What’s everybody’s spider mite remedies? I picked up a pothos from Walmart that I should have isolated 🤦🏼‍♀️ also how far do they usually spread? I have a few plants in a hall with said pothos so I’ll probably treat them as well but just wondering if I should be doing all my plants. Thankfully it’s nothing major yet and only very small amount of webbing but enough to catch my eye today.
I haven’t treated for spider mites before, but I’ve heard that neem oil works. I’d check the plants closest to the infected plant. Unless the infected plant has been around your plants in different rooms, they probably aren’t on your others (hopefully). Even if you don’t know for certain all of the plants in your hall have mites, it would probably be a good idea to isolate any of them that you know are infected.
3 gillningarNeem oil
3 gillningar
Combating one of my plant babies now as well with a good bath outside of our house using our hose. Then we got some organic grade neem oil and microfiber gloves to remove it with my hands on each individual stem, crevice, and leaves. Hoping for the best. Don’t forget to continue treating it at least once a week for approximately a month. & then thereafter just keep a close eye on it. 🤞
2 gillningar
many pests are resistant or even immune to neem oil from overuse. after you thoroughly rinse the plant to remove the mites, i would recommend using a few drops of dr bronner’s soap in water as an insecticidal spray. the soap will kill any soft-bodied insects and they cannot become immune to it. bonus points for peppermint as it’s a bug repellent. spray the plant thoroughly every day or every few days for at least 4 weeks and all the spider mites should die off
7 gillningar it’s a good idea to preemptively treat all your nearby plants, even if you don’t notice any pests. spider mites can spread fast if the infestation is not monitored. i don’t know how far exactly they can spread but i would start by treating all the plants in the same room, within 6 feet of the infected plant, “patient zero”
3 gillningar
I love that you mentioned the resistance and immunity aspect of this! We’ve had to discuss it in my natural resources classes because more and more bug sprays have been becoming less and less effective, and almost every class that speaks significant time outdoors goes over tick removal at the start of the semester because tick repellents are another that is notably getting less effective.
1 gilla yes! the environmental effects of our pest-treatment choices are important. this is why i prefer to use treatments that work mechanically, like soap and diatomaceous earth, because pests cannot become immune to it as with chemical/hormonal treatments like neem oil (azadirachtin)
0 gillningar