Quick question about spider mites....

[Bonsai Guy]

Hey all,



A few months ago I noticed my trees (that I grow indoors) were infested with spider mites. So I took them out of the room they stay in over winter, and moved them all outdoors to be treated. Since that was several months ago, and no plants have been in since, could the mites still be alive in that room, even without having any plants to live off of? Would I be safe moving my plants back in? It's been several months at least, not sure how long mites can live without any plants....

 

[SSHZ]

First off, don't EVER bring plants from the outside back inside. You'll regret it in the long run.

Secondly, mites can live for long periods without plants. They can hibernate in cracks, etc. and will come back to life when conditions are right. You can spray down the floors/walls/etc. with bleach and that may help- I wipe everything down, lights, shields, fans, doors, pots, EVERYTHING and they often still make it thru.

I'll say it again......don not bring plants inside. You're asking for more trouble then it's worth.

 

[Bonsai Guy]

First off, don't EVER bring plants from the outside back inside. You'll regret it in the long run.

Secondly, mites can live for long periods without plants. They can hibernate in cracks, etc. and will come back to life when conditions are right. You can spray down the floors/walls/etc. with bleach and that may help- I wipe everything down, lights, shields, fans, doors, pots, EVERYTHING and they often still make it thru.

I'll say it again......don not bring plants inside. You're asking for more trouble then it's worth.

Thanks!

I've been doing this for years now though, and they have to come in during the winter anyways.

I've read that mixing bleach and water then spraying the walls works, I just don't want to ruin the walls with the mixture

 

[SSHZ]

I hear you........ you can buy something like Mighty Wash (frequency water) and spray everything down with that instead of bleach- it won't damage anything since it's 99% plain water. It's very effective at killing all mites/eggs/etc.

They are tough little buggers.....In your case, I would buy a pyretheum fog bomb (like "Doktor Doom") and set it off in the room. It dissipates quickly and breaks down to a harmless odor in a few hours. But it will kill off most everything. I've even used these with plants in the room.

 

[dannyboy602]

Couldnt you just retreat your trees and then bring them in?

 

[Toolage 87]

I've used a product called Safer Soap and 1 treatment kills the spider mites. I had spider mites on some ivy plants and when I treated it with the Safer Soap its been 2 years since that last time I've seen them on the plants.

 

[Bonsai Guy]

Thanks everyone. I'll look into Mighty Wash once I get out of the hospital. I've got surgery for a brain tumor scheduled tomorrow.

I've heard too many mixed reports on things like Dr. Doom and Hot Shot strips, I hear they can be bad for your health, so I've held off on getting them.

I could just treat them outdoors then bring them back indoors, like I do, but then if they're in the room itself I'm back to square one. They'd just get re-infested.

 

[dannyboy602]

I spray for a living. Sometimes horticultural oil and sometimes more potent stuff i will always treat their house plants that they summer outdoors. They're usually happy because they get something for free but I just look at it as public relations. The trick with treating any insect or disease problem is in knowing what the problem is and when best to treat it. With spider mites, if you time it right you can treat the baby mites in spring as the eggs hatch. And you need nothing stronger than soapy water or 1 or 2% hort oil. But after a few weeks they become adults and benign oil or safer soap wont work. So we use a mixture of chemicals. One kills mites and one kills the eggs. But there's always a few stragglers that survive. So annual applications are necessary. My sprayers license only covers outdoor spraying. It's category 22. I sprayed ficus trees placed outdoors by the customer for years and watched them bounce back from near death. The trick in spraying is to know the life cycle of the spider mite and when its most susceptible. Even safer sprayed at the right time helps. For indoors even alcohol pads used judiciously will work. You have to be thorough.
Good luck with your surgery. And good luck with your mite problem.

 

[Toolage 87]

I spray for a living. Sometimes horticultural oil and sometimes more potent stuff i will always treat their house plants that they summer outdoors. They're usually happy because they get something for free but I just look at it as public relations. The trick with treating any insect or disease problem is in knowing what the problem is and when best to treat it. With spider mites, if you time it right you can treat the baby mites in spring as the eggs hatch. And you need nothing stronger than soapy water or 1 or 2% hort oil. But after a few weeks they become adults and benign oil or safer soap wont work. So we use a mixture of chemicals. One kills mites and one kills the eggs. But there's always a few stragglers that survive. So annual applications are necessary. My sprayers license only covers outdoor spraying. It's category 22. I sprayed ficus trees placed outdoors by the customer for years and watched them bounce back from near death. The trick in spraying is to know the life cycle of the spider mite and when its most susceptible. Even safer sprayed at the right time helps. For indoors even alcohol pads used judiciously will work. You have to be thorough.
Good luck with your surgery. And good luck with your mite problem.

How can you tell when their life cycle for the spider mites are at the susceptible stage?

 

[MrStickyScissors]

they will live for a while.. if theres dust or if you have pets that shed even your carpet. i would bomb the room 3 times over a 1 week period then i would have a pest controll spray the perimeter of the house inside and out then i would mix avid and floramite together and hit my veg plants GONE

 

[MrStickyScissors]

another thing i have noticed over the years is those little boogers slow down when its cold. if you drop your temp in your room it will give you time to deal with them

 

[dbkick]

I wouldn't waste mighty wash on trees , you could use something toxic on the trees .something good and cheap like bayer tree and shrub.

 

[dbkick]

as far as the room goes I'd be busting out the riptide and the paint sprayer and covering that.

 

[Nizza]

paint sprayer aye? ive pondered this many times, is it somewhat like an atomizer?

 

[dbkick]

paint sprayer aye? ive pondered this many times, is it somewhat like an atomizer?

I own two atomists and one paint sprayer. I use the atomists anymore but like the control I get with the paint sprayer.

 

[dannyboy602]

How can you tell when their life cycle for the spider mites are at the susceptible stage?

i hit
plants with oil in spring for juvenile mites and after that I hit them with flormite and forbid. One kills eggs and mites anode just kills mites and not eggs. Only in spring are they susceptible to oil sprays.

 

[Toolage 87]

i hit
plants with oil in spring for juvenile mites and after that I hit them with flormite and forbid. One kills eggs and mites anode just kills mites and not eggs. Only in spring are they susceptible to oil sprays.

I might have to try that but I've been only needing to hit them once. I could do it once then 1 week later

 

[dannyboy602]

Its best to be thorough with spider mites. All they do is eat and multiply. They love heat and dry weather.