The spider mite is one of the most ubiquitous pests. It affects almost all plants except aquatic ones. Unfortunately, almost all lovers of indoor plants sooner or later have to deal with this pest. In this article, we tried to collect as much useful information as possible about the features of this pest and about methods of prevention and control of it.
Common spider mite (Tetranychus urticae) Farmer Burea-Uinsurance.com Gilles San Martin
Contents:
Some types of spider mites
Common spider mite (Tetranychus urticae) Is a tick of the spider mite family. The most common of the tick family. The size of a tick directly depends on the degree of its fatness. Length of females from about 0,4 up to 0,6 mm, male – from 0,3 to 0,45 mm.
Soft-bodied ellipsoidal animals have a convex upper body and a flat lower body. At the larval stage of development, they are transparent, colored from light green to greenish-brown with two distinct, large dark spots on the sides, which are formed by transparent blind bags of the midgut. From late summer to next spring, wintering females are colored orange-red to bright red. Unlike the six-legged first phase of larvae, all adult ticks have 8 legs.
Also common plant pests include:
- Red spider mite (Tetranychus cinnabarinus);
- Red-footed spider mite (Tetranychus ludeni);
- Spider mite Savzdarga (Tetranychus sawzdargi);
- Atlantic spider mite (Tetranychus atlanticus).
General information about the pest
Several generations of mites live in a web woven by spider mites. They multiply very quickly. Individuals become adults after 10-20 days from the date of oviposition.
Low temperatures and high air humidity have a negative effect on the reproduction of spider mites. Also, under such conditions, the period of development of already hatched larvae may slow down. If climatic conditions improve, then a sudden mass infection is possible. In addition, spider mites move very quickly from one plant to another.
The coloration of spider mites is variable and depends on a number of factors. Most often mites are yellowish, brownish, greenish. May have dark colored spots on the sides of the body. Non-feeding overwintering females are usually reddish or red in color. Males are somewhat smaller than females and have a more elongated body.
Females emerge from fertilized eggs, males emerge from unfertilized eggs. Tick larvae, unlike adults, have three pairs of walking limbs. After the first molt, the larva turns into a nymph, and already has 4 pairs of walking limbs, like adult ticks. Eggs are round in shape. Immediately after laying, they are whitish or yellowish, almost transparent.
As the embryo develops, the eggs become cloudy and yellowish. The rate of development of the embryo is very temperature dependent. So, at + 15 ° С the egg stage lasts about 15 days, and at + 30 ° С only 2-3 days. The total duration of one generation of these pests (from egg to egg) also depends on temperatures and ranges from 30-36 to 7-8 days. This must be taken into account when scheduling treatments.
In autumn, a significant proportion of nymphs turn into hibernating non-feeding females. Some of them migrate from forage plants in search of wintering places. Moreover, some move down, while others seek shelter in the upper part of the premises. So completely etching your plants does not guarantee that all pests in your home will be eliminated.
At high summer temperatures, some of the females stop feeding and also migrate in search of shelters until the end of the extremely hot season.
Signs of plant damage by spider mites
Spider mites feed on the contents of plant cells. The presence of this parasite is indicated by the presence of small white dots on the leaves (mainly on the lower side) and the presence of a thin cobweb that braids the plants (or parts of them).
In cases of severe damage, the leaves turn white from multiple injuries. Plants are completely covered with cobwebs, a wiggling mass from the bodies of pests accumulates at the tips of shoots and leaves.
Damage to plants
Some of the cells are destroyed, the area and intensity of photosynthesis decrease, the plant weakens, it becomes more susceptible to any infections. The spider mite, in addition to feeding on plants, also carries a number of infections. The literature mentions that this parasite carries gray mold spores and viral infections of ornamental and agricultural crops.
Prevention
The main prerequisite for the appearance of spider mites is dry air, therefore, high humidity and regular spraying of the outer part of the plant is a good prevention of the emergence and reproduction of the pest. However, high air humidity only helps with lesions with a true spider mite, while the false spider mite, on the contrary, loves it very much. Nevertheless, practice shows that plants are most often attacked by true spider mites rather than false ones.
When spraying a plant, you must be very careful so that water does not remain for a long time in the core of the plant and the grooves of the leaves, as this can very easily lead to decay. You need to be especially careful in winter, as in low light and low temperatures, water evaporates rather slowly. Complete immersion of the plant in water is unlikely to help, since insects protect themselves with air bubbles that cover them when in contact with water.
Fight against spider mites
The first thing to start treatment with is a good rinsing of the outer part of the plant with warm water and laundry soap or dishwashing detergent. This event will not destroy insects, but at least halve their population.
When destroying spider mites, it is necessary not only to thoroughly rinse and process the plants themselves, but also the windowsill on which they stood, as well as saucers and pots.
All suspicious plants must be isolated immediately.
The plant can be watered well and covered with a clear plastic bag for 3 days. The high humidity inside the bag will kill the mites. However, the plants must be constantly monitored so that their leaves burn out from the heat.
Chemicals
Fighting with modern remedies is the most effective way to get rid of spider mites. However, it should be remembered that the spider mite is an arachnid animal, not an insect, therefore it is useless to use insecticides (insect repellents) to destroy it. Other drugs are effective against ticks – acaricides and insectoacaricides.
Acaricides: Apollo, Borneo, Envidor, Nissoran, Omayt, Sunmight, Floromayt, Flumayt.
Insecticides: Agravertine, Akarin, Aktellik, Aktofit, Vertimek, Dursban, Kleschevit, Oberon, Fitoverm.
If you have experience using acaricides or insectoacaricides against spider mites, write about the results of using this or that remedy in the comments.
Purchased chemicals must be used several times in order to destroy more resistant individuals and their eggs.
Check your plants regularly and take preventive measures so that spider mites don’t catch you off guard.
