Spider Mites On Brugmansia
There have been all sorts of products recommended on this forum and I'm not trying to say my method is best, it does however work for me and I think each of use needs to find what works best for us. Also the degree of the infestation and the number of plants plays as an important aspect on the choice of treatment.
This is what I have done:
First isolate the infected plants.
I personally clipped of all large leaves except a few on the top of the plant, letting them fall into a trash bag as I clipped and immediately sealed and took it to a dumpster. I used Raid Lawn and Garden product, which on the label listed spider mites on the remaining leaves. If you spray too close to the plant it will cause the leaves to yellow and fall off. I always got hyper and sprayed too close.
Since they have a reproduction cycle it only gets the adults, then the eggs hatch, so I also use Bayer Rose 2 in 1, a very light amount because if you use too much it too will cause the leaves to turn yellow and fall off. Once I got rid of all the existing spider mites, I make sure I use the Bayer Rose 2in1 every 4 weeks. The label says 6 weeks but I only use a little each time therefore use it more often.
Some people recommend using a water hose to spray the spider mites off the brugs, but I prefer to know they are dead and will not be crawling off to my other plants or other brugs.
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I've started this thread for people who are new to growing brugs. I'm sure they would appreciate the more experienced growers advising what products they use and how they go about resolving spider mites.
Thanks,
Judy
This message was edited Aug 16, 2005 2:13 PM
Spider Mites On Brugmansia
Thank you Judy for your info.
BY FAR I am NOT one of those more experienced growers...but I feel I have a PhD in Killing Spider Mites!!!
Since I grow mine outdoors along 1/4 mile of road and there are so many...I need real guns to treat the mites. I 'borrowed' some Avid (miticide) and Hexagon (ovicide) from a nurseryman. I stripped all of the leaves and buds from ALL of the brugs, sprayed them way early one morning and repeated the process 5 days later. That should have dissed all of them ON the plants. Now I am told to follow up with a spray of wettable sulpher every 12-14 days. I also sprayed the ground around the plants and made sure that I got all of the little growth points along the stems.
The leaf and bud striping was painful for me...but 10 days later there are new buds and they are all leafing out!!!
Carol, glad to hear they are all coming back OK, I stripped all the leaves off several of my Brugs also, and that pretty much took care of them, I also sprayed the yard with CUTTER sure gets rid of bugs.
Doris
I haven't used it this year, (and you can tell, as I've had a problem w/spider mites, too!)
but in the past I've used Volck Oil spray made by Ortho for mites....it worked like a charm!
That was recommended on this very forum, I believe, back in 2001, (if I recall correctly).
It's for dormant *and* growing plants.
I found it at a hardware store, and if they had it, it must be available almost anywhere!
You do have to be sure that the plants aren't in direct sun following the spraying.
I've had really good success with neem oil, on the advice of people here at Dave's. I usually spray the leaves with water the day before and try to wash the mites off, then mist them with the neem oil the next day. It's tricky to get the back sides of the leaves, but it's important to spray there. I do this once a week for three weeks and then once a month for 'maintenance' so to speak. I love neem oil!