I've read that sprays containing Cyfluthrin and Permethrin are effective, but that EEs can be quite sensitive to chemicals.
I used Safer Insecticidal Soap, but I don't know how effective it is, and it needs several applications.
Has anyone had any experience with this?
How Do You Treat EEs For Spider Mites?
Skaz, this is the first year I've kept them actively growing, but I "acquired" some young plants at the end of summer. I took a few pots to work and I introduced Coffee Cups to the group and it wasn't long before it had passed it on to a couple others. I had some kind of spray for red spider mite and I wasn't thrilled with spraying my precious babies, but the mites seemed a worse fate.... I think it was an Ortho product.... the bottle is at home and I'm at work right now. Anyway, the ee's didn't seem to mind at all. I've sprayed them with Safer soap in the summer time, for ants, with no negative effects.
I tried killing soap (safer) on a small EE, seemed to work fine with no ill effects.
Tom
Thanks AuntB and Tommy. I sprayed them with Safer a couple of days ago, and they look better already. The problem with Safer is that it doesn't kill the eggs, so you have to keep spraying every 5-6 days, to make sure you break the cycle, and get them all.
The local Lowe's has a product with Cyfluthrin in it. I think it would be a lot more effective, but the gurus tell me that EEs can be sensitive to chemicals. I wanted to see if anyone had used it.
Steve
Neem killed the mites on my EE last year. Very effective.
GH
GH - didn't harm the plant? What type of EE was it?
Steve
No harm done- it was a A. 'New Guinea Gold' and A. 'Polly'. I applied several applications, 7 days apart, and according to pkg. directions(of course!).
GH,
I've been reading up on Neem. If half the claims I've seen about it are true, then it has to be an amazing substance. I'm going to pick some up and try it on a few EEs, to see if it has any detrimental effects.
Thanks for the tip.
Steve
Steve-
Try it on the Colocasia first. In my experience they are much more sensitive to chemical burn than Alocasia. Also, see if the instructions tell you to spray at night or on a cloudy day. I know you need to do this with insecticidal soap.
ROX
When I take my plants in for the winter I immediately turn on a small table fan. Mites hate wind and strong air movement. I also spray the plants with a warm mist every two weeks and any webs beginning to form in the leaf axils show up. This is when I use horticulture oil for houseplants. I have over 250 houseplants and have never had a problem where I had to throw out plants because they were too far gone. For inside growing try a fan.
Yes, I have a fan in the greenhouse, on the advice of a friend.
Just in case anybody wants to know, I used an insecticidal soap, and it burned the leaves of a few EEs, and other plants.
A friend told me that I wasn't supposed to do it on a sunny day. I took the plants out of the greenhouse to spray them, and I can't remember whether that day was sunny or cloudy.
I looked at the spray bottle that the soap comes in, and it doesn't say anything about avoiding sun.
I don't think that I would risk using the soap again. If I see pests on the plants again, I'm going to try something else; I'll pick up some Neem, and test drive it on an EE or two, first.
Steve
I use Safers on everything but Succulents and Cactus and never had a problem.
Just be VERY sure you keep them out of the Sun.
Scale, Mites and aphids all gone.
I did get a scale tip from a thread I started on Stag horn Ferns.
Dab them w/ Hydrogen Peroxide.
Works just fine.
The fan tip is a must for Winter growing.
An oscillating fan works best.
Ric
Ric,
Thanks. Rox turned me on to the benefits of using a fan.
I wish the people who made the insecticide soap would have put something on the label regarding using it in sunlight - it would have saved me some leaf burn.
Steve
After following this thread, i noticed some cob webs on my Odora Var. thinking i had mites. So off i went with my ORGANOCIDE(tm) to spray and to my surprise a small spider came out of the trunk to see what was going on, i think he's toast now. Obviously not a spider mite, a little too big. So what's the deal with regular spiders making a home in EEs. Good or bad.
For the last 2 years I have had a resident house spider on my big C. Fontanesii as well.
No ill effects noted.
If you see ants on the EE, that's another story. They like the aphids...a symbiotic relationship I think.
ROX
Sorry I forgot to 'Watch' this Thread
Spiders are beneficial insects.
Unless you have a great aversion to them or you run into a Recluse or Widow just leave them be.
All they eat are insects and odds are you won't have any other beneficial ones in your Plants this time of year.
Ric
I read an article about how beneficial ladybugs can be to plants in a greenhouse. They eat aphids, mites, and whitefiles, and won't harm plants in any way. I'm thinking of buying some.
Watch out if you buy the net bag, a little goes a long way in an enclosed space.
Be careful w/ them.
The Larvae look pretty nasty but they are the big aphid eaters.
http://www.life.uiuc.edu/ib/109/Insect%20rearing/ladybugs.html
Ric