I am close to planting my brugs outside, but have noticed a few leaves turning yellow and falling off. Today I looked at the underside and saw some small black spots which could be mites but I'm not sure what they look like nor how to get rid of them. Can I get some help here?
mites?
if they are mites... they will likely become food for someone out in the outide... inside the mites have a field day with no predator .. outside with the rain and other insects lookng for lunch.. they are much less of a concern
Is there a spray that is effective I can use now? Our last frost date is not here yet.
I think Bayer Advanced Tree and Shrub........BATS............will work pretty good. Just waged some war on whiteflies up in the g'house with it this morning. Hope it helps. Can't wait for "outside" weather for the plants.
oh.. I thought they were going out soon.. if you're nto sprayng.. most all of the posions will work... I usually make up a cocktail of what's about.. the key to success is repeat applications... and then again and again.. ok.. now they are knoced down... not necessarly gone... you want to catch the newly emerging youth.. when they first hatch out... some will be hatching the day after spraying..and every day there after... weely is none too often if you're under attack
Anna, I had whitefly terribly last year. Someone finally told to spray with soap solution. I guess I didn't have the right soap, but I used a little dishwashing liquid in water and sprayed them. They white flies disappeared right away and never came back. They are not in my greenhouse this year either.
What can I use for spider mites? They keep coming back. I use the soap thing.. and we also have white flies. We have a problem with very LOW humidity. I mean just about as low as you can get. It has been as low as 2-3% some days.. that is NOT a typo. It is heaven when it goes up into the teens at night. Our brug cuttings are struggling to survive due to the mites.. they leaves just can't keep up. We lost almost all of the brugs from the cold winter.. any suggestions? I think I have bought everything they have in the stores so far... the things available on the shelves of Lowes and Home Depot have diminished over the years. Nothing like they used to have.
As long as the brugs are outside, I have read (and been told) that a good spraying of water will send them packing. And it's a cheap fix.
Whiteflies..........I'm hoping that after the stuff all gets outside, that will take care of them. Otherwise I will spray with something. Bayer or some such product with the hose end sprayer.
Tammie,
Neem oil can be used against spidermites. It is an organic contact pesticide, bur if you want a certified product, it is also available as such. Because it is a contact pesticide, pests don't develop resistance to it. In temperatures over the low 80s, it has to be applied early in the morning or late in the afternoon because it can burn the leaves in hot weather. You have to make sure you get the underside of all the leaves really well and re-apply it 5 - 7 days later. I've tried the water spray method. While it will knock some off, it's not a long lasting remedy. The problem has always gotten worse. There is a Bayer systemic that comes in pelleted form that is then watered in, but that takes a few weeks to take effect
Whiteflies are difficult to control according to all the literature I've read. They have basically developed a resistance to many of the commonly used pesticides. Maybe several applications of neem oil might take care of them. So far, I've lucked out and haven't had a problem with whiteflies, but I cringe when I see mottled yellow leaves.
I have neem.. we have temps above the 80's almost 24/7 now.. fun, fun.. it is supposed to be 107 this weekend. Nice combination of no rain and high temps beginning to feel like death valley here. LOL
I will try the neem.. mom is just going to have to like the smell!
I have also read that putting worm casings on the top of the soil in containers stops whitefly. I'm not sure where I read that. It doesn't kill the existing whitefly though.
Well, you all were right. Once I sprayed them down with water and put them outside where they are in wind and rain, the mites went away. I am going to take everything out of the greenhouse and set off a bug bomb in there to make sure nothing is left to invade my plants when I bring everything back in.
The leaves are no long deformed and they are growing.