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I am fighting spider mites and spraying neem oil once a week on my… | Anything about plants | Planta community

Amy

I am fighting spider mites and spraying neem oil once a week on my outdoor flower garden. I’m not due to spray again until Sunday but when I woke up this morning there was another web and more damage. I sprayed with water but can I treat them with neem again or do I have to wait until Sunday?

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12 comments

  1. Amy
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  2. Ji11

    Are you using straight neem oil? I recommend adding a drop of dish soap or dr.bronners peppermint

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  3. Danni

    I would recommend a soap mixture as well. I’ve heard it’s best to use a Castile soap rather than detergent soap. Dr Bronner’s is great like mentioned above.

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  4. Sparky🤍plants

    What does spider mite damage look like? I’m trying to figure out if my plant has spider mites or just regular spider webs (we have a lot of spiders here) 🥲 the plant doesn’t seem to be damaged but I did see a small white dot moving around on a leaf. Haven’t seen anything in a few days. 😬 I somewhat isolated it just in case

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    • Amy

      I can only see fine webs and sometimes white, grainy dots in the leaves (like a grain of sand) but the real tell is the obvious dying of a leaf. They suck the life right out of them and there is no mistaking there is something wrong. Do you see how the corner of this leaf is lightened and sort of splotchy? Tomorrow it will be totally bleached and splotchy looking.

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  5. Danni

    One other thing… mulch can attract bugs and spider mites. Spider mites love to hide in there. Spiders love it too because it attracts food for them.

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    • Amy

      Is there a way to treat the mulch to prevent future pest invasion?

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    • Danni

      Let me see if I can find an answer to that

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    • Danni

      Cedar Oil!

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  6. Amy

    Damn! I have mulch everywhere! 😫 I’ve just been using neem concentrate but I’ll add a little soap. Should I wait the full week before treating again, though?

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    • Danni

      I believe Neem oil should always be mixed with water per the instructions on the label. I know it’s only supposed to be used every 7 to 14 days. And it’s usually advised that it is done before sunrise or after sunset to avoid the sun burning the leaves evaporating the neem oil. Not sure if maybe that was the issue? When applying you wanna make sure to spray it on all the leaves even the underside. Especially the infested areas.

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  7. Amy

    I diluted it according to package instructions and at late night but I think must’ve just missed some spots since it’s so dense. I’ll try to keep it sprayed with water until treating again on Sunday with the addition of soap. Thanks for all of your help!

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