Hardy Tropicals UK

Hi after buying yet another ansete maurelii to try to overwinter i now have a consevaory.What protection do you guys and gals recomend against red spider mite please.Kind regards ...daz

I hav'nt seen one this year daz,

Even so they are more a summer insect than winter....I think.

Here is a decent link on them

http://www.bonsaigarden.net/control_of_ ... mites.html

Cheers Kata.I will have a look

Provado works for me Daz. I wouldn't bother with the premix spray tho as it don't go far . Get the undiluted bottle and mix your own ........£8 ish @b'n'q and makes about 27litres.

For spider mites only, I had great success from one application of Westland Plant Rescue Ornamental Bug Killer. Apparently lasts up to 12 weeks, I haven't seen them once since I treated them a year ago.

Next time though, I will try Provado because as Arlon says, £8 for 27 litres. I've been using this stuff for thrips control and I've been free of any pests since, although I had no mites this time.

That is a very interesting article Kata.

I have used Pravado and must get the concentrate. It is systemic as well so will get any newly hatched Red Spider Mite for a period. I also use 'SB Plant Invigorator' as it gives the plant a tonic at the same time as killing bugs with fatty acids.

If you don't want to use insectacides. blasting the leaves individually with the fan spray setteng both top an bottom works, but needs to be repeated at least once a week. This is fairly easy on plants like ensete. but I hold the leaf tip or the spray just blast the leaf out of the way. Ensure you get the spray into the underside of the midrib as this is where most of the Red Spider Mite hide.

Be careful with Colocasia as many products can burn the leaves. Provado and SB do not cause damage in my experience, but try on a small leaf and leave a couple of hours as a test before spraying the whole plant.

Hi Daz,

I have been moaning about Red Spider Mite on here for ages!

For me regular spraying and provado didn't work (I guess my super Red Spider Mite became resistant?

I have just started using the product suggested by Palmer in this thread

http://www.hardytropicals.co.uk/forum/v ... 30&t=13241

It really works although is very expensive for the amount of liquid you get. I still have some Red Spider Mite but it is minimal compared to what it was like before.

That is a very interesting article Kata.

Thanks Dave, It came up first in Google.

Is Red Spider Mite something you only get in greenhouses and conservatories? or are only particular types of plants affected? I have no experience of this at all, having read the article Kata posted it made me curious. I have seen individual Red Spider Mite, teeny weeny red dots moving very quickly on the ground before, although never noticed any where I am now.

Mostly Trudy, they favour warmth and lower humidity. In fact, increasing the humidity is a way to deter them.

Trudytropics wrote:Is Red Spider Mite something you only get in greenhouses and conservatories? or are only particular types of plants affected? I have no experience of this at all, having read the article Kata posted it made me curious. I have seen individual Red Spider Mite, teeny weeny red dots moving very quickly on the ground before, although never noticed any where I am now.

Red Spider Mite is particularly a problem indoors, greenhouses and houseplants etc. Its favoured by a dry atmosphere. The mites are minute and live under the leaves. The first symptoms are a yellowish peppering effect on the leaves and then when you look underneath you can see thousands of mites like dust. With a really bad attack, webbing will eventually occur, like spider's webs as the mites travel in search of fresh food. Not the same as the small red ants you see scurrying about which are harmless.

If you don't want to use pesticides I have had some success with broad-leaved plants like bananas by gently washing the undersides of the leaves with water with a dash of washing up liquid - just a dash. (Actually similar to Savonna, product listed above which is just a soft soap) But I wouldn't recommend spraying plants with soapy water. Not all plants will tolerate.

Thanks Vagetarian and Ian, probably not a problem then for me, glad to say. I don't have many house plants as prefer fresh flowers

Lote of info there guys and gals.Thank you all very much for your help Kind regards...daz

I've had a fair bit of experience of this over the last year or two.........

Natures Answer almost killed my Erythrina, and as such I chucked it before trying on anything else (stupid I know). In desperation I put the Erythrina and infected Sollya in the garage, and touch wood, they remained clear.
The infestation spread to a couple of other plants, where Provado did work for a while, but towards the middle of spring there was signs of them returning. As it was warmer, I'd take them out in the morning and spray vigorously with about 2bar of water (that's what the relief valve on the sprayer opens at), leaving them out during the day if it wasn't too cold. On the larger leafed plants I wiped them with a sponge daily too.
Stupidly, I assumed that having got everything "free" of the mites and disinfecting the conservatory I was home and dry. I got into the routine of misting everything daily, had drip trays full of gravel topped up with water under all the plants and everything was fine until I went away for a few days. When I returned the spider mite was evident on the Polyanthese tuberosa and had spread to a Sutherlandia seedling. As I was worried about the seedling, I mixed up garlic water and sprayed everything with it. At the first opportunity the room was disinfected again. I'm sure that the Polyanthese was the culprit, so these will be lifted soon, the bulbs washed and the pot disinfected.

The trick to control is humidity and isolation when there is an outbreak. I've made a tank that sits on the radiator - I'll take it off every morning and evening, empty it and refill with hot water.

I've also had serious probs with Red Spider Mite this year and from the word go havn't had any knockdown with provado at all! Ended up cutting off the worst affected leaves, keeping the humidity above 85% and with indoor stuff meticulously brushing tops and bottoms of each leaf with a medium bristled painters brush.Most seed raised cannas and musa pups overwintered from last year got it bad and levels dropped considerably when they we're put outside in May. Still got low levels,wish 'joe public' could buy an effective acaricide like I used to use on nurseries years ago. Nige