My boyfriends calathea appeared to be healthy and I was planning on repotting her this week. Upon inspection I saw she has spider mites 😠I told him to go hose her off outside, and later I’ll spray her down with a neem oil/isopropyl alcohol/peppermint Castillo soap/water mixture. Does anyone else have any more tips?? She’s beautiful and I don’t want to lose her! My boyfriend is an inexperienced plant owner and why he chose her as his second ever plant I’ll never know🙃
I personally use a spray insecticide on the leaves as well as a systemic insecticide that comes in a tiny granular formula in the soil. I use the systemic on all my plants that are not semi-hydro. I spread it per the directions in the soil and/or during repot.
3 likes I use systemic granules on my own plants, just wasn’t sure for the Calathea. I’ll use that as well. Thanks!
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Oh it is beautiful!! I wish you good luck killing them critters🙄
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I use systemic on my calatheas and they do fine. Even though they are picky about water, light, humidity, temperature, I could go on.
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Well give him some credit for trying. My first plant was a whole ass tree. I somehow managed to kill that 🥲
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My calathea is very happy, but it also is very sensitive AND gets spider mites periodically. I’ve tried neem oil and isopropyl alcohol mix and the plant gets very upset. I haven’t tried systemic as I prefer to avoid harsh chemicals. The solution that works for me is predatory spider mites. They are miracle workers. You can buy them online. Cheaper than pesticides too. They come in a small vial. I put a teaspoon of the material on the soil and problem solved. The good bugs eat the bad bugs! Two-spot spider mites gone. No need to spray anything or wash leaves. It’s like buying lady bugs to eat aphids. Also the predatory mites are super tiny so you won’t see them and they don’t produce the webbing that two-spot mites make.
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