Spider Mites

[farmer d]

Well I was hoping to never have to add a post to this thread but here I am.  If you're going to get spider mites this is definitely the time of year they start to show up in numbers.  My Cherry Glow which I got recently as a 2 gallon was one of the first to show those splotchy yellow leaves as well as Illuminati & Bright Hope also 2 gallon purchases shipped here in July.  CG is on the south corner of my porch so it gets the most heat and sun hence she is under attack big time.

Even spotted some on my Tahitian Charley (another really hot & sunny spot) and worst of all my growth chamber in my garage has them too which explains why a few of the plants in there have all yellow leaves for no reason.

Fed Kontos to the porch plants yesterday and today I'll feed these others and spray very carefully with the sprayer just to wash them off.

I hope these pictures help anyone not familiar with what to look for and what they look like.

Remember when it gets really hot spider mites have a 3 day reproduction cycle and their population can explode in a few weeks and spread to all your plants.

Farmer D

[farmer d]

Upon further inspection I found quite a bit more spider mites and ended up Kontos drenching about 1/2 of my inner front yard.  The plants in the sunniest and hottest spots had them which is what would be expected.  Plus my plants have all been very much starved for food until recently so I figure that has also played into this outbreak. 

If I remember correctly last year I had no such outbreaks.

Farmer D

[Charlie]

Darren, Kontos works very slowly and not at all on adult mites. You should also use a Bug Blaster or hose on the underside of all leaves every day or 2 until the Kontos helps achieve control by slowing reproduction. Horticultural oil sprays will also smother mites and is far better than water alone. For those willing to use a respirator during application, a miticide like Avid can be used for quick and thorough control.

Charlie

[farmer d]

Charlie I really appreciate the additional information as it has been 2 years since I've had to deal with a spider mite outbreak and I am kind of relearning what to do here.  

I got some horticultural oil today so I sprayed all the undersides of leaves on my potted porch plants as well as the wood chips on top of the soil to hopefully smother them.  I will do so again in several days and hopefully between the two this will snuff them out.

I also took off all affected leaves and immediately threw them out - I placed our "green" trash can on the street already to have it furthest away from any plants on my property.

So I am thinking about the factors that might have led to this outbreak.  Just ideas to think about, nothing for sure...

1. I was not feeding my plants much this season so they were probably weaker than normal and more prone to attack.

2. The sudden onslaught of aggressive fert feeding might have provided plenty of nutrients for the spider mites already here to go into overdrive and reproduce faster.

3. I sprayed twice within the last few weeks with spinosad so maybe that killed off their natural predators.

4. This is the time of year they appear in numbers and we had some more dry heat lately which I know they like the dry and hot conditions.  Not hot at all though as it has been a very mild summer so far here in So Cal.

5. I have been aggressively killing spiders as their webs are messing with the leaves of the hibs.

6. I also have noticed a lot of aphids at the same time too which is interesting.

Farmer D

[LJG]

Just a few points Darren which might help.

1) Spinosad won't kill most beneficials. (I believe it can be an issue with bees when wet, but no issue once dry. Hence why it is better to spray in evenings.)

2) Plants that are well fed, particularly with N are magnets for pest. Not due to more "nutrients" but due to the fact rapid growth creates weak, elongated cell walls that pest find easier to attack.

[farmer d]

That is very helpful Len.  I'm wondering if it were more prudent to feed my infected plants with just straight Kontos instead of doing it with ferts?  I definitely agree and see how much the additional N gets the pests going big time.  Maybe trying to kill two birds with one stone is not such a good idea in this situation.

Speaking of pests I see a lot of these guys too, not sure if these are alive or just remains...I don't believe these are white flies unless this is what they look like dead?

Farmer D