So just found a ton of spider mites on my little ficus clown fig๐ I sprayed it down in the shower and then sprayed it with dead af spray and itโs sitting in the shower for a few hours. Is that enough? I know it recommends to check again in like a week and spray more if need be. And are my other plants safe? Itโs not too close to too many others. And can I use the dead af as preventative? I also have neem spray. Sorry lots of questions but Iโve never had bugs before!
You need to treat more than once for spider mites, their life cycle is longer than a month. I'd treat anything that was close to it.
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I agree with wolfen. Also quarantine it as far away from your other plants as possible.
์ข์์ 1๊ฐI was planning on keeping it in the bathroom for the day I guess I should do longer? And it was on a shelf with only two other plants and they looked fine but I could spray them just in case
0๊ฐ ์ข์์What seems to have worked very well for me is a 3 parts water one part rubbing alcohol mixture with a bit of dish soap added. When a couple plants had it really bad I would spray almost every day. Whenever it was time to water they got a shower and then sprayed. Definitely spray the ones that were near it too. I also watered with 3:1 water and hydrogen peroxide to get rid of any in the soil. At this point I think I'm mostly rid of them. I still shower all the plants that were in that area at every watering and spray them. I will also water with hydrogen peroxide a few more times. Also if you're gonna leave it in the bathroom make sure its getting enough light๐.
์ข์์ 1๊ฐIf the DIY treatments don't work there are miticides you can get at the garden center.
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I go directly for the mite spray. I put a reminder on my phone to do repeat spraying every 3 days for three weeks. It seems to work. Same regimen for nearby plants.
Bonide is a good brand and Captain Jack's has a product that includes a mitiside also but make sure the captain Jack's says mites on the front cover because there's another that does not include the miteside.
0๊ฐ ์ข์์ Just an additional thought. I rarely use neem oil anymore. Iโve damaged a few succulents using it.
์ข์์ 1๊ฐI've heard conflicting information regarding neem. One cactus specialist in Arizona said they use it regularly on their cactus and succulents while other places say succulents can be sensitive to using neem. Apparently it can cause sunburn from the sun shining through the neem oil.
์ข์์ 1๊ฐ I did not place them back under the grow lights. They were damaged in dim room lighting. Two favorite echeverias were badly damaged.
0๊ฐ ์ข์์I've never used it on any of my plants because I have heard that due to how much its been used, some pests are developing a resistance to it. Idk if its true or not, just what I've heard and I haven't ever needed to use it.
์ข์์ 1๊ฐI'm not sure a bug can develop a resistance to neem. It works by coating the insect with oil and suffocating it. It's not like a chemical that they can develop a resistance to.
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