of the garden where it is difficult for me to provide adequate soil moisture. So, the plants become stressed and here comes the mites!

You should know that the new Bayer 3-in-1 is proving effective in that I don't see any mites in the flowers. The top of the plants is where I can do the best job with the spray but the plants are about 5' tall already. It is on the older, lower leaves that the mites are hard to reach with the spray where they set up camps and prepare for their assault on the other parts of the plants. Today, they are going to get it! Preemption!

First the dishsoap to soften them up . . . then a blast of cold water to dislodge them from their defenses!

Steve

 

[Kassaundra]

I have wondered this everytime I see a recommendation to control mites or aphids by spraying them off w/ water, and today seems as good a day as any to finally ask. When you knock them off w/ the water spray don't they just climb back up on the plant?

 

[digitS']

I am a little worried about spreading them around, Kassaundra, one plant to another.

Spider mites are mighty small. So small that one has to really focus on them and wait for them to move . . . "Okay, what is that speck? Did it move? I'm going to stare at it for a full minute . . . Wait! I think it was on that side of the leaf vein, now it's on the other side!"

I can imagine all sorts of disruptions to their lives if they can just be displaced -- missed meals, sleeping just wherever, marital discord. If they end up on the ground, I think that might be terminal. They are just so small and travel such short distances/hour, they should have real trouble having enuf energy to get back to where they can do damage in this lifetime.

Spraying aphids off lupines (a favorite of theirs) did NOT work for me. They die easily if sprayed with insecticidal soap. I understand that this works for spider mites but as tiny as they are, it is going to take some real looking to know for sure.

Steve

 

[thistlebloom]

I battled aphids one year on sunflowers. And they were so horribly thick on the backs of the leaves that it was a little stomach turning to look at them. I hosed them down daily, and I made a soap spray concoction, I even dusted them with DE, nothing was very effective. In the end I started tossing the worst leaves into the chicken pen, where the leaves and their hitch hikers were devoured.That was satisfying to have the last word in at least a few instances.

Later I read somewhere that too much hosing can be a bad thing, and I sure wish I could remember why, I wondered if that may have had some part in their proliferation....?

Anyway, it was a wierd weather year, very cool and overcast, with damp mornings almost all summer. I also had powdery mildew on everything.

Here's to you in your buggy battles today Steve, wishing you the upper hand and ultimate victory!

 

[digitS']

This may be one reason I get into trouble with spider mites - density of planting. Still, the plants in my front yard have lots of room but suffer from mites. Sun exposure is a more important factor. Dahlias in afternoon shade have very little trouble from the mites.

Using the soap seems to be working well . There was more sun damage to petals last week than earlier but that just may be - again - sunlight, low humidity and higher temperatures lately. Still, it is a little scary to me to see foam on the plants! At 5 tablespoons/gallon there's more of that than at 3T/g. I'm in something of a sweat to get this entire ~1600 sqft garden sprayed and start over with the rinsing.

Steve

 

[digitS']

You can click the image to see me in action!

digitS'

 

[hoodat]

I battled aphids one year on sunflowers. And they were so horribly thick on the backs of the leaves that it was a little stomach turning to look at them. I hosed them down daily, and I made a soap spray concoction, I even dusted them with DE, nothing was very effective. In the end I started tossing the worst leaves into the chicken pen, where the leaves and their hitch hikers were devoured.That was satisfying to have the last word in at least a few instances.

Later I read somewhere that too much hosing can be a bad thing, and I sure wish I could remember why, I wondered if that may have had some part in their proliferation....?

Anyway, it was a wierd weather year, very cool and overcast, with damp mornings almost all summer. I also had powdery mildew on everything.

Here's to you in your buggy battles today Steve, wishing you the upper hand and ultimate victory!

It's easier to see the webby dusty look than the mites themselves. The best predator on spider mites is an even smaller mite. Hard to imagine something even smaller. Maybe that's why too much hosing is harmfull. You wash off the predators with the spider mites. You have to do something though. By the time the predators find them they have done a lot of damage. I usually have trouble with them on my Mexican oregano bush this time of year but so far this season (knock wood) they seem to be leaving me alone.

 

[Rhodie Ranch]

hahaha....I'm old enuf to remember Madge. Even with gray hair! Thanks for the memories!

 

[ninnymary]

Steve...I noticed that you always use Pamolive. Is it because that's what you use/buy or is it better than other brands for pest control? I don't use this brand and was wondering if others were just as effective. I would think so.

Yes...I remember Madge also.

Mary

 

[digitS']

It was recommended somewhere years ago, Mary.

Any dishsoap might be effective but they are made for cleaning dishes and aren't necessarily simple compounds. Cooperative Extension horticulturalists went thru quite a few contortions trying to recommend them but not recommend them. They are probably fairly safe for plants out of direct sun - like houseplants - but there's a danger of burning foliage. It is even easier to burn petals than leaves so I am suspicious of using just any dishsoap. I trust insecticidal soap far more than something that is supposed to "cut grease" in a skillet.

Insecticidal soap is expensive, however. And, my plan was to return immediately to rinse the plants. I am not doing this under a bright afternoon sun. It may have been effective against the spider mites and may not be responsible for the small amount of sunburned petals that have shown up on the dahlias. I have often washed off plants before spraying them with bug-killer. I just decided to start with soap this year since the dahlias had so much trouble with mites in 2010.

Dad once sprayed an aphid-infested plum tree with dishsoap. I don't know the brand, concentration or whether he later rinsed the tree. It was a touchy subject with Dad after that tree dropped all of its leaves! Every one . . . denuded that poor little plum tree . They grew back after about a month. . .

Steve